Read part one of this series here, and part two here.
Dysregulation is a word that appears frequently in conversations about neurodiversity, yet it is often used imprecisely or framed as a ‘behavioural problem’. Within the Embodied Mind series, dysregulation is better understood as an embodied physiological state, shaped by nervous system overload, environmental stressors, and unmet regulation needs (our previous blog on Stimming is a great example of how this might occur in practice).
Rather than asking why someone is suddenly behaving differently, an embodied perspective asks a more useful question: what is happening in the brain-body right now?
What dysregulation actually means
Dysregulation refers to a state in which the nervous system moves outside a range where it can process information, sensory input, and demands in a manageable way. It is not a fixed trait and not something a person “is”. It is a temporary and fluctuating state, influenced by context, cumulative demands, and available support.
When assessing information we receive from our environment and our bodies, our nervous system determines whether we need to act (this is known as our sympathetic nervous system, or the ‘F’ system – fight, flight, freeze, fawn or flop). Dysregulation happens in our ability to move successfully from action, to rest and digest (this is called the parasympathetic nervous system). In reality, you are safe (there is no bear or tiger primed to attack), but your sympathetic nervous system is activated, meaning you cannot shift gears.
Importantly, dysregulation is not the same as distress or meltdown (though it can often contribute to these presentations). It can be subtle, internal, and largely invisible. Someone may still be communicating, working, or interacting while heavily dysregulated, often at significant physiological cost.
From an embodied standpoint, dysregulation is about capacity, not character. The sympathetic nervous system leans into the Amygdala, the emotional response area of the brain. It therefore makes a lot of sense that much of the research that has been conducted into dysregulation in neurodivergent populations focuses on emotional dysregulation (Beck et al., 2026; Pavlopoulou et al., 2025; Morris et al., 2025). Explosive anger or upset that appears to come out of nowhere, a slow retreat into oneself, or a happy smiley ‘mask’ which eventually drops into the phrase: “I can’t do this anymore”. This is a cumulative indicator of an overactive sympathetic nervous system, that is dysregulated, potentially stuck, and unable to move successfully back and forth, as needed.
Why neurodivergent bodies dysregulate differently
Neurodivergent nervous systems often process sensory input, predictability, and internal bodily signals differently. In our previous Embodied Mind blogs, we draw attention to research by Ferguson (2017), who identified that neurodivergent people appear to spend more time in a heightened sympathetic (stress) state. This means that thresholds for overload may be lower, recovery may take longer, and stressors may accumulate without obvious outward signs.
Dysregulation rarely results from a single event. It is more often the outcome of cumulative overload: ongoing sensory input, rapid transitions, social monitoring, unexpected change, masking, or prolonged periods without access to regulating strategies (Makris et al., 2022).
Sensory integration is particularly relevant here because dysregulation often reflects a mismatch between sensory demands, bodily capacity, and available regulation strategies. If you’d like to learn more about Sensory Integration, and the importance of understanding our sensory needs in relation to regulation, check out OT4me.
What appears to others as inconsistency or overreaction is, at a bodily level, the nervous system signalling that capacity has been exceeded. The clear connection between brain-body and action has been demonstrated by Eccles et al. (2024), who found that proprioceptive imprecision (such as misjudging where your body is in space), or unexpected bodily cues (like when you reach for something and it is lighter/heavier than expected), can trigger strong emotional responses, leading to activation of the sympathetic nervous system and ultimately lead to dysregulation.
When dysregulation becomes a health concern
When dysregulation is frequent or prolonged, it stops being a momentary state and becomes a health concern. Sustained nervous system activation places demand on stress pathways, contributes to fatigue, exacerbates pain and gastrointestinal difficulties, and increases vulnerability to burnout. Geiss et al. (2023) noted electrodermal activity (increased sweat production), heart rate variability and blood pressure variability, as well as impaired vagal tone, were all worryingly observed at increased levels in studies that looked at ADHD and dysregulation of the nervous systems.
Many neurodivergent people learn to function through dysregulation, particularly in professional or social contexts. While this may preserve outward functioning, it often does so by drawing heavily on physiological reserves. The cost is paid later, through exhaustion, illness, or collapse in capacity.
From this perspective, regulation is not a preference or accommodation. It is essential when considering a person’s wellbeing.
Regulation is not the same as calm
A common misunderstanding is that regulation should look like calmness or stillness. In reality, regulation is about restoring access to capacity.
For many neurodivergent bodies, stillness can increase dysregulation. Movement, repetitive sensory input, pressure, sound, or rhythm may be what allows the nervous system to stabilise. This is why practices such as exercise or stimming are not secondary strategies but core mechanisms of embodied regulation.
