What is ‘stimming’ and why is TikTok so obsessed with it?
You might do it without realising
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Just what is TikTok’s latest obsession ‘Stimming’ and why is it suddenly so popular? Body+Soul sits down with some experts to learn more.
Have you ever listened to a song over and over and over again because you felt like you were really vibing with it? Well, we’ve got some news for you. While you may have been doing that partly because, yes, that Chappell Roan song is catchy as hell, it could also be that listening to songs on repeat is one of your ‘stims’.
Now, if you’re new to ‘stimming’ you’re not alone. Like a lot of trending topics, plenty of people have been learning about this one for the first time on TikTok. And with several TikToks on stimming gaining millions of views – such as one from content creator @livingwith.adhd that has over 9 million – there’s something about stimming that’s clearly hitting a nerve.
Short for ‘self-stimulatory behaviour’, stimming encompasses a wide range of repetitive movements or behaviours people do, both unconsciously and otherwise, generally to soothe or regulate themselves.
Who is most likely to engage in stimming?
Once thought of as something largely associated with autistic people, stimming behaviours are also observed in people with other neurodevelopmental differences such as ADHD. There is also growing consensus that stimming is something that all people do, but to varying degrees while serving different functions.
“Within current clinical conceptions, this behaviour falls under the DSM-V-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision) criteria of autism, restrictive/repetitive behaviours,” says Dr Joey Lawrence, clinical psychologist and director of Neudle Psychology.
“However, there seems to be growing awareness that non-autistic people engage in stimming in more socially acceptable ways. Ironically, many neurodivergent people might mask their stimming and be very still, so it might be more evident in neurotypical people who don’t feel the need to mask.”
“Everyone does stimming behaviours – both neurotypical and neurodivergent people – but for autistic and ADHD people, stimming is really necessary for self-regulation,” Monique Mitchelson, clinical psychologist and co-host of the Neurodivergent Woman Podcast tells Body+Soul.
What are some examples of stimming?
Stimming incorporates a wide range of behaviours that are highly unique to an individual, therefore it’s almost impossible to provide a definitive list. However, according to the experts, some common examples include:
- Hand flapping
- Rocking and swaying
- Clapping, tapping, pacing
- Vocalisations such as humming, singing, murmuring, excessive throat clearing, whistling, grunting, and saying the same word or phrase over and over.
- Leg jiggling and knee bouncing
- Hair twirling or fiddling
- Skin picking
- Finger sucking
- Skin picking
- Manipulating objects such as pens or rubbing clothing between fingers
- Chewing on items such as jewellery, clothing, hair etc.
Some less obvious forms of stimming that people do – sometimes to mask their more obvious stims – can include:
- Squeezing toes inside shoes or rubbing toes together
- Rubbing fingernails
- Teeth or tongue-clicking
- Tip toe walking
- Repetitive blinking
- Knuckle/joint cracking
- Tapping of the foot or legs
- Listening to the same song over and over again.
Why do people stim?
Whilst there is limited research on stimming, a 2015 study that surveyed 100 autistic adults online discovered a wide range of reasons why people stim with the most common serving as coping mechanisms to:
- Reduce anxiety (72 per cent)
- Calm down (69per cent)
- Reduce overstimulation (57per cent)
Another study on autistic adults found the majority of participants described stimming as a self-regulatory function, suggesting it creates a calming feedback loop to contain or control excess emotions.
Furthermore, a 2021 study carried out on both autistic and neurotypical people found stimming allowed for positive and negative emotional expression and cognitive distraction from overwhelming thoughts, feelings and sensory sensations.
“Neurodivergent people often express the sentiment that stimming helps them feel more calm and able to focus,” says Dr Lawrence. “Many neurodivergent people experience heightened sensory sensitivities… The sensations that are produced through stimming can help neurodivergent people receive sensory inputs that are more tolerable to them and help them cope with unpleasant sensations such as sounds, lights, temperature, touch, and bodily sensations such as pain.”
