Thank you for asking this. It’s an important question to discuss. Anxiety is felt by many children and adults alike, and some do resort to harming themselves as a way to deal with uncomfortable feelings. Punching your head is indeed a form of self-harm. While self-harm may offer some short-term relief, it can result in serious bodily harm and is likely to intensify anxious feelings.
Therefore, consider substituting self-harm with safer and more effective coping mechanisms. Some examples are:
- deep breathing
- engaging your five senses
- taking a walk
- doing a pleasurable activity
For more support and information, seek consultation with your school counselor, family, trusted adult, or a healthcare provider. For emergency consultation, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline (800-273-8255) to speak to somebody immediately or call 911. It’s important to continue to ask these questions and be introspective, while advocating for yourself when in need. We wish you health and safety on your journey.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.