Calm can be an outcome of regulation, but it is not a prerequisite.
Ways to support regulation
Though everyone’s nervous systems will be regulated in different ways (mainly because they will be dysregulated for different reasons), there are some general conversations that offer a starting point:
- Polyvagal-informed or parasympathetic stimulation: some people may find regulating input helpful, such as slow rhythm, humming, vocalisation, gentle movement, breath-led practices, cold water, or other approaches intended to support a shift back towards parasympathetic regulation. These should be offered carefully, not prescribed, as different bodies respond differently.
- Sensory regulation: reducing or adjusting sensory input can be central to regulation. This might include access to quiet, lower lighting, headphones, pressure, warmth, movement, or changes to the immediate environment.
- Stimming and self-directed movement: repetitive movement, sound, touch, rocking, pacing, fidgeting or other forms of stimming may support regulation by giving the nervous system predictable input. These should be understood as meaningful regulation strategies, not behaviours to interrupt.
- Recovery time and reduced demand: when in dysregulation, the nervous system may need time before it can re-engage with conversation, decision-making, work, or social expectations. Allowing withdrawal, reducing demands, and avoiding immediate debriefing can be part of meaningful support.
- External support: Working with a specialist neurodiversity mental health professional or coach is often a valuable way for people to understand their nervous systems, and develop strategies that may assist them to shift between regulation/dysregulation in the future.
It’s important to note that people who are dysregulated cannot just “calm down”. Instead, it can be helpful to think in terms of options that support nervous system capacity, autonomy and recovery.
Rethinking support through an embodied lens
Supporting regulation does not require controlling behaviour or waiting for crisis points. It involves attending to load, predictability, and access to embodied regulation before capacity is exceeded.
An embodied approach prioritises:
- Reducing unnecessary sensory and cognitive load
- Respecting early signals of dysregulation
- Allowing safe, self‑directed regulation strategies
- Understanding recovery as essential, not optional
This shift moves the focus away from managing dysregulation and towards supporting wellbeing.
Bringing it back to Embodied Mind +
Across the Embodied Mind + series, regulation is a unifying theme. Exercise represents intentional regulation. Stimming reflects spontaneous, self‑directed regulation. Dysregulation shows what happens when regulation needs are constrained, delayed, or ignored.
Neurodivergent wellbeing begins not with behaviour change, labels, or resilience narratives, but with recognising that our bodies are doing a significant amount the work and that this needs to be considered in conjunction with the brain.
References
- Beck K, B., MacKenzie K, T., Kumar T., Breitenfeldt, K. E., Chang, J. C., Conner, C. M., Mandell, D. L., White, S. W. and Mazefsky, C. A. (2026). “The World’s Really Not Set Up for the Neurodivergent Person”: Understanding Emotion Dysregulation from the Perspective of Autistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood, 8(1): 68-78. DOI:10.1089/aut.2023.0214
- Eccles, J. A., Quadt, L., Garfinkel, S. N., Critchley, H. D (2024) A model linking emotional dysregulation in neurodivergent people to the proprioceptive impact of joint hypermobility. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Biological Sciences, 379 (1908): 20230247. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0247
- Geiss L., Stemmler M., Beck B., Hillemacher, T., Widder, M., & Hösl, K. M. (2023). Dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. A systematic review. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 28(4) :285-306. DOI: 10.1080/13546805.2023.2255336.
- Hartley, T. (2026) Coming to Calm. Accessible: https://www.thelisteningspace.co.uk/coming-to-calm
- Ferguson B. J., Marler S., Altstein L. L., Lee E. B., Akers J., Sohl K., McLaughlin A., Hartnett K., Kille B., Mazurek M., Macklin E. A., McDonnell E., Barstow M., Bauman M. L., Margolis K. G., Veenstra-VanderWeele J., Beversdorf D. Q. (2017) Psychophysiological Associations with Gastrointestinal Symptomatology in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Res. 10(2), 276-288. DOI: 10.1002/aur.1646.
- Pavlopoulou, G., Chandler, S., Lukito, S. et al. (2025) Situating emotion regulation in autism and ADHD through neurodivergent adolescents’ perspectives. Sci Rep 15, 37464. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-21208-x
- Makris G, Agorastos A, Chrousos G.P & Pervanidou P (2022) Stress System Activation in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder. Frontiers in Neuroscience. 15:756628. DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.756628
- Morris S. S. J, Musser E. D, Tenenbaum R. B, Ward A. R, Martinez J, Raiker J. S, Coles E. K, Riopelle C. (2020) Emotion Regulation via the Autonomic Nervous System in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Replication and Extension. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 48(3): 361-373. DOI: 10.1007/s10802-019-00593-8