Highlights
- Stimming, or self-stimulatory behavior, is natural human behavior that can affect anyone. But it most often affects people with neurodevelopmental conditions, including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder.
- Stimming is not an officially recognized symptom of ADHD, and experiencing stimming does not automatically mean you have ADHD. But it’s a common behavior for many people who are diagnosed with this condition.
- If you have ADHD, you may feel like stimming helps you focus. Stimming can also help you cope when you’re over- or understimulated or to express your emotions.
- Stimming is not inherently a problematic behavior. But if it’s negatively affecting your life, then it’s important to consult a clinician.
Have you ever drummed your fingers against a table or shaken your leg when you were anxious? If so, then you’ve experienced a behavior that’s known as stimming. Stimming is a natural human behavior, but it’s often mistakenly assumed to only affect people with autism spectrum disorder. You may not have known that people with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) also exhibit stimming, although it may be for different reasons.
In this article, we’ll go over what stimming looks like in people with ADHD, why stimming happens, and how to manage it if — and only if — it has become a problem for you.
What Is ADHD Stimming?
“Stimming” is shorthand for “self-stimulatory,” and describes repetitive physical actions like hand-flapping or vocalizations. Stimming is a natural behavior that’s used to self-stimulate — whether it’s for focus, self-soothe, or something else. Although anyone can experience stimming, it tends to be more common in the neurodivergent population, including people with ADHD.
If you live with ADHD, you may stim for many different reasons, but it could often be because it helps you focus. People with ADHD can also stim as a means of self-soothing, trying to cope with different emotions or external stimuli.
Types of ADHD Stimming Behaviors
There are many different types of stimming behaviors. They are typically based on specific sensory experiences, including but not limited to:
- Visual: These stims are associated with sight, like staring at bright or moving objects, reflections, or just into space. Other examples of visual stimming include doodling, switching lights on and off, or blinking frequently.
- Vocal and Auditory: These stimming examples can be related to both listening to or producing sounds. For example, singing, muttering, humming, repeating song lyrics, snapping your fingers, or needing to constantly have specific or repetitive background music on while working or studying.
- Tactile: These stims can be self-oriented, like hair twirling, skin rubbing, scratching, nail-biting, or making twiddling movements with your hands. They may also be focused on other objects; for example, picking lint off your clothes or fidgeting with items that have a pleasant texture.
- Vestibular: Movements like rocking back and forth, bouncing the leg, spinning, jumping, or shaking the head can be patterns of vestibular stimming in ADHD.
Examples of ADHD Stimming and Fidgeting Behaviors
Each individual is unique, so there are many different kinds of stimming behaviors. However, it’s possible to list some stims that are more common in people with ADHD:
- Finger tapping, clicking, drumming, or rubbing
- Rhythmic foot stomping, or other repetitive movements and noises
- Leg bouncing
- Hair twirling
- Pencil spinning
- Hand flapping
- Lip biting
- Repetitive blinking
- Rocking back and forth
- Watching spinning objects or flickering lights
- Fidgeting with clothing or jewelry, playing with textures or soft objects
- Twirling small objects (e.g., keychains, rings)
- Repeating sounds, words, or song lyrics
- Humming
- Throat clearing
- Knuckle cracking
- Ear rubbing, skin picking, or rubbing
- Repetitive wrist or hand movements
- Nail biting
- Pressing sharp objects into the skin (“pain stims”)
Why Do People With ADHD Stim?
If you live with ADHD, you may stim for different reasons. Stimming can serve several important functions and, in many cases, may help you manage life with ADHD.
To Provide Needed Stimulation
People with ADHD stim partly because of the biological differences in their brains. Research shows that
To Learn and Stay Focused
Research has also found that stimming, or fidgeting,
To Self-Soothe or Regulate Emotions
Many adults with ADHD use different types of stimming as a way to deal with difficult emotions. For example, you might find yourself stimming more when you’re anxious or angry. Many people with ADHD find such actions to be calming.
To Release Excess Energy
ADHD, especially the hyperactive-impulsive type, can cause you to experience restlessness and high energy. Some people describe feeling like they’re “driven by a motor.” Stimming — like tapping the feet — can be a result of that excess energy.
To Express Joy or Excitement
“Happy stimming” is a casual term that describes when people with ADHD stim to express joy or excitement. For example, you might see someone with ASD flapping their hands when they are happy. People with ADHD may engage in stimming when excited as well.
To Feel Comfort
Some people with ADHD may also stim because they’ve learned through repetition that it’s comforting, pleasurable, and helps them cope with difficult emotions or excessive sensory input. For example, if you’re sensitive to loud noise and you’re at a crowded concert, you might stim to self-soothe.
Common ADHD Stimming Triggers
Many things can trigger ADHD stimming, but it may happen more often when you feel under- or over-stimulated. Some specific triggers could include:
- Feeling Bored or Unfocused: Stimming can provide people with ADHD with the needed self-stimulation during tasks that feel dull or repetitive, helping with focus.
- High Stress or Anxiety: Stressful situations may lead to stimming as a way to self-soothe and stay grounded.
- Sensory Overload: Busy or noisy environments can lead to stimming as a way to manage overwhelming sensory input.
- Difficulty With Impulse Control: For people with ADHD, stimming can be an instinctive way to channel impulsive energy in a more manageable way.
