Patanjali's framework of five mental afflictions—ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, fear—that generate emotional dysregulation.
Patanjali identifies five kleshas (afflictions): avidya (ignorance of reality), asmita (false ego/identity), raga (attachment/craving), dvesha (aversion/resistance), and abhinivesha (fear of loss/death). These aren't moral failings but psychological patterns that generate suffering and dysregulation. Avidya—not seeing things as they truly are—leads to unrealistic emotional expectations. Asmita creates fragile identity bound to emotional states. Raga and dvesha drive desperate emotional chasing and avoidance. Abhinivesha generates anxiety about emotional/existential loss. DBT addresses these without naming them: emotion regulation works against avidya and asmita; distress tolerance addresses raga and dvesha; mindfulness counters all five. Understanding kleshas gives dysregulated individuals a compassionate diagnostic lens: your emotional reactivity isn't character failure but natural psychological patterns operating. The practice involves seeing these patterns clearly, which begins to weaken their grip. For emotional dysregulation, recognizing your particular klesha pattern—which afflictions drive your reactivity—transforms treatment from generic skills to targeted psychological healing.
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