Would you punish yourself?

[AFTT47]

I've brought this up before (sorry if I sound like a vinyl record with a skip in it) but brain research has revealed that every external stimulus goes through an emotional filter before reaching the logical center of our brain. So yes, none of us are physiologically capable of purely logical thought. In light of this, it is no surprise that any of us would beat up on ourself in an irrational way.

When I met my wife, we were both young and not in good financial shape. We were living together (much to the disapproval of her parents). They didn't like me. But when winter came, they bought me a parka. They didn't do it for me; they did it so their daughter wouldn't be burdened by a partner who got sick and couldn't work. Their dislike of me came to a head before the end of that winter and with stupid pride, I eschewed wearing that parka - even when I needed it. I went about with inadequate clothing even though it didn't really accomplish anything. My future wife's parents knew nothing of this so it did nothing to change their opinion of me. I did it because it fed my ego. No logic to it.

Like it or not, we are flawed. The best we can do at the present is recognize our flaws and do the best we can to compensate for them. The scientific method is probably the most brilliant solution to that problem. It isn't a thing that is often applied to our domestic lives though. So yeah, we all punish ourselves in ways that really don't make logical sense.

[Athene]

Ghandi would starve himself in order to bring attention to much needed change.  Some people consider his sacrifice as having been noble, while others certainly thought he was being downright stupid to punish himself in such a way.

Sometimes, although I understand how irrational it is, I punish myself by not eating when I have become upset by people with whom I interact.

Have you ever, or would you ever, punish yourself in such a way?

I would if I were imprisoned and severely limited in my means of drawing attention to some grievous injustice or another. 

Otherwise, my inclination would be to save the "punishing" for those who were actually guilty of wrongdoing.

[The Valkyrie]

Nope.

Everyone knows just how much I dislike humans, right?

[WinterHold]

Not at all.
I would accept the punishment if what I did was wrong; and I would accept it gladly. But doing it to myself is not an option.

I have this concept: we are born with empty heads; and keep learning until we die. Then there is this Quranic verse that always reminds me with staying off self harm:

Sura 4, The Quran:
( 29 )   O you who have believed, do not consume one another's wealth unjustly but only business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.

Sura 2, The Quran:
( 195 )   And spend in the way of Allah and do not throw [yourselves] with your [own] hands into destruction. And do good; indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.

Yep..according to my belief; God is merciful to me and to every thing, I shouldn't throw myself to destruction either. Ruining my body with bruises and starvation as self punishment is quite useless. Self harm is quite useless; it's not your fault that some people are assholes.

God is merciful, and his mercy engulfs all. Even the atheists.
So don't self-harm.

[bennyboy]

Absolutely.

When things go bad in life, and you feel you can't control much in your environment, you can always work on controlling yourself. I'm still engaged in this kind of self-punishment: I've been vegetarian for almost 30 years now, because I was a train wreck as a young man, and establishing discipline over myself was a great way to start respecting myself more.

[Catholic_Lady]

Depends on what you mean by punish yourself I suppose. Is dieting and exercise and denying yourself of any sort of immediate gratification for the sake of a better overall outcome in the long run considered "punishing yourself?" My husband is currently at SERE training where he will be made to go hungry, go cold, get beaten and stripped naked and deprived of sleep. I suppose you could say that's punishment on yourself since he's doing it voluntarily, but it's for a greater, bigger purpose.

[The Industrial Atheist]

I have done things that were harsh to my body at times when I was extremely upset. I don't think I was trying to punish myself though and what I did wasn't that extreme.
To be clear, I'm not talking about what would clinically be referred to as self harm.

[Catholic_Lady]

Yeah, if by this you mean "self harm", Kit, then no. Absolutely not. But I wouldnt consider that to be what Ghandi did.

[vorlon13]

If you're all waiting for someone to post about self inflicted rectal baro-trauma . . . .

[bennyboy]

Yeah, if by this you mean "self harm", Kit, then no.  Absolutely not. But I wouldnt consider that to be what Ghandi did.

I'm pretty sure that refusing to eat harms oneself.