Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder has affected millions of individuals across the world. Those who live with ADHD often face unique challenges in their daily lives, from difficulties with focus and concentration to struggles with emotional regulation.
Among all these behaviors is a behavior that many people with ADHD exhibit, known as stimming, which serves as an important tool for self-regulation and coping.
What Is Stimming?
Stimming is for self-regulatory behaviours that are especially associated with ADHDers. It covers a variety of repetitive actions or movements, which can be done on purpose or without thinking. Some common examples of stimming is nail-biting, bouncing your leg, twirling your hair, or repeating certain sounds. Stimming is often linked to autism, but it is also very common in ADHD. For people with ADHD, these behaviors can help manage symptoms and handle everyday challenges.
The Connection Between ADHD and Stimming
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and millions of people are struggling with this disorder.
The condition impacts how the brain functions, particularly in areas related to attention, impulse control, and executive function. A person with ADHD may stim either to handle their emotions or help them pay attention since ADHD often makes it challenging to stay focused.
Experts believe that stimming behaviors in ADHD are linked to dopamine imbalances in the brain. According to chadd.org, researchers hypothesize that the increased movement seen in children with ADHD is a way for these children to unconsciously compensate for underarousal or underactivity in some brain regions commonly associated with ADHD.
Why People with ADHD Stim?
Stimming is very common for people with ADHD, and it often serves an important purpose. These repetitive actions can help them calm down, stay focused, and handle stress or big emotions. When we understand why someone stims, it becomes easier for them and the people around them to respond with kindness, patience, and support.
To Fight Boredom and Keep Focus
For many ADHDers, stimming is a way to fight boring tasks and restlessness. When they find themselves in situations that need focusing on non-preferred or boring tasks, stimming behaviors can be a compensatory mechanism to stay focused. The repetitive nature of these behaviors appears to help keep the brain engaged during tasks that might feel boring.
To Provide Self-Soothing and Emotional Regulation
Stimming can also serve as a form of self-soothing for ADHD individuals. It offers comfort and relief from the emotional and sensory stress that can accompany ADHD. These behaviours provide a sense of control and calm when faced with overwhelming situations or strong emotions.
To Manage Sensory Overload
Because of how the ADHD brain works, people may be extra sensitive to things they see, hear, or feel, so sounds and sensations can seem stronger or last longer. Stimming can help them deal with this overload by lowering the stress and pressure it causes.
To Express Excitement
Not all ADHD and stimming occur in response to stress or discomfort. There’s also what’s known as happy stimming, which occurs when you need to find a space to release and express your excitement. This type of stimming represents a natural way for individuals to channel intense positive emotions.
Types of ADHD Stimming Behaviors
There are many types and examples of ADHD stimming. These are grouped by the reason involved. Understanding these types can help people and caregivers notice stimming when it happens.
Visual Stimming
Visual stimming uses your sense of sight and often helps with boredom. Examples include blinking over and over, drawing, lining up objects, or flipping through pages.
Verbal and Auditory Stimming
A person may hum, repeat words, click their tongue, clear their throat, or whistle to fight boredom, handle feeling nervous, or stay focused. These sound-based actions give the brain something to listen to and help keep attention.
Tactile Stimming
People with ADHD may find themselves playing with their hair, grinding their teeth, biting the inside of their mouth, or picking at scabs or the skin around their nails, dead nails. They might also fidget with their clothes, rub their fingers together, or clench their fists. These actions mainly help them focus or calm themselves.
Olfactory Stimming
Olfactory stimming can help people feel calmer and often means smelling things with a certain scent. This might include familiar or comforting smells that make them feel safe.
Vestibular Stimming
Vestibular stimming usually involves balance and movement, like tiptoeing, rocking back and forth, pacing, shaking your head, shaking your leg, or spinning in a circle. These movements use the body’s sense of balance and space.
