I was raised in a completely violence free household, and have rarely ever been hit by anyone. Still, I started slapping myself to stay awake on the road on long trips when I was 18. Since then I’ve occasionally slapped myself for motivation and focus. I do it especially when I consider my own behavior, usually procrastination, to be unacceptable. Doing it in public is something I can’t imagine, however, and I’d never hit anyone else (unless asked).

Anyway I think it’s a kind of motivation that the human anatomy understands, and it might not be sinister at all.

Cheers, Sean