Have you ever felt the urge to hit yourself? Or actually hit yourself?

[AlvisPaege]

This might be a very weird question. But I was wondering.

I have hit myself many times but not recently. My last time was a month ago when I slapped myself many times because I wanted to cry and otherwise wasn't able to.

 

[Terminal Blue]

Yes, I do it quite a lot.

It is common, and often not recognized as a form of self harm although it is. Like all forms of self-harm, however, it is not necessarily a symptom of mental illness and you probably shouldn't worry too much unless it reaches the point where you feel unable to control it.

 

[Barbas]

I used to do it a lot when I was angry, particularly at difficult games. I'd also pound the keyboard with my fists, or the desk with my head. Biting down on my fingers to avoid screaming was another bad one. I sometimes still feel the urge to hit something, but most commonly other people[footnote]Recently my thoughts have turned to strangulation quite a bit.[/footnote], though the last time I hit another person was probably in primary school.

I think I might buy myself one of those little squeezy handle things that develop your grip, just so I have something productive to do with my hands rather than lash them about like angry tendrils. Forgot what they're called.

 

[McElroy]

Dumb as hell, but it happens. Such a sore loser with a couple of places sore as well. Pain motivates, but even I prefer something else in the end.

 

[SweetShark]

Funny for saying this. When I was in the Army there was somekind of inside Joke in the Army Bases which you could find this in different kind of walls/doors:

Of course it wasn't exactly like this, but a little more "modified" to be suitable with the Theme of the Army....

For me. No. I wasn't so stress, angry or sad to hit/hurt myself.
The need to scream however is high. Oh boy, the need to scream after a REALLY SH*TTY day...is normal to me...
Thankfully I just drink some wine of my Grandfather and calm a little. Thanks God for the Greek Wine.

 

[Barbas]

Grip trainer, funnily enough.

Ah yes, that does ring a bell. My thanks.

I figure something like that'd at least drain enough strength out of my arms that I wouldn't want to flail them at anything. I should lift more heavy objects and exercise more in general, come to think of it; starting to look a bit like a disgruntled pear. That'd be so much more productive than hitting myself in the face.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

I hit my thigh real hard if I screw up an easy kill in online shooters.

If I feel like I am really fucking things up (not in games, in real life), I slap myself in the face.

 

[The Raw Shark]

Whenever I get overly off-track, like if I've been procrastinating for so long that my next assignment is due in like 12 minutes then I instantly pound myself in the face. Weird but yeah.

 

[maninahat]

Not spotting a potential 5 in a row on Candy Crush until it is too late? That's a head slappin.

 

[default]

I've been self harming since I was a child. Punching myself repeatedly in the head is one of the things I tend to do.

 

[Something Amyss]

Sure. I've hit, cut, clawed, burned and shocked myself. Not exactly something I'm proud of, mind.

 

[Casual Shinji]

No, just other things.

The front edge of my desk is split so... yeah, I can sometimes lose my cool. Typically when a game royally pisses me off or when my computer mysteriously ceases to function.

I usually just grab an empty, plastic soda bottle and hit the nearest metal surface though. It makes a fuckton of noise and inflicts zero damage, except to the bottle. So it's perfect.

 

[otakon17]

I used to do it a lot when I was angry, particularly at difficult games. I'd also pound the keyboard with my fists, or the desk with my head. Biting down on my fingers to avoid screaming was another bad one. I sometimes still feel the urge to hit something, but most commonly other people
(Recently my thoughts have turned to strangulation quite a bit), though the last time I hit another person was probably in primary school.

I think I might buy myself one of those little squeezy handle things that develop your grip, just so I have something productive to do with my hands rather than lash them about like angry tendrils. Forgot what they're called.

Same here, I literally punched a hole in the ground once over Boktai way back on the GBA. And when I was fired once, I punched a dent into a walk-in freezer door and practically broke my hands. I've stopped doing it for the most part.

 

[JimB]

If you're talking about specifically striking myself with my hands, then no, though I often have nightmares about needing to punch myself in the face and being too weak to hurt myself. If you're talking about in a broader sense about inflicting physical harm on myself for its own sake, then sure.

 

[hermes]

Does slapping myself counts? Then yes. I have done that to help me keep focused or awake...

 

[Wrex Brogan]

Fun fact: boxing is a far better sport to pick up when depressed and having unpleasant thoughts about sharp objects than sword fighting. On the bright side, I didn't end up doing permanent damage to my thigh muscles, so...

For non-self harm related injury, I have done it on occasion. Usually just slapping my head when I'm frustrated/annoyed (basically just a heavy face-palm), and I'll slap my legs when I'm excited.

For a while I had a bad habit of punching things when I was annoyed or angry, which was doing a number on my knuckles given I'd often go full-force into brick walls or metal poles. Hence me taking up (non-professional) boxing, since that was a much healthier outlet for that kind of shit. Plus it was better for my hands, much harder to dislocate fingers when wearing gloves.

 

[Barbas]

Same here, I literally punched a hole in the ground once over Boktai way back on the GBA. And when I was fired once, I punched a dent into a walk-in freezer door and practically broke my hands. I've stopped doing it for the most part.

Yep. Yeah, I think that'll do it!

I was watching a YouTube video the other day in which a Christian teenager was talking about how he avoided masturbation by punching himself very hard in the testicles whenever he felt the urge. To masturbate. Not for pained nuts.

. . . I usually just grab an empty, plastic soda bottle and hit the nearest metal surface though. It makes a fuckton of noise and inflicts zero damage, except to the bottle. So it's perfect.

I usually enjoy saving up glass bottles and throwing them savagely into the local bottle bank, cackling whilst I do so. I doubt I can get away with going down to the local landfill and banging metal pipes against the skips any more; the foreman keeps leaning out of his hut to bellow obscenities and fling handfuls of pens.

I think we might be on the way to becoming "that family" in our neighbourhood. Yeah. Anyway, point is, I try not to direct all that negative chiness outwards any more.

 

[happyninja42]

Not hit, but I did cut myself for a while when I was younger.

Though, well I take that back, if you are including "beating on my chest to a rhythm/song in my head, because I MUST keep the beat going" then yes, I have beat on myself. If you specifically mean to hit yourself to try and cause injury, then no. But, as above, I did cut myself on purpose for a while.

Does slapping myself counts? Then yes. I have than that to help me keep focused or awake...

I have done this too. Long road trip, falling asleep, slap cheeks to try and stay focused.

 

[sky14kemea]

Do people not hit themselves at some point?

I'm one of those that will find a wall and slowly thump my head against it when I'm super annoyed. Also slapping myself.
Also a member of the self-harm brigade in here. Haven't done any since last year though. I'm hoping to keep that going.