Thanks, Jammerlich - that makes me feel better. I guess compared to the alternatives, it's a fairly harmless habit. It is soothing - it seems to calm me down, and I have noticed that I twirl more (and faster) when I am stressed.

A friend at work gave me a "totem" - it's a little carved stone in the shape of a butterfly about the size of a quarter. It feels nice and cool in my hand, I'm trying to rub it instead of twirling (it helps at work because I can play with it discreetly, whereas there is no way to hide hair twirling).

I have also asked some coworkers that I am more friendly with to tell me when I'm doing it - because most of the time I don't even realize I am.

I think I am making progress - thank you for your support & helping put it into perspective a bit.