Can Stimming be Harmful?🤔❤️

all of the harmful stims you listed here 0:14 are things i’ve struggled with my entire life. it’s so refreshing to hear this talked about

Stimming isn't always "fun" or pleasant. Sometimes it's just sort of compulsive. It can be a coping mechanism to try to get rid of a pain or discomfort. So the stim itself is not necessarily nice but the brain feels the need to do it. Or you may do it unconsciously. I have wished many times that my brain didn't latch onto these things, as it is disruptive to my thought patterns. Of course, happy stimming and stims that help you focus are a thing too.

My boyfriend has autism and videos like these truly help me understand more and more about autism , ways i can understand him . Thank you toren and mama serenity

I’ve found that sometimes the harmful stimming can be redirected with stim toys that still let you get the same sensation but without hurting yourself. For example - I have my “bitey bracelet” which I bought from a body-safe stim toy company (I forgot which brand). I can bite it instead of my arm and it works well because a) it’s right where I tend to bite anyway, b) I get the deep pressure on my teeth, and c) I get the deep pressure on my arm 2) beanbag tapping! This helps me with hitting myself and I’ve also heard it’s good with other self-injury behaviors. This works really well for me because a) it’s a very similar motion for my arm and b) I’m still getting the deep pressure from the impact

Both my brother (ADHD) and I (auDHD) have skin picking stims. For me, its acne, blackheads, and sebaceous filament, especially on my face. I try my best to wash up after an episode, and thankfully, my skin does not scar easily. I was practically addicted to pimple popping as a teen and had to work hard to dial it back over the years. It helped me a lot to hide my magnifying mirrors and redirect my cravings into skin care. Slathering a face mask that smells like birthday cake all over my face provides that need for simulation, covers the pores from view so i don't pick at them, and helps heal the skin, which in turn reduces my chances of wanting to pick at it. My brother, on the other hand, was a scab picker. It used to make my skin crawl watching him do it. His arms are permanently scarred because he kept repeatedly picking open his wounds with dirty hands as a child. I also have a head punching stim, though I rarely feel the need to do it and it is gentle enough that it does not cause harm if I only do it 2 or 3 times as I usually do. It's hard to describe, but it just feels good. Even if I'm thinking to myself that my stim is harmful and i need to redirect, it can be difficult to make my brain obey my commands

I also pick at my lips to get rid of 'annoying' bits of dead skin that probably do come from me picking at them 😅 but what I find helps is keeping them moisturised in some way, like with vaseline, lip balm, lip gloss even! That way there's no dead skin for me to pick at in the first place.. 😋

Yes! Thank you so much for talking about that side of stimming! I've chewed on my fingertips and lips + picked on my skalp for a very long time, starting in childhood/youth. I always thought something was "wrong" with me - why would anybody harm themselves intentionally? I was disappointed in myself for not being able to stop for a long long time... Now I know that it's stimming and I'm able to identify much more why and when I do it - which makes me able to accept it more and prevent it sometimes. For example, I've started putting tape around my fingers when I study/do tasks where I'm usually biting a lot, which can help break the cycle of "I bite - skin is uneven and hurt - I neeeed to bite! - I bite...". Chewing gum helps sometimes too (lip biting) - and putting a hat on for my scalp :) Sending lots of love to everybody who struggles in a similar way. You're not a bad person becaus of it. Stimming is necessary and okay! And you will find ways to make it more safe <3

I actually do that a lot. I stim safely, but I also pick and my lips, bite myself, punch things, and I know its harmful but I just kinda do it! 😅 Thank you for making a video about this topic, its not something a lot of people know about ❤❤

I chew on my lip to the point where I cause injury. My son would chew on plastic bottle caps constantly and hurt his mouth. Im glad you guys are talking about this. It makes me feel less alone.

I understand. I'm a picker. I damage my skin and nails when I'm stressed, bored, tired, overwhelmed, etc. I try to curb it since my hubby doesn't like seeing me damage myself, but it's calming and sometimes I do it without really realizing it until it's too late.

My son hits his head to get rid of overstimulation. He also ran his head into my stomach when he felt joy or frustration. It was a bit problematic when he did it the day after I had my gallbladder removed. That day I saw the stars. Ouch! But he was just happy to see me.

I love your videos and what you share. I have ADHD and have always had it but never really figured out how to help myself. Now I work as a paraprofessional in an ese preK class and I work with a lot of autistic kids. I still don't know a whole lot but I continue to try and learn as much as I can, and then I come across videos like this with explanations and I myself find it helpful. So thank you. 😊

Body focused repetitive behaviours can be part of autism? Why has no one ever told me this?

I mostly have issues with picking at my face. I used to have mostly clear skin before i started that behaviour

Many of these behaviors have helped me understand my ex. He is ADHD on medication's extremely intelligent. I miss him greatly! Louisville Kentucky

all of my stimming as a child was either brushed off or ignored by my parents. i was just the “oddball”.

I’ve always done the lip and cheek biting. Play with my hair since I was a baby. And when I was a teenager, I used to bang my head on walls or throw myself into them….then I discovered punk shows and didn’t need to do that anymore.😂

Hair pulling is something I've struggled with all my life. It feels so good. I've gotten better about yanking my head hairs now that I'm almost 40. But I struggle not to do it with my beard. I always have bald spots. It's not the look I want, but the pleasure I get from riping the hairs out overtakes anything else.

One that I do is keep my eyes open for long periods of time. Idk why it feels so satisfying, but whenever I realize that I’m doing it, my eyes are so super dry I have to use drops (which are a sensory no for me) so I start the cycle over again until I figure my way out of it. (I love alone and I don’t really have anyone who helps with redirection). It’s so relieving to see someone who shares similar experiences with me because I was always treated like some freak because of my stims.

As an adult coming up with better forms of stimming has really helped me. As a child I picked, as a teen this turned to mild scratching, to cutting. Always chewing on my pens and pencils turned into smoking. Now I don't do any of these and chew on stimming toys that were made for it. It looks really strange to normal people, a 40 year old lady with a binkie essentially. But it it keeps me regulated and it's not causing any harm so who cares!