Wassup

Okay, so let me start by getting a couple of things out of the way.  I’m half-Jewish on my mom’s side.  That said, I’m not religious, I don’t observe Jewish traditions, and I’ve never been the victim of anti-semitism.  So I recognize that my own feelings and experiences aren’t going to be representative of everyone with Jewish heritage and shouldn’t be taken as such.

Second of all, I want to make it clear that while this post may be critical of some of PewDiePie’s actions at points, I don’t feel that he’s a bad person and I don’t want to start any drama.  This is just me getting my own feelings out there.

I’ll admit that I’m pretty new to PewDiePie’s videos, although in the relatively short time I’ve watched him he’s said and done a number of things that many have considered ignorant and offensive.  I don’t think that he’s said these things because he’s genuinely bigoted or actually wants to hurt anyone - I think he’s either going for comedy and/or using outdated jargon.  However, regardless of his intentions, he has offended some people and I don’t like how quickly some others are to invalidate those feelings.  Yes, something might not be offensive to you, but you don’t know how certain words and phrases have effected other individuals throughout their lives.  You don’t get to decide what’s hurtful or offensive to someone else.

I will say, though, that I feel that there are some people who like to take PewDiePie’s statements out-of-context and judge and attack him, not because his statements effected them personally or even applied to their demographic, but because they just don’t like him and this gives them a chance to feel morally superior tearing him down.  And these are the people who I think need to get a life, stop white knighting for minorities who can speak for themselves, and just avoid watching people they don’t like instead of throwing hate at them.

Some people don’t distinguish between the two; I do. Fidgeting is always physical movement and stimming sometimes isn’t; for example, a visual stim may involve just looking at something specific for a particular length of time in a particular way. They may, however, serve some of the same purposes, including emotional regulation, sensory regulation, and emotional expression (among others).

The word “stimming” is short for “self-stimulation” and, while it has grown to be primarily associated with autism over the years, it was actually coined in reference to people who have developmental disorder in general. Autism is a developmental disorder, but it’s certainly not the only one out there!

Stimming is pretty wide-spread and is one of the things that I think most people do at some point; it’s just that most people don’t stim in ways that are obviously stimming. Things like bouncing your foot or leg can be stimming, for example, and most people do that sometimes. Stims that are considered more “abnormal” (and are stereotypical) are rocking (which, again, a lot of people do especially to self-soothe when they are upset) and hand-flapping (which I do when I’m really upset and when I’m really happy or excited, so it’s an expression stim for me).

We have a “stimming” tag that has more discussion about this.

What is stimming?

In it’s most simple form, stimming is a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner.

What types of stims are there?

Visual Stims

Flapping hands, blinking and/or moving fingers in front of eyes, staring repetitively at a light, pressing on closed eyes to create visual effect [pressure phosphene], …

Auditory Stims

Snapping fingers, tapping on objects, listening to the same song on a loop, rolling Rs, “cat noises”, repeating words, putting hands over ears, singing, clicking tongue, humming…

Tactile Stims

Scratching, rubbing the skin with one’s hands or with an external object, pinching the skin, putting thumb inside fist, sucking thumb, rubbing hands/feet together, petting preferred textures, tying knots/twirling string, twirling/stroking hair…

Vestibular Stims

Moving body in rhythmic motion, rocking front and back or side-to-side, spinning, pacing, walking in circles, walking on tip-toes, jumping up and down…

Taste Stims

Licking body parts, licking an object…

Smell Stims

Smelling objects or hands, smelling other people…

Rhythmic Stims

Tapping on surfaces/objects/self, clicking fingers, making repetitive vocal sounds, bouncing legs, foot tapping, hand flapping, clicking pens, …

There are a lot of other stims as well that don’t necessarily fall under the category of “repetitive” such as pressure stimming, which are still just as valid. Basically if what you do serves the purpose of the stim, you can call it a stim.

Why do people stim?

People stim for all different kinds of reasons. They may stim when they are happy or excited, when they are stressed, as a part of their normal body language, as a way of communication, as a punishment, as a response to something internal or external, as a compulsion, to focus, to self soothe, etc. Stimming can be a coping mechanism, but it can also be so much more! No matter what reason someone has for stimming though, it’s important to remember that all stims are natural and normal.

Who stims?

Anyone that finds stimming useful, whether consciously or subconsciously, can stim. This includes neurotypicals, but mainly stimming is seen as something that neurodivergent people do and it occurs most frequently in:

the autism spectrum

sensory processing disorder (SPD)

Tourette’s

schizophrenia

OCD

people that experience mania/hypomania

people with ADHD/ADD

people with anxiety

etc

Where can I find stim toys/jewelry?

Stimtastic

TherapyShoppe

AutismShop

SensoryUniversity

OfficePlayground

RuthDoodle

I just want to ask a simple question actually. So, I found in some fanfictions though. They’re in first person. There’s a line that tells like, “That time, someone is tailing me but I don’t know about it.” If they actually don’t know about it, is it okay just to write it like that? I mean, it’s in first person and as I recall, first person Point of view is limited to what the narrator knows. Is it totally okay to insert that sentence? Thank you!!

You’re absolutely right that first-person POV is limited to what the POV character knows. If a story is being told in present tense, as in the story is unfolding in real time, the first-person narrator can’t say they’re being followed if they don’t know they’re being followed. However, if the story is being told in past tense, the POV character would have the gift of hindsight. In that case, the sentence would sound like this: “Someone was tailing me, only I didn’t know it at the time.”

being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward

one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other

pressing their foreheads together while kissing

speaking normally, then after the kiss their voice is hoarse

guys furrowing their brow when kissing passionately

staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in

running their thumb over the other’s lips

when they lean forward a fraction as if to kiss the other person, then realize they shouldn’t and pull back to stop themselves

ripping the other away - “no we shouldn’t” - but when they kiss them again they moan and hold them close

one sliding their hand into the other’s hair slowly

their entire body freezing for a second when their love kisses them

accidentally being forced inches apart from each other, staring at each other’s lips, and just before they kiss someone pulls them back apart

when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

a hoarse whisper “kiss me”