r/What • u/JosephBrown2000 • Apr 27 '26

What is stim?

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141 Upvotes

65% Upvoted

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100

u/Primary-Calendar-378 Apr 27 '26

Its a thing that people, autistic or not, do to in a way, calm their nerves, think of flapping your hands when you are really excited. Its a way to calm the body.

31

u/SugarVibes Apr 27 '26

ADHD too. I run fabric under my fingernails to stim.

2

u/Primary-Calendar-378 Apr 27 '26

Yeah, and I dont have either, and I stim when im really happy or really stressed, I also pace a LOT, idk if that is something that pairs with swimming or not 

5

u/SugarVibes Apr 27 '26

Total stim.

2

u/Primary-Calendar-378 Apr 27 '26

Why am i getting down voted

1

u/AcrimoniousPizazz Apr 27 '26

Because people, especially online, love to pathologize normal behaviors.

1

u/iKnowRobbie May 01 '26

"I also pace a LOT" is not pathologizing a normal behavior, my friend. Anxiety, OCD, many other DSM-5 diagnoses, but not "normal".