Fuck Yeah, Stimming!

It’s time to start submitting your stims and getting the conversation rolling! The idea of this blog is to explore how stimming is experienced by autistic people, and to build a database of behaviour types. What are your stims? How do they feel? What parameters of the stim are the most relaxing? What music is best for stimming?

I want to hear how happy you all become when you do your favourite stims. I want to see diagrams of what kind of movements have the biggest effect. I want to see pictures of what you imagine when you stim. I ask not just what stims you have, but how you conceptualise stimming as a sensory experience.

I’m interested in what triggers them as well (add warnings if they’re traumatic). One of my major triggers is actually reading about stimming, so this will be an interesting blog to run!

The blog is currently run by Alyssa.

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What is stimming?

Types of Stimming

Music

A Cognitive Defense of Stimming (or Why "Quiet Hands" Makes Math Harder)

Thanks to Daniel Kahneman’s fascinating book, “Thinking, Fast and Slow” I’ve discovered the concept of ego depletion. Coined by Roy Baumeister, the term ego depletion simply means that we have a li…

jupiter-reborn asked

I didn't see this until now, so apologies for being late, but to the anon who asked about excited stimming - For me, it just feels like a natural reaction to feeling excited! I even sometimes do it when something is particularly funny. It's not completely voluntary or completely involuntary (for me.) My most common happy stim is flapping my hands and/or arms (but not quite in the stereotypical way,) or just making strange flaily motions with my arms. It's GREAT that you support your son's stims!

Anonymous asked

I was wondering if anyone else ever stimmed by not moving? When I'm walking somewhere stressful and over-stimulating i hold my shoulders and arms tight by my side and tense every muscle right down to my fingers.

Tensing can be a thing. LOTS of ways

goldenheartedrose:

Mutual stimming

Sounds a lot dirtier than it actually is.

I guess “group stimming” would be a better term.

Anyways.

↵ Reblogged from goldenheartedrose

Anonymous asked

Can Tetris be a stim?

Sure, why not?

It’s certainly visually stimulating and a thing to do with your hands at the same time.

Anonymous asked

My stims are mainly flapping and shredding paper when I'm upset, but usually when I'm out in public and if there are too any people, I tend to spin in fast circles and/or hit my hand against my leg

emetophobesunite asked

WAIT - is sucking your thumb a stim?! If so, this adds a stim of massive importance to my list!

It can be :D

So Californication is now officially my personal stim song.

autiecommie:

Can’t stop listening. Also, I can almost play it on the bass.

↵ Reblogged from autiecommie

Anonymous asked

For my stimming, I tend to not only *suck* my thumbs but actually physically chew my fingers as well and they're so calloused now. I also do the typical hand-flapping when I'm excited or happy or fangirling. And I know a lot of people rock, but when I listen to music that has several people singing at once (such as the refrain in "One Day More" from Les Miserables), I tend to sway back and forth. Idk.

I sway too, especially when I’m singing, like in chorus. I’ve chewed on my fingers too. Stim ALL the stims!

accidentallyanoctopus asked

One of my stims is ripping things into little pieces, esp. plants and paper. I do it when I'm bored or nervous, but usually when I'm bored. Does anyone else have this stim, because my parents are getting annoyed about the mess that this can make.

Yup. I know Emma (Emma’s Hope Book) does it, I know I do it, I think it’s pretty common. Emma’s mom’s rule is “Go ahead as long as you clean up after” and that seems like a reasonable one.

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