A crash course on a common neurodivergent quirk
Stimming is one of the most common and recognized signs of neurodivergence. While most people think of it as an autism trait, stimming is also done by people with ADHD, sensory processing disorder (SPD), anxiety, PTSD/trauma, and other neurodivergent conditions. So what goes on in the mind and body when we stim? Let’s explore.
What is stimming? And why do people stim?
Stimming (short for “self-stimulatory behavior”) is when a person uses repetitive behaviors, sounds, words or movements as a form of sensory input or self-regulation. There can be all kinds of different reasons for stimming. Most of the time when I stim, it’s to express excitement, relieve boredom, try to soothe my anxiety, or just something I do semi-consciously because I’m thinking. Based on my research and experiences, other reasons people may stim include:
- Expressing other strong emotions, such as anger or joy
- Releasing excess energy
- Soothing sensory overload or meeting specific sensory needs
- Managing anxiety, stress, trauma and other kinds of distress
- Adjusting to unfamiliar places, environments, situations and sensations
- Increasing engagement with their environment
One important thing to note is that most stimming is instinctual and automatic. Sometimes neurodivergent people may choose to purposely stim, but most of the time, it’s just something our bodies do involuntarily. There’s been times I didn’t even realize I was stimming until someone pointed it out or asked why I was acting a certain way! So when you see someone stimming in public, don’t judge. Instead, remember that this is their body’s way of processing and responding to the sensory input and stimuli from the world around them. Try not to bother them, unless they seem distressed. In which case, calmly approach and gently ask if they’re okay and if you can help. If they don’t want help, don’t try to force it onto them.
What does stimming look like?
It varies from person to person, as well as the situation they’re in! Stimming from excitement won’t look like stimming from boredom, anger, processing, or any other reason to stim.
For example, I have a variety of different stims I do depending on what’s going on around me and how I’m feeling. When I’m excited, I tend to flap my hands, hop a bit, and clutch onto myself. If I’m sitting down, I’ll bounce in my seat rather than hop. When I’m feeling anxious or trying to process something, I tend to hold my right ear. And then my stims for boredom or thinking seem to overlap. I’ll stare at the a wall or whoever is in/crosses my line of sight, bounce my right leg, drum my hands or fingers against my lap or the desk if I’m sitting, click my nails on the desk, or fidget in other ways. There may even be other stims I have that I’m not even aware of! Why do I do these things? I don’t know! It’s just what my body chooses to do.
Other ways people may stim include:
- Visual
- Blinking repeatedly
- Staring at moving objects or lights
- Looking out of the corners of their eyes
- Moving hands in front of eyes
- Oral
- Placing objects in mouth
- Nail biting
- Intense desire for certain tastes or food textures
- Licking, chewing or sucking
- Repetitive lip movements
- Smell
- Sniffing (people, objects, or environments)
- Repeatedly inhaling specific fragrances or scents
- Auditory
- Snapping fingers
- Clapping
- Listening to specific sounds, phrases, or music repeatedly (like ASMR)
- Vocal
- Humming, grunting or squealing
- Repeating phrases or sounds
- Other vocal sounds made during emotional highs or lows
- Touch
- Clenching and unclenching fists
- Rubbing hands together
- Touching or feeling different kinds of textures (smooth, soft, bumpy, etc.)
- Movement/Balance
- Swaying or swinging
- Running or dancing
- Spinning in circles
- Pacing
- Rocking back and forth
- Bodily awareness
- Muscle tensing and relaxation
- Touching others
- Leaning against walls or objects
What is stimming like physically and mentally?
That’s a great question! Again, it depends on the context. The best way I can describe joyful and excitement stimming is like when you’re high on adrenaline. Your body is just filled with energy that’s coursing through you at light speed and won’t let go. Your body needs a way to let it out, so your brain goes on autopilot and tells the body to do whatever random things it comes up with to get the excess energy out. And since we’re neurodivergent, our brains choose to do things that are different from what a neurotypical mind may choose. I can’t speak for anger or major anxiety stims since as far as I’m aware, I don’t have these stims. But I imagine it’s a similar experience.
Stimming for boredom, processing, input and lower levels of anxiety or stress feel more reflexive. It’s like how your body knows automatically to blink every so often or ignore your nose to prevent it from obstructing your sight. My body unconsciously knows to hold my ear when I’m feeling anxious, bounce my leg when I’m bored, or stare when I’m thinking. It’s just something you don’t notice until either you pay attention to it or someone points it out. And it’s built into us same as any other human instinct we’ve developed over our thousands of years of existence.
Is stimming harmful? Is it something you can learn to control?
Most of the time, no, stimming is not harmful! In fact, it’s good for a neurodivergent! Aside from all the benefits I listed earlier when explaining why neurodivergents stim, it also just feels good. It’s like laughing when you’re really happy, going for a jog when you’re full of energy, playing on your phone when you’re bored, or taking a deep breath when you’re stressed or overwhelmed.
That’s why stimming is something that shouldn’t be “controlled”. There are services out there that can teach a neurodivergent to suppress their stims, like ABA therapy. It’s their belief that they’re “helping” their client by teaching them self-restraint and to better fit in with the neurotypical world. But in reality, containing stimming harmsneurodivergents. Long-term repression of this behavior increases stress, heightens sensory overload, and can lead to burnout. It can also cause feelings of shame and self-judgmental thoughts, damaging the neurodivergent person’s mental health. This is one of the many ways ABA therapy can actually be more hurtful than helpful to a neurodivergent child, and an increasing number of people in the neurodivergent community are opposed to it. I’ll talk more about the other harms of ABA therapy in future posts.
However, there is one exception for when it is acceptable to control stimming, and that’s if stimming does become harmful. These behaviors can include head-banging, hitting, and biting. Dangerous stims like this are warning signs extreme anger, overwhelm, frustration or distress and mean the neurodivergent needs help. If these stims become a pattern, it may help your neurodivergent loved one to talk to a therapist to address the underlying issue and/or help them find stims that aren’t hazardous but are still helpful.
And that’s the basics of stimming! Feel free to read more below from the articles I found, or do your own research! I hope you enjoyed reading some notes from a different kind of mind!
Sources:
https://neuronav.org/self-determination-blog/understanding-different-stimming-behavior
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