#self injurious stimming

[dreamdropsystem]

not all stims are fun and safe

we deal with self injurious stimming. picking, scratching, biting, headbanging, hair pulling, etc, etc. we also deal with other forms of SH.. there's happy stims of course which are awesome but for some autistic hurt themselves when stimming, no matter the emotion.. it's hard but we're trying.. if you do self injurious stims, you are valid and not a bad person for it,, - Shio

[autisticdreamdrop]

shoutout to the autistics that do self injurious stimming

the biting stim especially aauegegehhh

[thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite]

I know that sounds silly, but it's actually really efficient! You're doing great, Wiggly, keep going.

And just in case, there's nothing to feel ashamed about, it happens to everyone to loose control of themselves from time to time.

…Not 200 years old anymore…

He tries again, eventually getting into a rhythm and calming down. With one last exhale, Wiggly lets his body relax, for the most part. Unfortunately, the lack of harmful urges allows him to process the pain he had inflicted earlier. He had not been soft on himself. Y’wrath rubs his scalp lightly.

[myneurogenderramblings]

Wish there was more content out there for people who use medical helmets. Where the best places to get one is, how to accessorize with them so your outfit actually looks good, customization tips, etc. Even just outfit pics. I went through both the #disabled fashion and the #disability fashion tags. I found content for canes, walkers, wheelchairs, crutches, prosthetics, ear defenders, and AAC units. No medical helmets.

I had another meltdown today. I managed to get to the bathroom away from people before I started crying and banging my head against the wall. I keep saying that I don’t need a medical helmet and then I do shit like this. I tell myself that my headbanging can’t be that bad because I’ve never knocked myself out or drawn blood or stuff. I know, low bar. But I guess there’s no way to really know how much damage I’ve already done without a doctor’s appointment.

I just want to be pretty. Pretty and cute and hot and whatever adjective you want to put there. I never see people who need medical helmets called pretty. I know the end goal of buying one is to be safe. Prevent further brain damage. But is it a crime to want compliments on my appearance too? Is it a crime to want to get stares because people love my outfit instead of stares because “wow, what a r*****”?

Anyway, if anyone in the disability fashion community knows of any accounts that have content that relates to medical helmets, let me know.

[autistic-zukoao3]

I don't know if I even like my great uncle anymore and it fucking sucks because he used to be one of my favourites. But the last two visits have shown me that he's turned into a bitter old man that blames everyone but himself for everything and anything. He bullies all of his siblings except for my Grandpa. He knows the youngest brother is sensitive and the old coot goes out of his way to berate him. He even said he was trying to push his brother over the edge and laughed about it. I thought it was just a mean spirited joke, but he really did try to.

He's so mean and has gotten way more racist and more sexist and just fucking MEAN. 90% of what comes out of his mouth is to put someone down.

Usually he's nice to me, but he crossed a fucking line tonight and now I'm having a meltdown and I have to be fucking silent because it's midnight and I can't scream and I can't hit my head because I don't want to damage someone else's shit and I want to hurt myself really fucking badly ans I'm so done vut I'm stuck here with the piece of shit for another day but I don't want to see him. I don't want to interact with him. I don't want to even look at him.

[ineloquent-tumbling]

Me: Man, I feel don’t feel so great right now.

Me: *realizes that I’m in the process of putting teeth marks on my thumb*

Me: Ah, I see. I am on the verge of a panic attack.

[quietwingsinthesky]

Drabble 68/366 - Doctor Who

Donna’s hands are on the Doctor’s face, holding his head still. He blinks at her. She looks upset. Something else he’s done wrong?

“What?”

“What?!” Donna echoes.

“I asked first,” he says. “You’re the one squishing my cheeks.”

“You’re the one trying to bash your head against the wall!” A dull ache at the back of his skull corroborates her story. He grimaces.

She’s shone a light on it, and now he can feel the urge for some quick relief from a burst of pain.

“Don’t let me?” he asks. Donna nods, and she doesn’t let go until it’s gone.

[neurodiverse-adulthood]

❤️‍🩹 10 things to cut instead

(instead of yourself or anyone else)

1) Eraser

x x x

2) Soap bar

x x x

3) Meat

x x x

4) Cheese or butter

x x x

5) Fruit or vegetable

x x x

6) Wax

x x x

7) Silicone

x x x

8) Gummies or jelly/jello

x x x

9) Clay or dough

x x x

10) Putty or slime

x x x

Honorable mentions:

Gum

Liquid-filled candy

Foam

Squishies

Lipstick

Sponges

Marshmallows

Soft resin

Leather

Sand

Soil or mud

Pencil or wood

Plastic

a rich person's tires

all ties with your overly critical mom

[thecouncilofidiots]

Raaaahhhhhh /negative

I was scratching our leg (I know I know, bad stim), forgetting we had a bandaid on (...because I kept scratching our leg), and it's Texture /bad!!

[balthazarslostlibrary]

This is a post about autism, stimming, and how it can intersect with self-injury, so tw for that.

I want to make this post as a little PSA because lots of people do not know how self-injury might be different in autistic people, including doctors who are trying to treat you, and including autistic people! I only really found this out a few weeks ago, and it has given me a whole new perspective on my experienced.

If you have autism and find yourself doing something that hurts you, especially if you feel overwhelmed at the time, you may be doing a form of self-injurous stimming. I say stimming instead of 'self-harm', because the causes of self-injury can be very different between autistic and allistic (non-autistic) people.

