Compulsive Action

[dream_away]

From what I've read, I know that performing a compulsive action is common during daydreams. Some include pacing, tapping, or rocking back and forth. For whatever reason, mine is jumping. I'm 14, and live with my 5 other family members, and they always took it as a sign of OCD and left it at that. Because I don't necessarily want to end my daydreaming completely (I find it enjoyable, a sign of creativity, and it makes me who I am), I want to convert my jumping to pacing, or something less... awkward in normal situations. I plan on living with my friends one day, and if I'm still daydreaming, I don't want to jump around all the time. And does anyone else have an unusual, or what I consider to be embarrassing, action like jumping?

[Melinda]

Facial stuff mostly.  I turn my head sometimes.

[The1andonlyAbber]

Sometimes I accidentally say stuff out loud. The awkward part is, I usually ONLY say something if my character is saying it at a really emotional part of the daydream. So I'll be pacing (I pace when I daydream) quietly and every once in a while blurt out something that sounds really weird (especially out of context, but of course since I'm daydreaming only I can see the context).

Typical example:

*pace pace pace* "BECAUSE I'M STUPID!" *pace pace pace* "WHAT IN THE NAME OF MINECRAFT JUST HAPPENED?!" *pace pace pace* "No! Don't do it!" *pace pace pace* "It's okay. No matter what happens, we'll still be friends." *pace pace pace*

[Cyan]

Sometimes if I try hard enough, I can daydream laying down or sitting down. That's rare for me. If you tried to go out for a run, that could help. 

[goner]

Pacing. Always pacing.

[Emma]

I'm one of these rare people that don't move around.  I read the statistics of the Schupak study and most of us pace or fidget or whatever.  I'm usually perfectly still.  I do it most frequently when I driving or flying or lying in bed.  However I also do it when I'm going on a long walk so the movement doesn't stop it.  I can't do it when I'm running because that requires too much energy and focus in itself.  

But I do the talking out loud at random times thing.  Oh it's embarrassing.  I'll be sitting in the passenger seat of the car on a long drive and it's been quiet a while because hubby is focused on driving and I'm all up in my daydream and suddenly I'll say something out loud that one of my characters says.  I usually try to make an excuse like something out the window made me say it or like some other normal thought made me say it, but it's really awkward for sure.  

[Jay]

I'm 15 and I only DD in bed, it's the only way I can fall asleep so no one usually sees me while I'm daydreaming and I guess the only action I do when I'm DD'ing is change my facial expressions all the time or I mime the actions of what my character is doing

[Yaz]

I rock back and forth to music and also sometimes mutter things that my alter ego says.

[Emma Indigo]

I tend to mimic my characters' facial expressions and actions, and sometimes I talk. I've sometimes been caught making facial expressions, but then I make an excuse like I remembered some story or something. I can't pace or I end up walking into things...

[Elizabeth]

The most common thing I do is rock back and forth or pace to music while I daydream. Sometimes I laugh out loud or shout depending on something a character in my dream does, and it is as if I'm acting as the character. Luckily I've only ever done these things when nobody is around, so I don't really feel embarrassed by them.

[dream_away]

I change my facial expressions too and I'm okay with that. I still feel awfully embarrassed about my action during daydreams. I wish I was lucky enough to pace or rock back and forth. I'm glad no one else is constantly embarrassed when they daydream, but I can't help but feel that I'm the only one who is really upset about their actions while daydreaming.

[Professional Daydreamer]

I also pace and tend to actually talk out loud,sometimes I even like pretend i'm hugging someone (while i'm actually hugging air or myself :W ) when I hug a character in my dreams so I pretty much act out everything while pacing+i speak and yeahh if i'm jumping in my dream I also actually jump out here...so whatever happens in my dream I act it out...so it could be really weird when someone walks in and you're just standing there  hugging yourself...

[Rose]

I'm about to blow everyone out of the water with my weirdness.

I have to actually act out my characters, which is worse, like I'm in a play or something. When my best friend in my dd is lecturing me, I'll do the facial expressions of him and say his words, but stand how my alter ego is standing. So I do the physical actions of my alter ego but the facial expressions and voice of whoever is talking. Everyone has a different voice. I think it's similar to hypnotism, actually. Because there are very limited places for me to do this, I can only 'act' parts of the story. Other parts, like if a story has us going on a holiday, I'll just act out us sitting around my house talking about the holiday. 

At night in bed I can shut my eyes and it's almost like hypnotism...I just have to move my hands and facial expressions and can act out almost anything. BUT I only do this to act the memories of my alter ego, e.g. when he was 15 and got his first job or something. This is always very emotional so I am very careful how much i do this type or I get addicted and never get any sleep.

Anyhow, compulsive actions, or self stimulation, are common in people with Autism like me. You learn to hide them. I do them when I'm not dreaming!