I'm hitting myself

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Recently, every time I get really frustrated or I feel like I've done something wrong, I pound myself on the head. When my mom sees me do this, she yells at me not to do it. But I just can't stop . I really need some advice on how to stop!

I suppose a few NTs also do that kind of stuff. If you pound yourself really hard, wear a helmet, and hit yourself with a styrofoam bat.

Can you explain a little more why you hit yourself?

I hit myself when I get frustrated, usually by not being able to accomplish something, like a challenge in a video game, writing an essay during high school, or not being able to do something that everyone else can do easily.

I also hit myself when I do something wrong (misbehaving or making a mistake), because I feel like I should punish myself this way. I guess I get those thoughts when I get stressed out for my wrong doing.

Now that I think about it, I also hit myself when I hear people laughing or yelling at me in my thoughts. I might be a schizo, but when I say I am, either no one believes me or I'm saying it wrong.

Sorry for not giving details. I guess I needed time to realize every reason why I pound my head, or punch my face. Any advice on how not to hit myself would be great fully appreciated.

I hit myself when frustrated, too.

The only thing that has prevented me from doing this is imagining how people would think I am weird or emo for doing it, almost imaginary peer pressure if you will. Because of this I can usually stop myself when there are other people around, but when I am alone I can't stop it if I get too frustrated.

It's a release. When the frustration turns into anger I feel a pressure building in me physically. When I hit myself hard enough, the combination of pain and release reduces that physical pressure. It almost feels like exorcising a demon. If someone hasn't done it I think they would have a hard time understanding just how hard it is to stop when you are highly frustrated. If you can't stop it, try to aim where it will hurt, but it won't do any lasting damage, and try to do it away from other people.

I'd suggest "before" you get frustrated that you stim. You'll get into the habit of doing sometihng more appropriate than hitting yourself in the head.

When i'm alone i do sometimes hit myself.

You could try displacing it and hitting elsewhere. Also, reducing general stress can help reduce the need to hit. I try to do both. I get yelled at too when someone sees me.

i sometimes hit myself when i have a meltdown

I tend to hit myself in the face and head and it hurts alot as i used to do boxing! im not sure why or how it really happens, if i am doing it consciously or not...l. I think though it stems from low self esteem. it just seems that i cant stop focusing on the anxiey and the hitting is a way to stop the cycle?

Try switching habits or hitting in different stops (or at least with a very light intensity). I occasionally do the same thing when frustrated or people talk about me (I get this desire to REALLY hurt people who compliment me/never give in though).

I have the same problem, and do it for the same reasons. No, it's not schotzophrenia. (somebody around you must have used a negative label.) It sounds just like common self injury. People who yell don't understand. My father shouted how I had "a bad attitude, and how it makes everyone angry" when I hit myself in front of them. He oviously had no clue about what caused me to in the first place.

Well, most of the hitting I do now has words out of my mouth like "GET A BETTER ATTITUDE!! I HATE YOU!" included as it's theme every time. It made it worse for me.

Stim?



How do you do that?



That's with me too.

Thank you all for your replies. I really appreciate all your help.

Last edited by AtomicKaiju on 23 Jun 2009, 10:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Repetitive movement, hand-flapping, pacing, tapping your fingers against your leg, shifting your weight from leg to leg, etc. For most autistic people, it's a way of dealing with frustration/emotion or even boredness. You may find that stimming before you get too frustrated negates the need to hit yourself. I only ever hit myself when i suppress my stimming.

Obviously tapping your fingers against your leg would be less noticable and damaging than hitting yourself, although of course, what works with me may not work with you.

It involves learning to recognize all the things that can trigger a reaction to stress. If you're aware of them you can learn to avoid them, change the situation, or figure out what to do about them. A few years ago, one of my biggest triggers was perfectionism. The worst now are noise, bad time management, and recent events.

Also important for reducing stress is getting enough sleep, exercise, and having a good diet. Reducing things such as caffeine etc. can help. Regularly doing things to relax, such as taking a bath, walking, laughing, listening to music, doing things you enjoy, and managing your time well can have an impact.

Right now, I think I'll take my own advice.

Wow, this is the weirdest thing...

I was lying in bed, and I got up because I get the same urge to pound myself in the head whenever I feel depressed. Right now, however, I decided to actually act on it by getting the heaviest book I could find and I started pounding myself in the head multiple times until I started feeling dizzy. It was the first time I've really acted on the urge. And just a few minutes later, I go to the computer and read this post. It's the oddest coincedence.

Anyway, for whatever it's worth, I get the same exact urge. You described it to the bone.

Try going outside and chopping wood or moving heavy things around or cleaning the house.Hard work usually blows off steam by letting off the negative energy.

Don`t punish yourself. Punish the people who make you feel bad about making mistakes or not being good at things or misbehaving. They should not be doing that to you.