Emotional Dysregulation

Emotional dysregulation is characterized by an inability to flexibly respond to and manage emotional states, resulting in intense and prolonged emotional reactions that deviate from social norms and surpass what is appropriate or proportional to the stimulus that provoked them. It is often linked to physical factors such as brain injury, to psychological factors such as adverse childhood experiences, and to ongoing maltreatment including abuse, neglect or institutional abuse, and it can also follow damage to the frontal cortices of the brain or accompany neurodegenerative disease. It may be present in people with conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, and it can manifest as extreme tearfulness, angry or behavioral outbursts, aggression toward oneself or others, or threats to kill oneself, interfering with relationships at home, school or work.