Dysphoria / Dissonance

Dysphoria / Dissonance

(noun)

Everyone experiences dysphoria differently; therefore, it can be hard to explain which is why the term “dissonance” is also used to try and describe the feeling of dysphoria. Dysphoria is often described as the discomfort, pain, and unhappiness that is experienced by many transgender people in their relationship to the commonly gendered parts of their body (physical dysphoria), and/or to the way people interact with them (social dysphoria), based on incongruence between their experience and their internal gender. Not all transgender people experience dysphoria. The opposite of dysphoria is euphoria. Some trans people may not understand themselves as experiencing dysphoria but later recognize it as such. Transition is one way that folks manage their dysphoria.

e.g. Dani didn’t realize that the discomfort they’ve felt since a young age was dysphoria, but looking back at its effects, it became increasingly obvious.

Further reading to gain expanded context:

I Thought I Was Ugly. I Didn’t Realize it was Gender Dysphoria | Let’s Queer Things Up

What is Gender Dysphoria? | Healthline

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