What’s the difference between tics, stimming and fidgeting?
“With tics, it’s an involuntary repetitive movement, so it's not something the person has control over,” says Mitchelson. “With stimming and fidgeting, it's voluntary. The person can start it and stop it when they want to, and the stimming feels good – it feels regulating. Whereas with tics, often people become quite anxious or conscious around it because they don't have control over it.”
Dr Lawrence points out that social perceptions may play a role in the language used to differentiate between fidgeting and stimming.
“I saw this question posted on an autistic forum recently and the consensus was that fidgeting is the socially acceptable and neurotypical way to explain stimming. Fidgeting and stimming generally both serve the function of self-soothing. Possibly for neurodivergent people, stimming serves more functions as a reflection of different sensory nervous systems but basically, stimming is regulating for everybody.”
Why is stimming so popular on TikTok right now?
As mentioned, a quick search on stimming will bring up several TikToks with views well into the millions. Most of the videos are from content creators who, following either an autistic or ADHD diagnosis, have discovered that various behaviours they’ve always done are actually stims.
An estimated 1.5 million Australians have ADHD and according to the most recent data from the ABS more than 290,000 Australians have autism. Additionally, during the past five years, ADHD medication levels in Australia have more than doubled. So potentially, the recent rise in awareness and diagnosis around neurodivergence is contributing to the popularity of related topics such as stimming online.
However, judging by the comments on some stimming-related TikToks, they could also help others realise that they stim or even provide clues towards their own neurodiversity.
As one user, preppy_acc7539, commented on jadeemarieexx’s stimming TikTok, “Wait so I have ADHD???” While another user @lexxxi70 left the comment: “Does that mean [I] have ADHD?”
“With the increased number of people getting a diagnosis of autism or ADHD, particularly people who traditionally would have been under-diagnosed… neurodivergence has been more normalised and people are sharing their experiences on social media,” says Mitchelson.
“I’ve had a few people present for formal autism and ADHD assessments because of TikTok. Whilst TikTok is not able to provide a professional diagnosis, it's actually having that representation [of neurodiversity] and seeing it expressed, and then other people think, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn't know that was related to autism or ADHD’. So, then it gets people thinking about it for themselves,” continues Mitchelson.
“It could be that talking about stimming is naming an experience that people didn't have a name for or realised that other people did,” adds Dr Lawrence. “Although some of [the popular stimming TikToks] also just feed the algorithm.”
Advice for living with ‘stims’
Recent research shows that trying to reduce or eliminate stims can be quite detrimental to the individual, despite how often people who stim are encouraged to stop. In a study of 100 autistic adults, 72 per cent of people had been told not to stim at some point.
“Recent studies have shown that autistic people that mask and suppress their autistic traits and behaviours have worse mental health... It leads to issues with their sense of identity and feeling isolated because they feel like people don't like the real, authentic me. There's been a study that linked autistic masking to more thoughts of suicide and self-harm, which is quite alarming,” Mitchelson tells Body+Soul.
Therefore, the latest advice on stimming is that people should be free to do so. “Within a neurodiversity affirming framework stimming is encouraged,” says Dr Lawrence.
There is one exception to this approach and that’s when the stimming is causing harm to the individual or those around them.
“There are sometimes where autistic people, for example, may have repetitive behaviours such as head banging that can cause harm to themselves. That's where you weigh up the risk-benefit and try to look at some alternative or replacement stims that cause less physical harm to them and to others.”
Finally, the experts say a greater sense of compassion for ourselves and others and our own unique stims would be helpful for everyone, both neurotypical and neurodivergent alike.
“Everyone has different [stims] that regulate them, more or less. So, it’s just trying to build a more compassionate society that celebrates differences, and understanding if someone is stimming in public, they are self-regulating, and it's not a threat to you,” concludes Mitchelson.
Emily McGrorey is a freelance writer, living on Awabakal Land/Newcastle. Find her on Instagram @emily_mcgrorey or sign up to her newsletter, Something I’m Sitting With, here.
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