After years of being forced to mask, I am finally able to comfortably stim again. In highschool, I was in the percussion program with a director that was very strict on “social norms”, so things like my verbal stimming, which could be any variety of clicks and hums and other things, and my physical stims like snapping, clapping, flapping, you know the drill, were completely unacceptable. By the time I was a senior (class of 2021), I was burnt out and had buried those stims so deep that i almost forgot I had them. Im a sophomore in college now, but I work as a full time barista at sbux with a lot of neurodivergent people. Seeing my coworkers stim so casually around me caused me to start mirroring their actions (not as a mock, more like a mimic, like monkey-see monkey-do.) I realized one day that I was doing these things on my own again, and it made me so happy that I almost wanted to cry. I never should have had to mask those things, and I don’t plan on masking them to that degree ever again.
i’m so glad you are comfortable enough to start masking again, i’ve been masking since i was so young and didn’t even know what masking was, now if i unmask and try to stim in public it is very difficult for me because i still try to repress it
I wonder if you ever have been self conscious of stimming... Insecure even. What tips would you give for someone not fully comfortable (me) with their stimming (in public and private spaces).
to be honest, im so deep in the mindset of knowing that the benefits i have emotionally from stimming outweigh the brief moments of judgement people will give me for them
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Spookato
229d
After years of being forced to mask, I am finally able to comfortably stim again.
In highschool, I was in the percussion program with a director that was very strict on “social norms”, so things like my verbal stimming, which could be any variety of clicks and hums and other things, and my physical stims like snapping, clapping, flapping, you know the drill, were completely unacceptable. By the time I was a senior (class of 2021), I was burnt out and had buried those stims so deep that i almost forgot I had them.
Im a sophomore in college now, but I work as a full time barista at sbux with a lot of neurodivergent people. Seeing my coworkers stim so casually around me caused me to start mirroring their actions (not as a mock, more like a mimic, like monkey-see monkey-do.) I realized one day that I was doing these things on my own again, and it made me so happy that I almost wanted to cry. I never should have had to mask those things, and I don’t plan on masking them to that degree ever again.
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Anxiety (Including GAD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
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☝ This content is generated by our users and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision