#penance

• To self-flagellate — To whip or scourge oneself, as an act of ritual penance or physical mortification in certain religious practices. Figuratively and psychologically, it denotes extreme self-reproach, severe self-accusation, or excessive mental punishment over a mistake or guilt.
• Self-flagellation — The act of whipping or scourging oneself; ritual self-flagellation performed as a physical penance. Figuratively and psychologically, it denotes a destructive mental process of severe self-accusation, extreme self-reproach, and exaggerated emotional punishment driven by deep guilt.
• To self-flagellate — To self-flagellate; to inflict whips or severe physical punishments on oneself as an act of religious penance, expiation of sins, or mystical fanaticism. Figuratively, the term describes the action of self-deprecating or critically blaming oneself in an excessive, harsh, and destructive manner due to deep guilt.
• Self-flagellation — The act of self-flagellating and its result; a practice consisting of voluntarily inflicting whips or other severe bodily punishments on one's own body, specific to mystical penance rituals. Figuratively, it represents a psychological behavior marked by excessive self-criticism, obsessive guilt, and systematic self-deprecation following a failure.