The Positive Aspects of Stimming
For many individuals with ADHD, stimming is not a problem that needs to be eliminated but rather a natural coping mechanism that serves important functions. In most cases, stimming is harmless and can even be beneficial in helping to calm people who experience ADHD.
Stimming often helps people with ADHD control themselves and stay focused. It can also comfort them and help them feel steady in stressful situations, lowering anxiety and helping them pay attention. For some people, stimming is a good way to use up extra energy, which is common in ADHD with hyperactivity.
Research supports the beneficial nature of many stimming behaviors. Researchers from the ADHD Program at the University of California Davis MIND Institute found that fidgeting helped children with ADHD focus better and complete complex tasks.
Differences Between ADHD Stimming and Normal Fidgeting
Many people without ADHD also engage in repetitive behaviors like tapping their feet or clicking pens. Many people exhibit self-stimulating behaviors, such as biting their nails, shaking their legs, or playing with their hair, and these behaviors may overlap with ADHD stimming in some ways.However, there are important differences. ADHD stimming is usually stronger than twitching in people without ADHD, and can sometimes get in the way of daily life for people with ADHD. Sometimes, people do not even notice they are stimming because it can happen without thinking. However, the difference is that stimming is solely related to ADHDers, while fidgeting can happen to anyone, in any situation and place.
When to Seek Help for Stimming Behaviors?
While stimming is usually healthy and helpful, sometimes getting help from a professional is a good idea. If your child’s stimming causes injury or gets in the way of daily tasks, and you want to know how to stop stimming ADHD, it is time to seek help. This is because fidgeting or other self-stimulating actions can distract other students.
Stimming is only a problem if it gets in the way of your daily life or deteriorates your health. Some types of stimming can cause harm, and you may need help to find safer ways to manage.
Warning signs that professional intervention may be needed include:
- Behaviors that cause physical harm, such as skin picking that leads to wounds or hair pulling.
- Stimming that significantly disrupts work, school, or social relationships.
- Behaviors that cause distress to the individual or other people around them.
- Stimming that intensifies dramatically under stress.
- Actions that prevent participation in important daily activities.
Treatment Options at Inland Empire Behavioral Group
Getting help from a professional can really help people whose stimming is a problem or who have a hard time with ADHD symptoms in general.
Medication
Medicine for ADHD can help lower these behaviors. Stimulant medicines help balance brain chemicals, which can make people need to stim less. There are also non-stimulant medicines for people who cannot or do not want to take stimulants.
Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral therapy can help your child notice how they stim and learn to do it less if needed. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help people understand what causes their stimming and find other ways to cope.
Therapy can also help with other ADHD challenges, like handling emotions, managing time, and developing social skills. By treating the main problem, people may not need to stim as much.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT):
DBT is a type of therapy that focuses on building skills to help you manage your emotions. Learning these skills can be especially helpful if you notice that strong feelings sometimes lead to stimming.ADHD coaching is another option that can help you work on focus and motivation. A therapist can also share practical tips for managing stress and dealing with things that might trigger symptoms.
Moving Forward with Understanding
It is important to know that stimming is a natural way for many people to cope, and for people with ADHD, it is often harmless and helps them manage their symptoms. For most people with ADHD, stimming has important uses that help them get through a world that can feel too much or not interesting enough.
At Inland Empire Behavioral Group, we understand the complex relationship between ADHD and stimming behaviors. Our team of experienced professionals can help you or your loved one develop a comprehensive treatment plan that addresses ADHD symptoms while respecting the individual’s natural coping mechanisms.
Whether you seek medication management, behavioral therapy, or simply guidance on when stimming behaviors warrant concern, we are here to provide compassionate, evidence-based care. We recognize that each person with ADHD is unique, and we tailor our approach to meet individual needs and goals.
If you have concerns about ADHD stimming behaviors or would like to learn more about treatment options, we encourage you to reach out to our team. Together, we can develop strategies that support self-regulation, improve quality of life, and honor the unique ways that individuals with ADHD experience and interact with the world around them.
