People may need to release physical or emotional energy for variety of reasons.

People may feel overwhelmed with positive emotions positive energy like excitement. People can also feel overwhelmed with negative emotions.

if you think of emotions as energy in motion, then there are two ways to deal with most emotions.

You can remove the reason or the direction of the emotion or you can remove the energy behind the emotion.

Now removing the energy behind an emotion is not a permanent fix it’s not a permanent solution. But it can be a great temporary solution especially for positive emotions or positive energy that is overwhelming in the moment.

1.  Dancing

[energy release, rhythm, patterns]

Dancing is a great way to remove excess energy.

You can vary the intensity and you can vary the amount of thought that you put into it.

You can do a dance very complex search that requires your full and complete attention, or you can make it very simple and repetitive that allows your mind to wander and do something else.

Remember, dancing can be done almost anywhere with or without music.

2.  Foot Tapping

[energy release, rhythm]

While not as nearly as intense as dancing or most other methods of releasing energy, foot tapping is great, especially if you are seated in a meeting and you just need to just shake off a little bit of extra nervous energy or excitement without leaving your seat.

3.  Hand Flapping

[energy release]

Hand flapping may be one of the best-known autistic stims.

The proof of its effectiveness is in its popularity especially with so young children who will naturally engage in hand flapping when they’re overexcited or need to release some excess energy.

4.  Hand Shaking

[energy release]

Hand shaking is a little different than hand flapping and has a slightly different effect.

With handshaking the intensity of the shaking is what helps feel like you’re throwing off any excess energy.

Handshaking is typically for short, intense releases of energy excess energy, especially when you’re in a confined space and you can’t make any noise (like in the bathroom at a party).

5.  Leg Shake

[energy release]

Leg shaking or leg bouncing actually has its own diagnosis, restless leg syndrome.

But in reality, leg shaking is just a popular stim for releasing excess or nervous energy, especially when one is seated and needs to stay seated. It can be great for meetings.

Unfortunately for me, when I get both legs going, I can literally shake the entire floor in some buildings which can be a little disruptive to the meeting.

For more information on the Ultimate Guide to Stimming, click here.