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self-punishment

self-punishment

1 7.5
Making yourself suffer because you feel guilty
  • noun
  • /sɛlf-ˈpʌnɪʃmənt/
translation icon : autopunición
  • Doomed by race to little work and by sex to roles that reinforced self-punishment, she died young; a casualty of drugs and alcohol.

Maybe it's a reward process, maybe it's through self punishment, maybe it's through self reward in the positive sense.

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Examples

  • Positive evaluations are in the form of self-reward, while self-punishment follows unfavorable evaluations.

    Academic text (1996)
  • "In here, it's self-punishment." "That can be a good feeling, too," Downer said.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • His self-punishment made her feel sick.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I waited for three years, and it was like a self-punishment.

    Blog text (15)
  • Researchers note that self-punishment is an important component of eating disorders (Striegel-Moore et al., 1986).

    Academic text (1996)
  • After years of self-punishment for her mistakes, she finally learned to forgive herself.

  • He engaged in self-punishment each time he felt he had let his family down.

  • The therapist suggested that constant self-punishment was hindering his ability to move forward.

Synonyms

self-criticism
vsself-punishment
4 5.1

A habit of judging yourself harshly for your actions or abilities

is focused on actual self-harm responses rather than internal judgment
self-flagellation
vsself-punishment
2 9.9

To punish yourself by hitting your body with a whip, often for religious reasons

covers many ways of responding to guilt beyond this specific whipping practice
self-abasement
vsself-punishment
1 9.3

Act of making yourself feel ashamed to show you are sorry

is wider and includes other harmful responses beyond humiliation
self-torture
vsself-punishment
1 7.4

Causing yourself pain by thinking a lot about bad things

involves active harmful acts toward oneself rather than mainly mental suffering
self-reproach
vsself-punishment
1 7.1

A feeling of blaming yourself for something you did wrong

expresses a harsher act that causes harm to oneself in response to guilt
self-condemnation
vsself-punishment
1 7.9

To blame yourself for mistakes or failures

is more about taking harmful action against oneself, not only blame
self-mortification
vsself-punishment
  • NSFW
9.9

A practice of hurting yourself on purpose to show discipline or say sorry, often for religious reasons

is broader and not limited to religious pain or discipline
self-torment
vsself-punishment
8.6

To make yourself feel sad or guilty on purpose by replaying past events

is the broader act of causing harm to oneself for guilt reasons
self-reproof
vsself-punishment
8.9

A feeling of blaming yourself for a mistake

is less about inner criticism and more about causing oneself harm
self-accusation
vsself-punishment
7.6

Blaming yourself for things you did wrong

is centered on active responses that hurt oneself beyond mere admission

Antonyms

333 2.2

An act of letting go of anger toward someone after they hurt you

How Severe

self-punishment
1 7.5

Surface Forms

Morphology

self-punishment = self + punishment (transparent) = self + punishment

The meaning is directly compositional: 'self' + 'punishment' = punishment inflicted on oneself.

Etymology

Self-punishment is made of self- meaning 'your own' and punishment meaning 'penalty'. So it is like giving yourself a penalty or making yourself suffer because of guilt, which explains the modern meaning.