Title: 
Headings: 
What
 
is
 
emotion
 
dysregulation?
 

Breaking
 
the
 
cycle

Emotion
 
dysregulation,
 
reducing
 
high
 
emo-
tional
 
arousal,
 
and
 
self-injury

Do
 
women
 
and
 
men
 
differ
 
in
 
their
 
ability
 
to
regulate
 
their
 
emotions?

Summary

References


Content: It
 
is
 
the
interpretation
of
 
this
emotion
 
that
 
tends
 
to
 
ratchet
 
up
 
feelings
 
and
 
a
 
sense
 
of
 
not
being
 
able
 
to
 
tolerate
 
them. We
 
call
 
this
 
a
 
“vicious
 
emotional
cycle.” Emotions,
 
thoughts,
 
and
 
our
 
behavior
 
are
 
all
 
linked
together. For
 
instance,
 
consider
 
this
 
common
 
scenario: A
friend
 
walks
 
right
 
past
 
you
 
in
 
the
 
hallway
 
without
acknowledging
 
you
 
and
 
you
 
immediately
 
have
 
a
 
rapid
 
fire
 
set
of
 
feelings,
 
like
 
confusion
 
or
 
disappointment
 
or
 
self-doubt
 
or
anger,
 
that
 
turns
 
quickly
 
into
 
a
 
series
 
of
 
thoughts
 
about
 
that
event
 
(e.g.,
 
“What
 
did
 
I
 
do
 
wrong?” “I’ll
 
bet
 
that
 
she
 
is
 
mad
 
at
me
 
for
 
that
 
thing
 
that
 
happened
 
a
 
few
 
weeks
 
ago…”
 
“I
 
am
sure
 
it
 
was
 
nothing,
 
I
 
am
 
being
 
oversensitive,
 
she
 
was
probably
 
in
 
a
 
hurry
 
somewhere. But
 
still…”). This
 
initial
cascade
 
can
 
lead
 
to
 
intense
 
or
 
acute
 
feelings
 
(e.g.,
 
frustration,
panic,
 
insecurity)
 
and
 
you
 
may
 
have
 
a
 
strong
 
desire
 
to
 
not
 
be
feeling
 
the
 
negative
 
feelings
 
coming
 
up. This
 
desire
 
turns
 
into
action: you
 
do
 
something
 
(e.g.,
 
go
 
home
 
and
 
dwell
 
on
 
it;