When I'm angry, why do I always feel the need to hurt myself?

You feel everything is your fault. You cannot take it out on the other person so you take it out on yourself. You hate yourself for what you've done, so you feel the need to hurt yourself.

Many people turn to self harm as a form of control when they are experiencing something they feel they are unable to control, such as intense emotions.

Often when we are experiencing extreme emotions such as anger, we may feel the need to do something which allows us a moment of calm or relief. Sometimes hurting oneself results in a release of endorphins or "happy hormones" which give us this relief.

My self-harm was also very tied in with anger. For me, I did not allow myself to express my anger outward, and I invalidated my feelings to an extent that I didn't think there was even any reason to talk about things because they 'weren't real'. Also, I did not express my feelings/distress in a healthy and frequent manner so they built up to a point where I was going to explode at someone - and it was either myself or others. Because I felt it was unacceptable to throw things or hit people, I hurt myself (which I considered a better or totally fine solution). It took a long time for me to re-learn how to manage distress and anger, but one of the first and most important things I tried (for me) was journaling and drawing and seeing a counselor. Those three things gave me private places to express and explore my feelings. I still got angry and hurt myself for a while (I had to learn DBT and CBT skills before I really recovered) but verbalizing my feelings and exploring where they originated was a critical first step to understanding what was going on in my head and heart.

Personally, I do it because I like the pain, and it keeps me grounded when I’m angry. Instead of hurting others physically, i do it to myself and just say hurtful things.

I struggle with this sometimes on a daily basis. I would want to take my anger out on myself because I didn't want to burden anyone with my problems or my anger itself. I would feel guilty for having people try to help me.

Well, multiple reasons, one has to do with control. When we feel we have to control over our lives and the direction it is headed, we self-injure as a way to take perceived control, as in "I can control what I do with my own body at least." But that idea is a façade. You are actually losing control when you self-injure. Another reason has to do with not having a coping mechanism to deal with a flood of overwhelming emotions. The concept of cutting when in pain is actually more universal than one might think. A lot of tribal cultures self-mutilate after the death of a loved one to show that they are grieving. I think that people want the internal pain to match their external. It's a way of crying out for help. But it isn't healthy. It's an endless cycle. When you self-mutilate you create a permanent reminder of your pain - and then looking at the scars will take you back to the same state - as in, "oh my, I can't believe what I did to myself" and make you want to cut again because you can't contain the guilt that you feel - when instead you should focus more on the positives and not sink into the cycle. Once you start, it can be very difficult to stop. I suggest finding alternative/healthy coping mechanisms, such as writing as a form of release, or exercising when you feel depressed, or any other hobby that sparks passion in you and that you find stress-relieving. It helps more than you know. Take that emotion and direct it toward something more productive and healthy that you can feel good about.

Self-harm releases hormones known as endorphines - which reduce the sensation of pain, relieve stress in the body, reduce blood pressure, boost self esteem and simultaneously act as a trigger for positive feelings within both the body and brain (like morphine).

Because you feel helpless, that no one can help, therefore you hurt yourself, because you need somebody to listen, to care and by hurting yourself you feel that you will get the attention you need to help you deal with the emotions and problems you are having to deal with.

Depression and anger are linked. It's possible that your anger is actually sadness. Another thing might be that you feel guilty for being angry. It's is perfectly ok to be angry. It is just another emotion.