Klesa: Afflictive Patterns

Patanjali identified five kleshas or afflictions that are root sources of suffering: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego-clinging), raga (craving), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death). These aren't moral failings but habitual patterns of mind that perpetuate dysregulation. Emotional dysregulation can be understood through the klesa lens: dysregulated individuals operate from fundamental ignorance about the nature of emotions; they cling to rigid self-concepts that can't accommodate emotional change; they desperately crave relief or emotional states they cannot sustain; they push away painful feelings with destructive intensity; and they may harbor unconscious existential fears driving self-destructive behavior. DBT addresses these patterns through multiple pathways: skills training provides correct understanding (counteracting avidya), mindfulness undermines ego-clinging, opposite action addresses craving and aversion, and values work touches existential dimensions. By understanding dysregulation through the klesa framework, clinicians recognize that emotional reactivity isn't character pathology but habitual mental patterning amenable to systematic change through the practices Patanjali outlined and that DBT operationalizes.