Kleshas as Trauma-Driven Mental Afflictions

Patanjali identifies five fundamental kleshas (afflictions) that cloud consciousness: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego/false identity), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death/annihilation). Trauma powerfully activates and entrenches these kleshas. A traumatized person develops distorted self-identity shaped by the trauma (asmita), operates from incomplete understanding (avidya), clings to protective patterns (raga), avoids triggers intensely (dvesha), and often experiences existential terror (abhinivesha). EMDR's dual awareness processing naturally addresses these afflictions: as traumatic memories are reprocessed with bilateral stimulation, the distorted beliefs and identity formations begin to shift. The nervous system completes its interrupted processing, and reality-based cognitions naturally emerge. The client no longer views themselves through the trauma lens, ignorance gives way to integration, and the existential terror resolves through direct nervous system resolution rather than intellectual analysis alone.