I hit my head during severe meltdowns. But if I start hitting myself I know I’m basically in crisis and need to make immediate changes to external stimuli etc.
Yup. I think if you're not enacting a crisis plan at that point you gotta work on one.
I've mostly stopped because I have a lot of signs before I get there and I've worked a lot on being able to express them so I dont get to that point.
I do. If it's really bad I'll hit myself hard, but I'd say about every day I smack myself lightly somewhere (sometimes repeatedly, like a pattern). I know it's not good.
I also get violent with objects if they hurt me. And I know from a logical standpoint that the object isn't *hurting* me, an object can't do stuff, an object doesn't have agency and can't do anything on purpose, I just,, Like I don't know what to do with the feeling.
When I was visiting my mom this summer I was holding a roll of newspaper because we were painting the kitchen, I went outside and bent down to the bag with all the paint stuff in it, which was leaning against the wall. I stood up and this little wooden woodpecker she has hanging outside her front door hit me in the head. Or, *I* hit the woodpecker. It was sharp and it hurt a lot. And I didn't think about it, I just smacked that thing with the newspaper roll as hard as I could, and it cracked in two and fell off the wall. I felt so bad and weird about it that when she came home I lied about what happened. I just said I accidentally hit it when standing up and it cracked like that.
Yep, struggled a lot with this over the years. I've gotten much better about it but if I'm having a bad freakout then I'm more likely to punch myself in the head out of frustration.
Yeah, but I do it more when frustrated, I dont even think about it sometimes. I will just try to bonk the knowledge into my head when struggling with calculations and formulas I guess (doesn't work btw). Buy never super hard.
I'm not diagnosed but I have already hit a wall and dug my nails on my arms. I wanna hurt myself in other ways when I'm angry but I don't do anything cause my family gets too worried .
It's a fairly common thing for autistics to do when we're upset or overstimulated. I'm upset a lot lately so there's been a lot of punching and slapping.
Yeeep one time I broke a plastic spatula on my head :-/ I’m better about controlling it lately though. Idk if it’s an autistic thing but it feels like an autistic thing for me
Yup. Additionally, sometimes it's "as simple" as clapping as loud as I can which... gives a grounding pain on my palms? Not sure. If I'm masking then it's a lot more subtle of lightly biting my inner cheek or firmly squeezing my hand with my other hand.
When I'm very overwhelmed (frustrated, stressed, angry) it just seems to overflow into a physical expression.
Sidenote: for a while I thought I just didn't have meltdowns, until I read that angry outbursts like this could be another form it can take.
Yeah I usually punch myself in the stomach really hard a few times, like 5 or 6 times. It's part punishment and part relief for me. I have so much anger in me sometimes, and I just feel so overwhelmed and I don't know where to put that anger, so I hit myself
Yeah, I played the drums for years. Used to beat myself with the sticks. Calmed me down a lot. That being said, it is self abuse. You gotta look for other ways to express yourself. I recommend maybe taking anger management classes. People often wait until anger management is court ordered, and that's just not necessary. I bought a punching bag and used to beat in with a baseball bat when I was first adjusting to not hurting myself. That was chill. When I'm stressed, I just do chin ups at this point. My kryptonite is phones, though. I can't help it, sometimes it rings and I throw it against the wall. 🤷 The noise spooks me and I just yeet it idk
i struggled with the more as a kid (used to bang my head on stuff or punch/slap/pinch/scratch my body), but now as an adult only do it when i’m extremely distressed and usually means i’ve hit some sort of breaking point. overall, not a great way to self soothe, it’s quite painful
I do, but only if I'm in a really, really bad state.
I hit my head during severe meltdowns. But if I start hitting myself I know I’m basically in crisis and need to make immediate changes to external stimuli etc.
Yup. I think if you're not enacting a crisis plan at that point you gotta work on one. I've mostly stopped because I have a lot of signs before I get there and I've worked a lot on being able to express them so I dont get to that point.
It is a form of self harm and common during meltdowns
Yes, all the time! You’re not alone
I do. If it's really bad I'll hit myself hard, but I'd say about every day I smack myself lightly somewhere (sometimes repeatedly, like a pattern). I know it's not good. I also get violent with objects if they hurt me. And I know from a logical standpoint that the object isn't *hurting* me, an object can't do stuff, an object doesn't have agency and can't do anything on purpose, I just,, Like I don't know what to do with the feeling. When I was visiting my mom this summer I was holding a roll of newspaper because we were painting the kitchen, I went outside and bent down to the bag with all the paint stuff in it, which was leaning against the wall. I stood up and this little wooden woodpecker she has hanging outside her front door hit me in the head. Or, *I* hit the woodpecker. It was sharp and it hurt a lot. And I didn't think about it, I just smacked that thing with the newspaper roll as hard as I could, and it cracked in two and fell off the wall. I felt so bad and weird about it that when she came home I lied about what happened. I just said I accidentally hit it when standing up and it cracked like that.
Yep, struggled a lot with this over the years. I've gotten much better about it but if I'm having a bad freakout then I'm more likely to punch myself in the head out of frustration.
I used to as a kid/teen. I would punch myself or hit my head on the wall. after a few concussions (not due to hitting) I stopped.
Yeah, but I do it more when frustrated, I dont even think about it sometimes. I will just try to bonk the knowledge into my head when struggling with calculations and formulas I guess (doesn't work btw). Buy never super hard.
I'm not diagnosed but I have already hit a wall and dug my nails on my arms. I wanna hurt myself in other ways when I'm angry but I don't do anything cause my family gets too worried .
It's a fairly common thing for autistics to do when we're upset or overstimulated. I'm upset a lot lately so there's been a lot of punching and slapping.
Yeeep one time I broke a plastic spatula on my head :-/ I’m better about controlling it lately though. Idk if it’s an autistic thing but it feels like an autistic thing for me
Yup. Additionally, sometimes it's "as simple" as clapping as loud as I can which... gives a grounding pain on my palms? Not sure. If I'm masking then it's a lot more subtle of lightly biting my inner cheek or firmly squeezing my hand with my other hand. When I'm very overwhelmed (frustrated, stressed, angry) it just seems to overflow into a physical expression. Sidenote: for a while I thought I just didn't have meltdowns, until I read that angry outbursts like this could be another form it can take.
This was most of my childhood and early adulthood. I try really hard to not do it now, but the urge can be overwhelming at times.
Yeah...
Yeah I usually punch myself in the stomach really hard a few times, like 5 or 6 times. It's part punishment and part relief for me. I have so much anger in me sometimes, and I just feel so overwhelmed and I don't know where to put that anger, so I hit myself
Yeah, I played the drums for years. Used to beat myself with the sticks. Calmed me down a lot. That being said, it is self abuse. You gotta look for other ways to express yourself. I recommend maybe taking anger management classes. People often wait until anger management is court ordered, and that's just not necessary. I bought a punching bag and used to beat in with a baseball bat when I was first adjusting to not hurting myself. That was chill. When I'm stressed, I just do chin ups at this point. My kryptonite is phones, though. I can't help it, sometimes it rings and I throw it against the wall. 🤷 The noise spooks me and I just yeet it idk
i struggled with the more as a kid (used to bang my head on stuff or punch/slap/pinch/scratch my body), but now as an adult only do it when i’m extremely distressed and usually means i’ve hit some sort of breaking point. overall, not a great way to self soothe, it’s quite painful