Get A Hold Of Yourself Man - Television Tropes & Idioms

alt title(s): Bright Slap

"You hit me! Not even my father ever hit me!"

"When a man strays from the right path, a kind man needs the courage to raise his fist and correct him."

Like Percussive Maintenance, but for people.

The Hero has just gone off the deep end under stress. Proving himself to be Not So Above It All, he grows increasingly hysterical, Jerkass, unresponsive or (w)angsty, at a time when his team needs his unaffected leadership the most. How do you fix the hero?

With the Spike Spiegel School of Concussive Maintenance, of course!

His Sidekick, Distaff Counterpart, right-hand man or woman, love interest (specially the ladies of the Tsundere or Broken Bird kind) or commander jolts him back to his senses with a sharp slap with either the front or the back of his hand, or just a straight-up punch to the face, and occasionally a retort for him to get his head out of his ass already (see entry title for the archetypal one). In anime, the phrase "Shikkari shiro!" is often heard. The shame-faced hero says something along the lines of "Thanks. I needed that." Alternately, "Not even my dad hits me!", but they still calm down.

Alternatively in a program wanting to limit the potential for imitation violence, a glass of cold water may be used to bring the subject back to their senses.

Might overlap with the Dope Slap.