Different stims for emotions

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I‘m wondering, do you guys and gals have different stims for your emotions, or do they stay the same?

My stims for sensory overloads and boredom are changing constantly but I have a set of stims for my emotions, that are staying the same.

Happyness and laughing
- clapping hands, one hand open
and one closed or both open
- jumping
- hand flapping (very rarely)

Stress and anxiety
- rocking back and forth
- rubbing my hands against
my upper leggs
- pacing
- bang my fist on my forehead
or stomach

Anger
- airboxing
- bang my fist on the table
or whatever is underneath them

To concentrate
- smelling the back of my hand

I should pay more attention to this but I noticed that rubbing my face, legs or arms means anxiety, and being uncomfortable in social situations.

Interesting! Rubbing seems to be common, while having anxiety

Yes, my stims do vary according to the context; not just what emotion I'm feeling, but also the purpose of the stim, I think. For example:

Hand wringing, hair/beard twirling and pulling, tip-toe pacing: Much more likely if I'm trying to cope with anxiety.

Flapping, bouncing on my toes, hugging myself: More likely if I'm very excited in a happy way.

Various muscle clenches and forced facial expressions: These seem to be about re-calibrating my senses (proprioception particularly) and restoring the feeling that my mind occupies my body.

Toe curls, fiddle toys, feeling textures: Can happen pretty much any time, but especially when I'm engrossed in an activity. They are also my "stealth stims" that I use when others might attract unwanted attention. They're less satisfying than the others, but usually keep me going until I have some privacy.

Rocking and humming: Rare; usually only happen when I have a melt-down or shut-down.

When I'm interacting with someone I don't know and I'm sitting down I've always grasped my right hand tightly with my left hand with varying intensity. My level of stress is proportional to the force I use to hold or squeeze my hand. I realized only when I was an adult that I'm holding my own hand for comfort.

When I'm having to analyze a situation and make a decision and I'm standing, I will usually extend all of my fingers straight out on each hand with my arms at my sides and rhythmically undulate my fingers in a repeated sine wave. Example would be in a grocery store if I don't know what brand of an item I want to buy. Or, walking outside and stopping at an intersection negotiating crossing the street amid traffic, noises, etc.

If I'm extremely distraught I will rock back and forth a bit.

I don't know that I've really paid close attention to context, but I'll give it a shot.

Concentration or idle time:
- Face rubbing
- Chewing or pulling on lower lip
- Rubbing my tongue against teeth
- Constant toe curls and movement
- Knuckle cracking

Stress/ anxiety
- Rocking
- Thumb sucking (only by myself)
- Hair fidgeting
- Teeth grinding
- If it's bad enough, quietly repeating the same phrase over and over (is that a stim?)
- Picking at the skin around my fingernails

Anger
- Head nodding
- Sucking on front teeth with my tongue
- Jaw and hands clenching and un clenching

Relaxing/ winding down
- Feeling fabric textures
- Wedging fabric under my fingernails (that's a weird one that I do a lot)
- Face rubbing

I didn't realize there were so many!

Last edited by Sahh on 28 Jun 2018, 1:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Does whinging count as a stim? If it does, that is my stim for anxiety or agitation.

Nope I stim by pacing and day dreaming so deeply that I get dizzy, no matter the context.

When excited or happy, I may pace, run a little, flap my hands, and dance around. When stressed, I may rock back and forth, clench myself tight, or repeat phrases like "I'm sorry". Then there are stims I do even when in a neutral mood, like fidgeting my fingers, tapping them against my face, flicking my hair on a surface, or clicking my computer mouse and highlighting words.

Other stims

Anxiety: clenching my jaw, chewing on my lip or cheeks, picking the skin around my fingernails

Bored / trying to calm myself down: lying somewhere and moving one foot or both feet

Not connected to a specific feeling: rubbing the index finger nail with my middle finger on top of it.

I'm sure there are more I can't remember now.

Only some of them:

Happy stims: Hand flapping, rocking restlessly, clapping, singing, bouncing, punching my legs

Sad stims: Rocking, scratching my eyes, arms or legs

Anxious stims: Hand flapping, rocking, pacing

Bored stims: Scratching, singing a part of a song over and over again, moving with my hand and watching it, pacing

Calming stims: Feeling soft surfaces, rocking

To concentrate: Scratching my head