Clinging in Buddhism

The mind has a tendency to crave for and cling to certain sensations, perceptions, beliefs, expectations, opinions, rituals, images of the self, and models of reality. In essential Buddhism, this craving and clinging is the cause of dukkha. The reason comparing one’s perception of one’s self with an ideal self causes dukkha is because of some clinging, such as to the desire or belief that there should be no discrepancy. A possible cause of a midlife crisis is the clinging to an unrealistic image of how one’s life should be at some point, even when realistically one has a good life.
In Buddhism one of the "marks of existence" is impermanence (anicca), the principle that everything changes. If one clings to something as it is at some time (e.g., one’s relationship to child or spouse, a restaurant or vacation place, one’s youth), then one will suffer dukkha when it changes. If one doesn’t cling, there is no dukkha and one can go along with the change and perhaps influence it (e.g., allow a relationship to evolve, find a new vacation place, age gracefully).
If one clings to certain ideas or opinions, one will suffer dukkha when one is wrong, and will probably have trouble recognizing one is wrong and changing one’s mind. Instead one may come up with reasons why one is not really wrong after all. Clinically, it is common for people to cling to some behavior patterns even when they are not working well, in some cases because the people define themselves in terms of these behaviors and cling to those self-images. Clinging results in psychological inertia, a resistance to change, even when the change would make the person’s life more effective and happier. Hence, clinging impairs behavior change and personal growth (Maul & Maul, 1983) and reducing clinging improves them (Mikulas, 2004b).
In addition to dukkha and resistance to change, clinging may also produce distortion in perceptions (e.g., seeing things in ways to fit one’s beliefs) and impairment in thinking (e.g., holding on to some assumptions, decreased mental flexibility). This relates clinging to the dynamics of many psychological theories, such as psychodynamic defense mechanisms, cognitive dissonance theory, the "new look" in perception, and schemas in cognitive psychology, which is beyond the scope of this paper.
In Buddhist psychology, clinging is always detrimental, even though what one clings to may be judged desirable or not by various practical, psychological, ethical, and legal considerations. Glasser (1976) suggested there are some "positive addictions," such as for running or meditating; this is disputed in Buddhist psychology. To be motivated and committed to jog every possible morning may be good for one’s biological and perhaps psychological health; but if one clings to this, then one suffers dukkha when one cannot jog, as when prohibited by the weather.