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: What
 
is
 
emotion
 
dysregulation? “Emotion
 
dysregulation”
 
is
 
the
 
term
 
used
 
to
 
describe
 
an
inability
 
to
 
regularly
 
use
 
healthy
 
strategies
 
to
 
diffuse
 
or
moderate
 
negative
 
emotions. While
 
all
 
people
 
occasionally
use
 
less
 
than
 
ideal
 
emotion
 
regulation
 
strategies,
 
individuals
who
 
regularly
 
experience
 
what
 
feels
 
like
 
overwhelming,
intense
 
negative
 
emotions
 
are
 
much
 
more
 
likely
 
to
 
rely
 
on
unhealthy
 
strategies,
 
like
 
self-injury. What
 
causes
 
emotions
 
to
 
feel
 
so
 
overwhelming? It
 
is
 
really
important
 
to
 
note
 
that
 
the
 
experience
 
of
 
an
 
emotion
 
per
 
se
 
is
not
 
what
 
leads
 
to
 
difficulties. 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?”