Have you ever noticed yourself making weird sounds sometimes? Now, that might be you humming a song, you biting your nails, or spinning a pen repeatedly on the desk. All of this just to improve your focus while doing some tasks.
A common habit that you probably have exercised is rocking your chair and millions of others have done it. This type of habit is called stimming, which is where you fidget a lot. This is called stimming, and it’s often seen in people with ADHD. This blog will explain what stimming is, is stimming a sign of ADHD, do people with ADHD stim, and how to stop stimming ADHD.
What Is Stimming ADHD?
Stimming ADHD is when an individual with ADHD exhibits self stimulating behavior by repetition of particular sounds and movements. There can be several forms of such behavior such as biting your lips, moving back and forth, humming a random song, or chewing a gum.
The Reason Behind A Stimming Behavior
There is no single reason that can justify the stimming behavior in a person. However, for several mental health professionals the behavior is associated with the way the brain of an ADHD person works. Typically a stimming behavior is a response of a person to the problems they are facing in their lives. Some of the ADHD stimming examples are:
Read More: ADHD in Women: Signs, Causes, and Treatments
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Boredom and attention
Many scientists believe that a chemical in the brain called dopamine is linked to stimming behaviors in people with ADHD. When there’s an imbalance of dopamine, it can change how people with ADHD and stimming perceive the world. This can make life difficult for them. To cope with these changes, their bodies may start to show stimming behaviors.
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Self- Comforting
In several cases, stimming can be a major result of:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Insomnia
- Stress
- Nervousness
Stimming behaviors can act as a self soothing way to attain mental peace.
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Unleashing energy
There is a form of stimming and ADHD that is called happy stimming. This usually happens when a person is exploring a way to release their excitement or feelings of happiness.
People with neurodivergence are at higher chances of getting involved in stimming behavior. However, the cause always depends on the diagnosis.
As an instance, stimming occurs in autism as well but the way it exhibits and the reasons and the ways to manage differs from that of ADHD stimming.
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Overload of senses
Due to the complex structure of the ADHD brain, people can be hypersensitive towards the mental information they are getting, leading to feel some sounds and sensations deeply or for a long period.
This leads to sensitivity towards certain external stimuli, for instance:
- Loud noises
- Rushy areas
- High illumination lights
Common Characteristics Of Stimming ADHD
Different people adapt different types of stimming behaviors as a coping technique, such as shaking their legs, playing with their hair, and biting their nails.
In simpler words, ADHD stimming is worse than fidgeting in people with neurotypical traits. Some of the common examples of ADHD stimming behaviors are as follows:
- Vision: Visual stimming behavior is best to stimulate your sensory functioning of eyesight. For instance, repetition of blinking of the eyes, drawing something, organizing objects, and flipping pages of a book.
- Communication: These are the verbal stimming behaviors such as humming, repetition of particular words, clicking of tongue, or whistling a tune to end the boredom.
- Tactile: You may catch a ADHD-stimulating person playing with their hair, teeth grinding, biting the inside of the mouth, and picking the skin around their fingers. They engage in such behavior just to soothe themselves.
- Olfactory: Some people are seen to listen to the same song for hours and hours as this is their self soothing behavior. Others may mimic different noises present in their surroundings.
Read More: ADHD And Dopamine: What’s The Link?
Ways To Prevent The Interference Of ADHD Stimming In Your Life
Sometimes, stimming behaviors can be a cause of serious injury or make some people uncomfortable to the extent that they avoid socializing with people. Then, that is a sign for you to start working on your stimming behavior and reduce the occurrence of these behaviors. More approaches include family therapy, marriage therapy and couple therapy.
Some basic and effective ways to manage them are as follows:
- Detect the triggers first and then find unique ways to minimize them
- Make strategies to experience an improvement in your focus
- Look for alternatives
- Find a good and professional help for proper treatment
Read More: ADHD Telehealth: An Effective Way To Overcome Signs Of ADHD
Not Every Stimming Behavior Is Negative
Stimming has been shown to help people with ADHD focus and manage their emotions. In most cases, stimming is harmless and can even be helpful. So, if you notice yourself stimming, don’t worry. It might be a way for your brain to cope.
However, if you have started feeling that stimming ADHD behavior is causing a lot of distress in your daily functioning then, go for a professional mental health assistance.
Wrapping Up!
Stimming ADHD behavior can be distressing for people suffering from it. This can cause a lot of trouble in the daily functioning of the affected people. However, this stimming behavior can sometimes be a source of benefits for a person such as in cases where a person is feeling happy and they just want to express their feelings so they stim. But, if these stimming ADHD behaviors are bothering you then you should definitely look for a proper professional mental health assistance platform.