Stimming: When Movement Brings Calm
Stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior, is a repetitive movement, sound or sensory action that people use to settle, focus or handle sensory input.
Maybe it is the leg that bounces under the desk in every meeting. Or the pen you click without noticing, or the song you hum on repeat while you work. Most people stim now and then, and for many people with ADHD or autism it happens more often and matters more.
Stimming covers any repeated movement, sound or sensory habit that helps someone settle, focus, or cope with too much or too little going on around them. It is not random. Most of the time it is not a bad habit or a sign that something is wrong.
Types of Stimming
There are multiple types of stimming:
- Movement: physical stims include moving your body in a certain way. Examples include tapping your leg, tapping your fingers, rocking, pacing, spinning, and bouncing.
- Oral: oral stims include chewing on objects or feeling them in your mouth. Examples include chewing gum, pen caps, and hoodie strings.
- Auditory: auditory stims include listening for or creating noises. Examples include clearing your throat, humming, singing, whistling, or repeating words.
- Olfactory: olfactory stims include seeking out smells. Examples include grabbing objects and sniffing them.
- Tactile: tactile stims include seeking out specific textures. Examples include feeling for soft or rough objects, or stroking specific objects.
- Visual: visual stims include watching movement or light. Examples include staring at spinning objects or flickering lights, or moving your fingers in front of your eyes.
- Subtle: subtle, or masking, stims include ones not easily visible. Examples include tensing muscles, curling toes, and biting your cheek.
Why Do People Stim?
There are many reasons why people stim. Stimming is a good form of energy release, as it allows you to move your body without leaving or distracting others in an area of importance and focus, such as a classroom or workplace. Stimming can help calm anxiety by releasing that excess energy, and many people find it easier to focus on the task at hand afterward. In general, the brain is still being studied, so exact reasons are unknown. As long as stimming is a healthy release for you and not distracting or harmful, it is a perfectly acceptable behavior.
Other reasons include:
- Too much energy: moving burns off the restlessness that builds when you have to sit still.
- Too much input: a repeated sound or motion can help block out noise, bright light or a crowded room.
- Too little input: in a quiet or boring moment, stimming gives the brain something to hold on to.
- Big feelings: rocking, pacing or humming can take the edge off anxiety, and bouncing or hand flapping can show excitement or joy.
- Focus: a steady rhythm, like tapping or doodling, can make it easier to stay with a task.
Stimming and Autism
Stimming can be a self-soothing activity anyone does. However, it may occur more in those with ADHD and autism because of the way the brain works with those conditions, having a harder time sitting still with low sensory input. Repetitive behaviors are part of the autism diagnostic criteria. Many autistic adults describe stimming as expression and joy, not just coping. Therefore, stimming can be a healthy avenue to provide stimulus to anyone.
Stimming is different for everyone, so take note of your own stims by analyzing what you do when you are bored or in moments of low stimulus.
What Does ADHD Stimming Look Like in Adults?
Examples of ADHD stimming in adults include:
- Knee bouncing in meetings
- Pacing on calls
- Playing or humming a song on repeat
- Doodling while listening
Masking: When You Hide Your Stims
There is an internal type of stimming that masks the behavior, such as flexing muscles or biting one's cheek. This is called masking, and it is done to hide your stims to fit in. Whether or not you want to mask your stims, understand that stimming is perfectly normal and nobody should judge you for it. Many people stim daily.
Should You Try to Stop Stimming?
If you are hurting yourself on purpose or feel unsafe right now, call or text 988. If a stim is causing injury, such as head-banging, or picking skin or pulling hair until it bleeds, talk to a doctor.
If it isn't causing harm, you don't need to stop stimming. Stimming is usually a neutral or beneficial activity, but it can become harmful. If your stimming is causing you or others physical harm, or is distracting you from focusing on tasks, it can be dangerous and take away from your quality of life. For example, if your knee tapping is distracting a coworker, consider quietly chewing gum instead to meet the same need in a different way.
To stop harmful stims, get help replacing these stims with items such as stress balls and understand the need beneath the stim to prevent repeating them. Call emergency services or hotlines if your stims are hurting you and you feel out of control.
How Can Peer Support Help With Stimming?
Peer support can help with stimming by creating a safe environment in which you can release your energy, providing you with an alternative to stimming dangerously. You can freely stim here and share ideas on how to productively stim with others. Group leaders and peers can help you see that your behavior is normal and not at all shameworthy. Hearing others share their coping strategies and alternative sensory tools can help individuals build a personalized "toolkit" for emotional and physical regulation.
How ShareWell Supports People Who Stim
At ShareWell, we understand that everyone needs a release in energy. Stimming is welcome, as our peer support groups bring people together so that everyone has a fair chance to communicate, be heard, and process their stimming. Groups meet live on video, nobody expects you to sit perfectly still, and you can share or just listen. Whether you are sharing for the first time or you have been on this journey for a while, your experience matters here.
Want to connect with others who understand? Join an online support group today.
There are free peer support groups for ADHD, autism, neurodiversity and body doubling.
The glossary also covers ADHD and body doubling.