Of course I also stim for the typical reasons, but I feel like I’ll sometimes sort of “play up” certain autism-associated traits as a form of body language… I’ve also experienced people not understanding what stims are and misinterpreting mine, so maybe it’s a bit naïve of me to do this.
I was doing this subconsciously, all the time. People would tell me, I noticed you rocking back and forth, you must have been stressed. I didn’t realise I was doing this. But I think being aware of it, puts you in a weird position of choosing to do it, to try to communicate something. If the impulse to do it is there, I’ll do it. But I try not to do so, for the sake of it. Not unless I need to.
Your everyday neurotypical, may not interpret it correctly. Especially if they’re unaware of what autism is. If you want to avoid misinterpretation, you could just communicate with them clearly, that you’re overwhelmed, etc. That’s assuming the people you are communicating with, are willing to try to understand you. Ultimately, you will need to decide if that will be beneficial for you.