angular value suddenly reverses

[0xPr0xy]

When the joystick is being held in one direction, and then I touch up (let go of joystick) the angular value is suddenly reversed (for example from 3 to -3) while moving back to it's centre position. This is a blocking issue for me as the sprite suddenly moves in the reverse direction while it actually should be moving (slower) in the same direction until stopping when the joystick reaches it's center