What are emotional regulation disorders?

Emotional regulation disorders are when someone has trouble calming down or getting excited in a way that feels normal to most people.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, it's brand new, and you're super happy. But if you have an emotional regulation disorder, you might get so excited that you start jumping around, yelling, or even crying, and it’s hard to stop. Or maybe you’re playing quietly, and then someone takes your toy, and suddenly you feel super sad or angry, and you can’t seem to go back to being calm.

Think of emotions like a playground swing. Most kids can ride the swing up and down without getting too wild or too still. But if you have an emotional regulation disorder, it’s like the swing goes way higher than it should, or it barely moves at all, and it's hard to get it back to a normal rhythm.

Sometimes your brain feels like it’s on a rollercoaster instead of a calm swing, going up and down really fast, and you can’t tell when it will stop. That makes it hard to play, talk, or even sleep sometimes.