Dukkha in Buddhism

A very broad and central concept in Buddhist psychology is "dukkha" (Claxton, 1992), which is usually translated as "suffering"; but actually means something closer to "unsatisfactoriness." Literal translations include hard to bear, off the mark, and frustrating. It was used to refer to an axel off-center and a bone out of socket. It includes anxiety as described in Western psychology.
A very common example is when perceived reality does not match how one wants or expects reality to be. This discrepancy can be part of a feedback mechanism to guide behavior (Miller, Galanter, & Pribram, 1960). Dukkha arises when the discrepancy causes an undesired emotion, such as anxiety, anger, frustration, or jealousy. Dukkha then often impairs one’s behavior, such as one’s thinking. For example, if one’s child or co-worker is not acting as one wants, then this discrepancy may cause one to act in ways to influence the other person. But if the discrepancy also causes anger, then one may think less clearly and thus be less effective.
One may compare one’s image of one’s self with an ideal or possible self as a basic feedback mechanism for behavior change and personal growth (Stein & Markus, 1996). But this comparison may result in dukkha, such as anxiety or depression (Higgins, 1987; Rogers, 1961). One then acts to reduce the dukkha (escape conditioning). This negatively reinforced behavior may be desirable; or it may be problematic, such as binge eating (Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991) or many cases of self-deception, lying to oneself or denying oneself certain information (Lockard & Paulhus, 1988; Snyder & Higgins, 1988).
Another common form of dukkha is a sense of personal and/or spiritual unsatisfactoriness, possibly including the feeling that things are not quite right, the sense that real happiness is continually out of reach, and/or the conviction that one can’t get free. This dukkha is often part of the motivation that leads people to religion, spirituality, drugs, psychotherapy, and other possible cures. At the existential level one often encounters a form of dukkha based on a feeling of isolation, not being related to the whole (Yalom, 1980), and/or a threat to one’s existence as a self (May, 1967).
A third common source of dukkha, particularly in the United States, results from the more is never enough trap. This occurs when one believes that collecting more of something (e.g., possessions, money, power, fame) is the path to happiness and fulfillment. When this doesn’t work, there can be profound dukkha, such as a mid-life crisis.
Dukkha is a very general concept that cuts across many domains and levels of being. This generality makes it particularly useful in integrating Buddhist and Western psychologies. A strength of the concept is that all of dukkha is explained in terms of one dynamic: clinging.