दुःखानुशयी द्वेषः

duhkha anusayi dvesah

Aversion is tending to pain.

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 2.8

duhkha = pain
anusayi = follow, tending to
dvesah = aversion

How about thinking of aversion as a kind of sticky plaster that helps to protect our wounds so we can heal? 🙂