Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I wanted to ask about stimming. People talk about stimming being a good thing and something you can do to help regulate yourself. I stim when I'm stressed but it doesn't make me feel better, its just sort of a compulsion.
Is that what it's like for other autistic people?
Because I've been feeling really jealous that other autistic people talk about stimming as if it is this magical outlet that makes them feel amazing, but I started to wonder that maybe I misunderstood how stimming benefits people. Maybe it's not like how I imagine.
It doesn't make me feel amazing. It's just a way to discharge energy and helps me be calm. Repetitive motions bring a stability and predictability to what I experience.
If you've been watching TikTok videos of women dancing around and looking like they're on MDMA and saying they're stimming, I would not take it too seriously. They're putting on a show.
Paper said:It's just a way to discharge energy
Oooh yes this is how I would describe it for me too.
Paper said:If you've been watching TikTok videos of women dancing around and looking like they're on MDMA and saying they're stimming, I would not take it too seriously.
I had a girlfriend (17-18) who used to loose herself in dance as a way of stimming - she would be in her own world, making up her own moves and generally being weird but into it in a way I couldn't connect to.
It worked for her - calmed her own demons (I never found out if she got diagnosed) so I wouldn't dismiss the dancing stimm out of hand.