Some reasons why an autistic person might engage in this behaviour that wouldn't normally apply to an allistic person are: Trying to regulate your reactions to sensory input. E.g. the lights and sound of the supermarket are too much, so you pinch or scratch yourself as a form of self-soothing. Not being able to recognise/regulate your own emotions (alexithymia). You might not realise you are distressed, and stim in this way to make yourself feel distressed when you think you should be. Trying to regulate your emotions. You might get really excited about something and bite your wrist or hand hard because you just can't handle being so excited (I used to do this as a child whenever we went to the zoo lol). Similar things for being angry, sad, happy, or any other emotion that can be overwhelming. Changing routines has stressed you out/overwhelmed you. Kind of self-explanatory, but maybe you move houses or start a new job, and the drastic change in your routines is overwhelming, so you might engage in this stimming as a release for stress.

Very common stims in this category include: skin picking hair pulling slapping yourself in the face biting yourself scratching yourself

Important to note here: autistic people are, in general, at a much higher risk of developing mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety which can bring self-harm with them for reasons that allistic people also experience. Being autistic doesn't mean you can't experience the urge to self-harm because of depression for example.

As an autistic person who has struggled with depression and self-harm, and has engaged in self-injurous stimming throughout my life, I always assumed that it was because of depression. While sometimes it was, I now realise that most of the time it was because I was overwhelmed with sensory input, or just overwhelmed by my emotions and wasn't taught how to regulate them in other ways.

If you are autistic and wonder if you are depressed because of self-injurous stimming, or if you relate to some of things I've talked about, try thinking about using other methods to self-regulate. Invest in some stim toys, or invest in some sensory gear like earmuffs and/or sunglasses. Try removing yourself from a situation and do a breathing exercise if you feel yourself wanting to pinch yourself or somesuch.

In saying that, if you do wonder if you're depressed, whether you be autistic or allistic, you should probably also look into that. I cannot say how many people have said to me that they wonder if they're depressed and it turns out that they are lol. Also, knowing more about the reasons for self-harm because of other mental illnesses can help you figure out the best strategies for you.

Hope this was helpful! Idk how many people will even see it, but I thought it was important to write about, since no one ever told me until I looked it up myself.

[dreamdropsystem]

how do we stop..??

[autisticdreamdrop]

self injurious stims are a bitch

[thesiblingsoftheblackandwhite]

Wiggly, perhaps you should try taking out your frustration in a way other than hitting your head. Maybe you could try a safer form of stimming, like flapping your hands, or rocking back and forth?

I think your brothers are on their way back, they'll be here to help in no time. Hang in there!

Can’t rock. My legs can’t move.

Still breathing heavily, he pulls his hands away from his throbbing head and attempts to flap them. It’s a very aggressive movement. He squeezes his eyes closed and, after continuing the action, eventually slams his hands onto the floor with displeasure. It’s not giving Wiggly the same sort of outlet.

It’s not working.

[fuckyeahstimming]

I stim by picking the skin on my face, chest and shoulders. This creates infections, cuts and scars so I’m really trying to stop doing it but I’m struggling to find an alternative that gives me the same level of satisfaction. Any suggestions?

I've heard that putting a layer of glue on your skin and picking the glue off can work -- make sure the glue is non-toxic, though.

Anyone else have tips?

[autistic-zukoao3]

Had a meltdown which resulted in me slamming my phone against my head over and over and over. I now have more cracks in my phone.

[attorney-anon-offtopic]

Crisis & Pain-Seeking Stims

So, I posted a while ago about stim toys for pain-seeking stims. I haven't found anything new, but I wanted to discuss that behavior because some of my NT friends have expressed concern that pain-seeking is a SI behavior.

For me and my autism, there are generally three types of crises that impact my ability to function: I get (what I call, anyway) overstimulated, repulsed, or overwhelmed. They can, and often do, overlap.

I get overstimulated when sensory stimulation reaches a fever pitch; I sort of feel like I'm a staticky balloon and other people (or sometimes animals or things) are pushpins that will pop me if the interact with the static field. When I am overstimulated, the answer is less stimulation, of course, but it is also different stimulation. This is where you might find me rubbing my worry stone on my bottom lip or the side of my thumb. Usually, this will last until I can change my physical state in some noticeable way, such as cooling down fully on a warm day or changing my clothes if I'm wearing a shirt with a high neckline.

I get repulsed when something causes a physical revulsion or rejection reaction in me. I feel sick to my stomach, shaky, and alarmed. When I am repulsed, the answer is to stop doing the thing that led to repulsion. Most often, for me, I get texture-repulsed by my food, and therefore have to stop eating whatever I was eating, or potentially stop eating, full stop. This is the easiest to deal with, but also the most frequent - I am extremely texture-sensitive when it comes to food.

I get overwhelmed when social situations reach a point where I cannot process how to proceed. I feel staticky, again, but not like I'm going to get popped - more like I'm overinflated and will explode. When I am overwhelmed, my go-to response is usually skin picking, especially on my face and arms. What skin picking gives me is a smaller, simpler problem to focus on: the bump I just picked now hurts. However, skin picking is maladaptive (those new sores can get infected, and continually touching one's face is NOT how one reduces hormonal acne, which I still have due to PCOS), and I know that, so I try to practice harm reduction techniques. So, what I do instead is try to find a way to create the smaller, simpler problem to focus on (pain) without the risks - hence, pain-seeking stims.

Right now, I do have a few pain-seeking solutions - I have one of those acupressure rings that looks like a metal scrunchie, a strip of rough velcro, and a little textured gyro spinner from TikTok that has rough spikes on the outside, plus I have a couple rough "calm strips" style stickers. I always want more, though, because I sort of... get used to the texture, a little. Like, it's still rough, but it's a roughness I'm used to, so I don't register the pain the same way. I have to rotate, but sometimes (like this month so far) I need it more often, so rotating doesn't work as well because I only have a few options.

Side note: I also fidget more when I'm overwhelmed, so I also have a bunch of fidget toys to keep my fingers busy.