destim

English

Etymology

Clipping of destimulate. Equivalent to de- +‎ stim.

Verb

destim (third-person singular simple present destims, present participle destimming, simple past and past participle destimmed)

1. (autism, slang) To intentionally block out overwhelming stimuli in order to avoid sensory overload.

   I got overwhelmed by the loud music and had to go into another room to destim.

   • 2020 July 16, @littlehux, Twitter‎^[1], archived from the original on 3 February 2024:

     Of course once the window was shut and I spent a few moments destimming with headphones, I was able to move forward. But I think it's such a good example of what we mean by overstimulation and how it can be a cumulative unseen process as well as an instant one.

   • 2022 December 19, u/Inevitable_Librarian, “Got a new fude nib today!”, in Reddit‎^[2], r/fountainpens, archived from the original on 3 February 2024:

     Actually, the lesson is to teach your child to recognize when they're overstimulated and teach them how to actively destim and regulate in the moment.

   • 2023 February 16, @ChaiCiLatte, Twitter‎^[3], archived from the original on 3 February 2024:

     Okay, I am home, have ate,^[sic] destimmed a bit, & cried a lot. It's been rough today and I truly haven't seen anything happening on the internet in the last 48 hours because I've been stuck in a revolving door of bad news.

See also

• overstimulation

 

References

• “destim”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.