Patanjali's taxonomy of emotional/cognitive afflictions that generate suffering, providing a framework for understanding the roots of dysregulation patterns.
Patanjali identifies five klesas (afflictions): avidya (misperception), asmita (ego/self-identification), raga (craving/attachment), dvesha (aversion/rejection), and abhinivesha (fear of death/change). These aren't moral failings but natural mental patterns that intensify suffering. For emotional dysregulation, the klesas framework is illuminating: a person might dysregulate through raga (craving validation, leading to interpersonal hypersensitivity), dvesha (rejecting sadness, leading to emotional suppression), or abhinivesha (terror of change, leading to rigidity and crisis). Unlike diagnostic labels, klesas are universal—Patanjali suggests everyone struggles with them. This normalizes dysregulation: it's not a sign of weakness but a human condition. DBT's comprehensive skills (mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness) systematically address each klesha. Mindfulness reduces avidya, values-work addresses asmita, opposite action works against raga and dvesha, and distress tolerance handles abhinivesha. Patanjali's framework offers clients a profound reorientation: dysregulation isn't pathology to eradicate but habitual patterns to gradually transform through consistent practice and skillful understanding.
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