Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav

When I'm angry, why do I always feel the need to hurt myself?

316 Answers
Last Updated: 03/20/2022 at 8:30pm
When I'm angry, why do I always feel the need to hurt myself?
★ This question about Self-Harm was starred by a moderator on 5/12/2016.
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Tracy-Kate Teleke, PsyD, M.A., LMFT

Marriage & Family Therapist

I assist adults and couples in CA experiencing relationship challenges and interpersonal struggles including anxiety, depression, and a myriad of other life challenges.

Top Rated Answers
Anonymous
January 1st, 2016 11:06am
I used to hurt myself when I was angry too, when I used to do it, it was mainly for a distraction and so I didn't have to focus on what was truly going on around me.
calmingCat38
January 2nd, 2016 12:50am
I suppose its because you feel like its your fault and you did something wrong. So you hurt yourself because its sort of a punishment.
Anonymous
January 6th, 2016 5:27pm
Por el estrés emocional y por no encontrar otra salida de esas emociones. Es un acto impulsivo. Cortarse alivia, pero no solucionará NADA.
Reid3020
January 6th, 2016 10:29pm
I don't know why you are feeling angry, maybe you should take some time to figure out yourself. There maybe something happening, or that has happened in your life to make you feel like you need to hurt yourself, and once you have figured that out you will be able to sort out your anger problems.
TylerOrTash
January 7th, 2016 12:36am
Because when you hurt yourself it takes the emotion away and you feel pain, and if you keep cutting you get addicted and need the pain, you start to feed off pain. The sensation to cut is there, which may seem right but It isn't. Please don't cut :(
Anonymous
January 7th, 2016 4:55pm
Most people believe it gets ride of stress but that is not the case. It just usually makes the person feel relieved. But what your really doing is hurting yourself.
alifegiven
January 8th, 2016 3:15am
Because you may not know of any other outlet for your anger. As suggested, try some coping skills such as punching a pillow. You can't hurt a pillow!
futurerelevance
January 29th, 2016 6:49pm
People express their anger in different ways. Some people internalize their feelings, which means they act out their emotions on themselves. Other people externalize more, which means they act out more towards other people. When you feel the urge to cut, try to think of some ways to express your anger that don't hurt you or others.
NickManUtd92
January 30th, 2016 12:51am
You feel that way because you believe that part of you is to blame for having that anger. So you take it out on yourself. With that comes the self-harm. Whether it's cutting yourself, or punching a wall. In order to fix this, find a healthy outlet for this anger. Exercise, for me personally, is the best way to go about this. Lifting weights, hitting a punching bag, going for a run, etc. are all good ways of getting that anger out. And it's good for you physically too.
Anonymous
July 23rd, 2019 9:03pm
self-harm is a common way of dealing with painful emotions, including anger. it's common, and you're not alone, but there are also some healthier ways to deal with those difficult emotions. things like releasing your anger through exercise, by punching a pillow, ripping paper, or expressing your feelings through art/music/writing can be very helpful ways to channel your anger without hurting yourself.
hope0207
July 31st, 2019 2:04pm
reasons of self harming can be different for everyone. it totally depends on the circumstances and situation the person is in. feelings like anger and sadness can influence the want to harm yourself. it could be to gain control of something, it could be channeling your frustration, anger, sadness (negative emotions) into harming yourself, harming yourself because you feel everything is your fault. it could also be a coping mechanism for some people. it could be to relieve everything you feel, so that you don't feel overwhelmed anymore. people with low self esteem may also harm themselves as they feel they are not good enough.
fionazona
May 5th, 2020 6:14am
We tend to lash out on others or ourselves when are upset to try to soothe ourselves in these types of situations (regardless of what it may look like). On a psychological sense, the heart rate, arterial tension and testosterone production increases, cortisol (the stress hormone) decreases, and the left hemisphere of the brain becomes more stimulated which causes us to become more physical when we are upset. Instead of harming yourself, try to find another way to control your feelings by paying all attention to one specific thing (like holding ice tightly in your hands) so you bring your emotions back to a more moderate level. Hope this helps!
SafeSpace14
August 3rd, 2020 10:15pm
Sometimes when we are angry we feel a build up of feelings we are unsure how to express. And sometimes we feel like we need to release those feelings. For some people, wanting to hurt yourself is looking for a release of the bad feelings. And by hurting yourself you can feel like you are “letting them out”. It’s normally and okay to feel these feelings. For others, they can feel like it’s their fault for always responding in angry way or causing the anger in the first place. Some people can feel like they want to hurt themselves as a punishment or to “make something stop”. It’s okay to sit with these feelings and acknowledge them. They are common.
Anonymous
September 14th, 2020 12:31am
Anger is an emotion which is abstract and hard to ground to reality. It can be painful to feel anger, or anger comes from pain and fear. Something physical like hurting yourself can attach something you can grasp, something to make your reality less abstract. It can make you release all your anger or emotional pain into physical pain which is easier to identify. Anger can cloud are vision and decision making skills, and can make us act recklessly and do something without thinking about the consequences. Hurting yourself isn't the answer to anger or emotional pain, but it does make sense where it stems from
Anonymous
February 8th, 2022 12:56pm
When you are angry and you feel the need to hurt yourself, it can be for many many reasons. It all depends on where it's coming from. If it's coming from a place where you are angry at yourself and you feel it's the only way to punish yourself, then that can be why. If you're doing it because it helps you lessen your emotional pain so it feels more physical and then you can get rid of that energy as well. It could also be because you are frustrated and its a way of taking out that frustration at the world. It can also be because of combined emotions and reasons as well and they will have their own reasons for it.
ASilentBunny
March 20th, 2022 8:30pm
Sadly, you might feel that self-harm is a helpful way to deal with this situation, to help relieve the intense, overwhelming emotions. You might also feel that turning the emotional pain into something visible would help the pain go away and give you some control. But then the calm feelings are gone and the pain would come back and the emotions return. Then you might want to hurt yourself again. There are many other ways in order to release the tension you are feeling. Going for a walk, surround yourself with people that love you, treat yourself a breakfast, focus on yourself are some great options in order to release the tension.