Kleshas: The Five Afflictions Driving Dysregulation

The kleshas—avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death)—are Patanjali's psychological diagnosis of suffering sources. These afflictions operate beneath conscious awareness, driving reactive patterns and emotional dysregulation. Avidya, fundamental misperception of reality, underlies many dysregulation triggers: misinterpreting neutral events as threats, misidentifying temporary emotional states as permanent truths, or misunderstanding one's capacity for change. Asmita—ego-identification—intensifies shame when dysregulation occurs, creating cycles of avoidance. Raga and dvesha generate the approach-avoidance conflicts central to emotional dysregulation: desperately seeking relief from pain while resisting the emotions themselves. Abhinivesha—existential fear—fuels catastrophic thinking about emotional loss of control. In DBT, identifying and working with these kleshas enriches treatment: validating that dysregulation isn't character failure but manifestation of these universal afflictions; recognizing that emotional wounds activate ancestral survival patterns; understanding that regulation work fundamentally addresses these root afflictions. This framework transforms dysregulation from pathology into understandable psychological phenomenon.