Rocking as a stim

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I am wondering if anyone has stims that include rocking. I know that it's been my longest one (since I can remember). If it's also one of yours, what do you get out of it? Why do you think you started, in the first place? My thought was that because our mother's generally rock us to sleep, that (from birth) we come to associate it with safety and care. Just my theory. What do you all think?

I rock forward, then back. It is very stimulating, slower is calming...I don't notice when out of the house.

I am sure at least one person saw my preoccupied rocking back and forth and thought I was a davening refugee from the wailing wall.

My custom title "Rock On" has a double meaning. My love of rock music and my constantly rocking back and forth as a stim. I think I rock for the same reason why babies are rocked and people like rocking chairs. It's soothing.

I've rocked since I was about 12. Before that my stims were more eye based! It gives me an amazing sense of calm when I am sensorarily overwhelmed. I also own a rocking chair which I love except it needs gluing back together...

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I do it when I have anxiety.

I rock sometimes, but typically I just bounce my leg at a rapid-fire pace.

I do the leg thing also.

I rock in order to stim and self-soothe, as well - I always have, to some extent. Whenever I'm lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I sometimes rock from side to side to sort of simulate the sensation of a mother rocking their child, or the cradle that the child is sleeping in. I also started rocking as a self-soothing technique more recently. It started when I was on a plane a few weeks ago...when we came in for a landing, the plane hit the runway with a thud, and since I was feeling sort of airsick to begin with, and was badly startled by the thud, I started cuddling my hoodie against my face and rocking gently back and forth in my seat. It helped after a few minutes.

Since then, I've found myself rocking whenever I'm anxious or upset, even in public....I can "turn it off" if I want to, but I'm kinda past the point of caring if anyone sees it and thinks it's weird....I just do what I have to do to get through the day.

I think it might have something to do with vestibular processing....even if it isn't that, I think it's an automatic physiological regulating mechanism of some kind.

one way or another [speaking of the vestibular thing] it is my way of feeling less out of balance.

ya i do that.. also leg twitching

I have done it since12-13. Just called it something else. As little I did it sideways when aroused.
Sometimes a slight rocking back and forth gives a nice centered feeling. Sometimes it can ease anxiety. At times it happens during a nice phonetalk with a friend, so I think it is serves as a regulation of the general arousal level.
I have also rocked myself to sleep (still do it sometimes)
Does that make it a stim?

Mostly I´m doing the foot thing, or shaking exess tension out of my hand.
People think, that flickering looks creepy. Rubbing palms against each other seems less conspicuous, so I prefer to do that in public, if need be

I used to be a hand flapper.