Using physical pain to calm yourself.

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I'm not doing anything with the goal of hurting myself, yet digging fingernails into myself calms me and in a way I can feel even positive emotions. It's like digging fingernails into myself breaks through a 'wall' or something between me and the emotions.

It can turn into wanting to self injure if I do it when depressed or in any negative emotion though.

And doing it for either reason doesn't sound healthy, so because of that I feel like I should stop doing it to calm myself. And sort of guilty for doing it and not wanting to stop myself. I think NTs and maybe some people on the spectrum will see that as self-injury when it isn't.

Does anyone else use physical pain/sensations to let yourself 'feel' even positive emotions?

do not tell a mandated reporter that

they have a way of exaggeratin, misunderstanding, catastrophizing thinhd

Yes, it helps me feel better too when I'm stressed. Most of the time when I do it though it's through some kind of strenuous activity that will cause some pain.

Yes, pain is calming.
Only I have taken it to extremes at times and caused myself real injury.
When I'm in the situation where I need to use pain for relief, I'm not always able to choose a less destructive option.
Sometimes I need to be restrained.
Then afterwards I feel distressed and want to harm again.
It becomes a horrible cycle.

physical pain calms me down and helps me focus when i feel too much emotion, unclear emotion, or really any kind of stress. there is nothing else like it.

i know i SHOULD stop, but i don't want to for the most part (have stopped banging my head against walls and drawing blood at least).

Any of you guys tried meditation? I also find when I'm stressed I pacify myself by stressing my body more to kinda disengage but I don't think it's healthy. I'm making an effort to meditate regularly and avoid getting to that point in the first place