Dysregulation

Dysregulation refers to instability in the brain’s control systems over time. It describes how a biological system behaves — its reactivity, timing, and ability to return to baseline — not a lack of effort, weak character, or poor self-discipline. In the context of mood or bipolar disorder, a dysregulated system may activate more intensely than expected, remain active longer than needed, recover slowly, or shift unpredictably between states. Feedback mechanisms that normally fine-tune mood, energy, sleep, and stress response may be less efficient or more sensitive. Also see Regulation