This weird thing my brain does - is this stimming ?

[byb]

So ever since I was 15, I've noticed that my brain counts stuff.

It's hard to explain, I don't do it consciously.

I count surfaces with my fingers from afar.

So say right now I'm looking at my walk and I see wall / curtain /wall / curtain / wall. My brain will count the different surfaces automatically. It's not conscious. I think my fingers slightly move when I do it. It's always 5. So starts with wall little finger/ curtain ring finger/ wall middle finger/ curtain second finger and wall again / thumb.

My brain is basically always trying to scan the room or whatever it is for surfaces which fit into that order of my fingers - so 5. It's super random and I hadn't thought about it consciously in ages, but I do it a lot.

Now I'm looking at the wall opposite and counted door/ wall / TV / wall/ door.

Does anyone else do something similar ?

I do that.

I don't think I do it all the time but I do sometimes catch myself doing it without realising.

As a child I mostly remember doing it with road markings on motorways, as we went past them - road mark, gap, road mark, gap, road mark.

Don't know if it's stimming, never really thought about it before.

Yes, I do it. Have to finish on an even.

It feels like a sort of internally physical thing inside my head to sort the items. I know it’s not.

I do similar. I think it's an OCD thing. I count edges of things mostly, such as the edges of a picture frame - one, two, three, four going clockwise round the frame and then maybe counting in the opposite direction, several times over until it feels "right". I also count and recount the shelves in my bookshelf, up and down. I think it is a calming mechanism.

I do a similar thing, when I'm on walks I read all the number plates of cars I'm passing, every single car. I've tried to stop but it's just automatic.

I do count the numbers of attendees in my exercise class, but that is because I'm bored.

I have always counted things subconsciously and noticed patterns. I was diagnosed with OCD and then eventually, ASD. I'm not sure if I class it as stimming but it could well be? A way to try and have a bit of control? I don't know.

I do exactly this and have done since I was a kid. Spend a lot of time mentally counting stuff up and down or round in circles. Car tyres for example, so I’ll count round clockwise and then count backwards anticlockwise.

I divide things in my head but it's difficult to explain what I mean!

I count things all the time in my head, I catch myself doing it and firmly tell myself to stop, but I'm doing it again minutes later. Pegging out socks, one, two, three...Steps up the garden, anything.

I do something similar but counting the syllables in sentences I hear or say, or song lines, on my fingers, and a "successful" one is when the last syllable ends on the little finger or thumb. I thought it was really weird (it probably still is) but I was doing this quietly to myself one day, but in a room with other people, and someone who was there got what I was doing like it was the most normal thing in the world. I never thought of it as stimming but the way you describe it makes it sound a bit like it is.

I used to count stuff on my fingers, things like cars or street lamps on my way to school. Though it’s often number based, like counting through times tables and getting to an even finish on my fingers. I do it less now.

I do this too. I also count the letters in words in equal groups to try and count them as quickly as possible. Or count them in rounds of five on my fingers until you end on the little finger- Hard to explain that one....

I always have to calculate years. So for example if I read or hear that someone is 83, then I HAVE to count back to find out the year they were born. This goes for events as well. And I see it in my brain as a linear thing, stretching back. It's automatic, and very tedious. Sometimes I have a genuine interest in finding out but often it's just a thing my mind/brain does.
I've never undergone autism diagnosis (apart from informally, online) but suspect I may be somewhere on the spectrum...

Yes I do this kind of thing but with words in a sentence or phrase.

Things must be counted in blocks of three.

Five is just bonkers! ;)

I do something similar with lines and pattern forming. I also do what @ChristinaRussell does. I have an ASD diagnosis.

@BlueRaincoat1 and @CatherineCawoodsScarf I don't know why but it's so nice to hear of other people doing this stuff😊Thanks for starting the thread @byb

Yes, I can relate and I've done at least since I was in reception. I was diagnosed with OCD not long after I started school. It gets worse when I'm anxious or stressed. Or bored.

I am ND. My brain won't shut up especially at night.

😄

I count things all the time, it can get quite irritating!

It's 15s for me.

5 x 3

Do I pass lol?

this is me, counting the number of green beans I pick in the summer. I have to tell myself to shut up! I'm not even interested in the number, it just happens

I do exactly the same thing.

I count things a lot, but it’s some weird sequence where I do various combinations of the number to end in 100 or 101. I can’t really explain it because it doesnt even make sense to me any more 😂 I’ve just done it for so long. If I see a number written down, that’s it, I’m counting.

No counting here.

You people must be mentally exhausted with all that counting!