topic Emotional dysregulation in Supporting family and friends

Emotional dysregulation

_KR_ — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 08:45:30 GMT

I got an email from my daughter's psyc today saying her behaviour was due to her emotional dysregulation. She has bipolar. I have done a quick google but I don't really understand. In layman's terms what is emotional dysregulation with someone with bipolar?

Emotional dysregulation

white knight — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 09:31:09 GMT

Hi kr, welcome

I see it as mood swings. Bipolar people like me often have to take mood stabilisers in conjuction with other medicines for this reason.

like depression and other mental illnesses one is better off managing it than hoping for a cure. Chat with your medical professional about it.

We have a thread "this bipolar life" if that interests you or your daughter.

Best of luck. Post anytime to ask similar questions to get answers from the sufferers viewpoint

Tony WK

Emotional dysregulation

romantic_thi3f — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 01:09:47 GMT

Hi *KR*

Thanks for your post.

Emotions: feelings

Dysregulation: abnormality or impairment

Being able to regulate our feelings is something most people learn at a young age. Toddlers go from screaming or throwing a tantrum to learning how to calm down, think and then act. The 'regulation' is helping them stop and think and be mindful of how they're feeling.

I'm using toddlers as an example but the same theory applies to adults with bipolar or other mental illnesses. The 'dysregulation' is when emotions can run high, be intense, seem overreactive and can take longer to come down to baseline/normal state. I'm guessing that this is what's happening with your daughter.

I hope this answers your questions!

Emotional dysregulation

_KR_ — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 13:08:26 GMT

Thank you,

I'm still having a hard time coming to terms with one moment okay, pretty much 'normal' to the next writing notes that she wants to die... Emotional dysregulation makes this easier to understand

Emotional dysregulation

romantic_thi3f — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 00:16:50 GMT

Hi *KR*

Thanks for your post.

I'm glad that you're able to better understand this now; I think that knowing what's happening can be a big part of acceptance; with why these things are happening and what's going on inside her brain to make her feel and act this way.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or we can help in anyway. Hopefully your daughters psych is able to help as well with both your daughter and yourself. Working as a team really is key.