Stims

A partial list of stims:

• Biting your lips* (try gum or chewelry!)
• Bouncing your leg up and down
• Chewing gum
• Chewing purpose-built chewelry
• Chewing the inside of your cheek* (try gum or chewelry!)
• Chewing your hair
• Clenching your fists
• Coughing or clearing your throat
• Dancing
• Digging your nails into your skin
• Doodling
• Eating seeds
• Feeling textures, e.g. stroking a soft fabric
• Fidgeting with a small object, string, etc.
• Hair twirling
• Hand flapping (not the only stim in the world, but a good one!)
• Hard blinking
• Head scratching
• Humming
• Jumping
• Knitting
• Knowling (organising and lining up objects, especially after disassembling them)
• Lip popping (making B or P style sounds)
• Listening to a song, instrumental track, or field recording
• Listening to a sound (e.g. dropping a button or dice on a book)
• Moving your head from side to side
• Nail biting
• Pacing
• Picking your nails
• Picking your skin* (try tearing paper!)
• Placing something heavy on your chest, stomach, or lap (e.g. books, or a weighted blanket)
• Playing a musical instrument
• Pressing your arms against your chest or stomach for pressure
• Repeating a mantra, either internally or externally
• Rocking back and forth
• Rubbing your feet together
• Rubbing your hands together
• Singing
• Smelling things
• Spinning
• Staring at something gently moving -- fairy lights, distant city lights, ocean waves, a lava lamp, a watch, etc
• Swinging your arms around
• Tapping or flicking your fingers
• Tearing paper
• Teeth grinding*
• Tongue clicking
• Walking on your tiptoes
• Wriggling your toes

∗ You might want to consider trying out other stims, to try and replace these ones. It should be easier if you stick to the same sense.

Note that stimming in general is perfectly healthy, a sensible response to too much or too little stimuli, and nothing to be ashamed of.