The Five Kleshas as Trauma-Driven Afflictions

Patanjali identifies five kleshas (afflictions) that obscure truth and create suffering: avidya (ignorance), asmita (false ego), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of annihilation). In C-PTSD, these manifest distinctly. Avidya appears as trauma-based beliefs: 'the world is unsafe, I am broken.' Asmita manifests as trauma identity—defining oneself entirely by what happened. Raga and dvesha drive the compulsive cycles of seeking safety/avoiding triggers. Abhinivesha becomes hyper-vigilance and death anxiety. By mapping trauma responses onto the klesha framework, survivors can recognize these are conditioned patterns, not truth. This creates space for inquiry: What trauma-based belief am I holding? Where am I attached to protective strategies that no longer serve? This philosophical anatomy transforms vague suffering into identifiable, workable patterns.