- Periods of Intense Focus (ADHD Hyperfocus): During deep concentration, stimming can help you stay focused, especially on tasks that require extended attention.
- Fatigue or Low Energy: Stimming can provide a small energy boost and make it easier to stay alert, especially when you’re bored or understimulated.
- Excitement or Happiness: Strong positive emotions may lead to stimming as a way to release excess energy. This is often seen in people with ASD but may affect those with ADHD as well.
Fidgeting vs. Stimming
People with ADHD, especially the hyperactive-impulsive or combined type of ADHD, can often be found fidgeting. If you live with symptoms of hyperactivity, you might find it very difficult to sit still, even when it’s expected of you to do so. To cope with the frustration and restless energy, you might fidget or squirm, which may serve as a form of self-soothing in people with ADHD.
In many ways, fidgeting is a type of stimming. For example, if you live with ADHD and “fidget” by tapping your feet in boring situations, then that could be a type of stimming.
However, in general, stimming tends to be more extreme than ordinary fidgeting. Neurotypical people may also fidget — for example, they might twirl their hair when they’re nervous — but it might not be noticeable to others. Even if it is, the behavior might be within a range that others can easily understand.
Stimming, on the other hand, can often get in the way of your social and work-related activities. For example, you may feel like other people judge you when you stim, or children who stim may unfairly get disciplined at school. Stimming also tends to be more frequent and severe than fidgeting.
Stimming in ADHD vs. Autism Spectrum Disorder
Although it affects many people with ADHD, stimming is not listed as a formally recognized symptom of this condition. It is, however, listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a symptom of autism spectrum disorder.
Stimming in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ADHD can be similar. Both groups can stim to self-soothe or deal with uncomfortable stimuli. Both ASD and ADHD can involve repetitive behaviors like movements or vocalizations.
However, stimming in ADHD can often be more subtle. For example, someone with ADHD may tap a pen or repeat song lyrics. On the other hand, research has shown that stimming in autism can be more overt, like hand-flapping or rocking back and forth, and can even be involuntary or unconscious.
In addition, people with ADHD often stim to help them focus, while for people with ASD, stimming can serve as a form of self-expression. For example, they may stim to express joy, discomfort, anger, and more.
Also, it’s important to keep in mind that there is a significant overlap between autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.
When ADHD Stimming Helps and When It’s a Concern
Usually, stimming isn’t problematic. In fact, it can be helpful in many ways for people with ADHD. Research has found that fidgeting and stimming behaviors can help improve cognitive functioning for people with ADHD, for example,
Additional benefits can include:
- Improved stress relief, with stimming serving as a calming tool in stressful situations
- Better emotional regulation (ability to manage painful emotions)
- Sensory comfort and self-soothing, especially in environments that feel overstimulating
- Increased ability to sustain attention during tasks that would otherwise feel tedious or draining
Most of the drawbacks of ADHD stimming have more to do with the people around you than how stimming affects you, yourself. Sometimes, people in your life may simply not understand stimming and judge you unfairly for it. Unfortunately, this can sometimes negatively affect your relationships or work life. At other times, stimming may be more disruptive. For example, vocal stimming while in an important meeting could interrupt others’ productivity.
In some cases, stimming may become harmful to your own well-being. For example, if you scratch your skin or pull at your hair as a form of stimming, you may cause injury to yourself with the risk of infection and pain.
In these cases where stimming becomes harmful (either to yourself or others you care about), it may be important to either find alternative ways to stim or to talk to a healthcare provider to come up with a plan for dealing with your symptoms. It’s also important to identify whether your repetitive behaviors are truly stimming, or if they could be a sign of something else, like tic disorder.
How to Manage ADHD Stimming Safely
Stimming is not inherently a negative or harmful behavior. In fact, as we’ve already mentioned, it can be very helpful for focus.
So, if your stimming helps you and it doesn’t have any negative consequences on your life, then there’s no need to “manage” it.
However, if stimming is becoming disruptive to you or to people you care about, it can be helpful to learn how to deal with it. This doesn’t mean that you need to stop stimming altogether, but you may benefit from adopting new ways to stim that don’t cause as much disruption in your life.
Here are some examples and tips to manage ADHD stimming if it’s become a problem in your life:
- Find quieter or more discreet ways to stim. Instead of repeating words out loud during meetings, write them repeatedly in a notebook or play with fidget toys.
- If you have pain stimming episodes, find safer ways to get the intense stimulation without hurting yourself. For example, you might hold ice cubes in your hands.
- Talk to your loved ones and colleagues about stimming and how it helps you. Encourage them to learn about it. This may help them be more understanding.
- Use tools to become less overwhelmed in public spaces (which may reduce your need to stim). For example, you might use noise-cancelling headphones when you’re in loud environments.
In addition, ADHD treatment — which often includes both medication and behavioral therapy — can help you cope with different effects of ADHD, including stimming. By working with a healthcare provider, you can learn how ADHD affects your brain, why you do the things you do, and how you can use your ADHD symptoms to your advantage while minimizing the negative effects they have on your life.
Book an appointment to see a qualified clinician online as soon as in 24 hours.
FAQ
Is stimming a sign of ADHD?
Stimming is not an officially recognized symptom of ADHD. Neurotypical people stim as well. But if you also experience other recognized symptoms of ADHD, then it could be related.
