Dysphoria - GoodTherapy

Dysphoria is a psychological state that is often caused by or accompanies a mental health condition. Stress, grief, relationship difficulties, and other ... Home> GoodTherapyBlog> < PsychPedia> Dysphoria Dysphoria Dysphoriaisastateofgeneralizedunhappiness,restlessness,dissatisfaction,orfrustration,anditcanbeasymptomofseveralmentalhealthconditions. WhatIsDysphoria? Dysphoriaisapsychologicalstatethatisoftencausedbyoraccompaniesamentalhealthcondition.Stress,grief,relationshipdifficulties,andotherenvironmentalproblemscanalsocausedysphoria. Mostoften,dysphoriaisamood,whichmeanssomeonecanhavefleetingmomentsofdysphoria.Peoplecanalsoexperiencelong-termdysphoricstates,andlong-termdysphoriaisoftenstronglyassociatedwithmentalhealthconditionsthataffectmood,suchasmajordepression,mania,andcyclothymia. Nutritionaldeficitsandhealthconditionscanalsocausedysphoria.Forexample,peoplewithhypoglycemiasometimesreportfeelingsofdysphoria,andthestressofachronicillnesscancausefeelingsofunhappinessandfrustration,whichcanbeconsidereddysphoria. SignsofDysphoria Thefeelingofdysphoriacanbecharacterizedbythefollowingqualitiesandbehaviors: Sadness Apathy Fatigue Worry Uneasiness Lackofsatisfactionwithoneselforlife Dysphoriaistheoppositeofeuphoria.Manymentalhealthconditionsmaycausepeopletoexperienceboutsofdysphoria. Dysphoriavs.Dysmorphia Whilethewords“dysphoria”and“dysmorphia”soundsimilarandaresometimesusedinterchangeably,eachtermhasitsowndistinctmeaning. Peopleoftenusedysphoriainthecontextofgenderdysphoria.Dysphoriabyitselfreferstoageneralsenseofuneaseanddissatisfaction(andtodistressrelatedtoone’sgenderidentityinthecaseofgenderdysphoria).Dysmorphia,ontheotherhand,referstoirregularityintheshapeorsizeofabodypart.It’softenusedinthecontextofbodydysmorphicdisorder,inwhichanindividualhasadistortedbodyimage. Dysphoria,Psychology,andMentalHealth Anumberofmentalhealthconditionsincludingdepression,bipolar,generalizedanxiety,adjustmentchallenges,schizophrenia,chronicpain,andpersonalityconditionscancauseadysphoricmood. Dysphoriapassesnormallyformostpeople,butpeopleexperiencinglong-termdysphoricstatesareathigherrisksofsuicideandarethereforeencouragedtocontactatherapistorotherhealthcareprofessional.Therearetreatmentsthatcanhelppeopleovercomefeelingsofsadnessordysphoria. TypesofDysphoria Dysphoriaisnotamentalhealthcondition,soitisnotofficiallydividedintosubtypes.Somementalhealth-relatedconditionsassociatedwithdysphoria,however,includethefollowing. Genderdysphoria Genderdysphoria,describedintheDiagnosticandStatisticalManualofMentalDisorders(DSM-5)asdistressoftenpresentinindividualswhosegenderidentitydiffersfromgenderassignedatbirth,replacesthediagnosisofGenderIdentityDisorder(GID).GIDwasremovedfromthefiftheditionoftheDSMasthediagnosiswasbelievedtocontributetopathologizationoftransgenderandgendernonconformingindividuals. Genderdysphoriamaybegintoresolvewhenanindividualtransitions,orbeginstoliveastheirtruegender.Transitioncanbedescribedastheprocessthroughwhichapersonalignstheirphysicalcharacteristicswiththeirgenderidentity.Thisprocesscanoftentakeuptoseveralyearsandmayinvolvesurgeryorhormonetreatments,thoughsomeindividualstransitionwithoutsurgeryand/orhormones. Peoplemaystillexperiencegenderdysphoriaduringtransition,especiallywhenmisgendered—whentheirgenderisidentifiedincorrectly—byothers.Individualsexperiencinggenderdysphoriaorconditionsoccurringinconjunctionwithorasaresultofdysphoria,suchasdepression,mayfindtherapytobehelpfulforaddressingtheirdistress.Itisimportanttonoteanethicalandqualifiedtherapistwillnotattempttoencourageapersontoconformtothegenderassignedatbirthorotherwisetreatthatindividual’sidentityas“confusion.” Rejectionsensitivedysphoria Rejectionsensitivedysphoriaisaconditionassociatedwithattention-deficitandhyperactivity(ADHD).Peoplewhoexperiencerejectionsensitivedysphoriamayhavestrongfeelingsofdistresswhentheythinktheyhavefallenshortofexpectationsordisappointedsomeoneelse. Tardivedysphoria Tardivedysphoriaisatermusedtorefertodepressionthatbecomesresistanttotreatmentthroughpsychotropicmedicationoveralongperiodoftime.Expertsarestilllearningwhatmaycausetardivedysphoriatooccur. Post-coitaldysphoria Post-coitaldysphoria,alsoknownas“post-sexblues,”occurswhenanindividualexperiencesfeelingsofsadnessorangerdirectlyaftersexualintercourse.Peoplewhoexperiencepost-coitaldysphoriamaybeinloving,committedrelationshipsdespiteexperiencingnegativefeelingsaftersex.Researchisstilloutonwhatcausesindividualstoexperiencepost-coitaldysphoria,butstudieshaveshowntheexperienceisnotuncommon. Premenstrualdysphoricdisorder(PMDD) Premenstrualdysphoricdisorderissimilartopremenstrualsyndrome,orPMS,althoughitssymptomsaremoresevere.FewerwomenareimpactedbyPMDDthanbyPMS.However,PMDDcancauseintensedepressionandmoodissuesthatmayinterferewithanindividual’slifeifleftunaddressed. HowIsDysphoriaTreated? Dysphoriaisasymptom,notastand-alonediagnosis,andpeopleoftenseekmentalhealthcareforfeelingsofdysphoria.Psychotherapyisacommontooltotreatdysphoriaandworksbyfirstidentifyingtheunderlyingcauseorconditionsofdysphoria,andthenbyaddressingthefeelingsorconditionsthatcauseit. Dependingontheseverityofdysphoriaandtheconditionsthatarecausingit,medicationmaybeusedinconjunctionwithpsychotherapy.Peoplewithdysphoriamayalsorequiremedicaltreatmentiftheirsymptomsarecausedbyanunderlyingphysicalhealthcondition.Sometimeslifestylechanges,suchasspendingmoretimewithfamily,engaginginhobbies,changingyourdiet,orchangingroutinescanalsohelp.Yourtherapistcanhelpyouidentifypositivelifestylechangestoimplementinordertoreduceorremovedysphoriafromyourlife. References: AmericanPsychologicalAssociation.(2009).APAconcisedictionaryofpsychology.Washington,DC:AmericanPsychologicalAssociation. Dodson,W.(2019,June18).[Self-test]Couldyouhaverejectionsensitivedysphoria?Retrievedfromhttps://www.additudemag.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-adhd-symptom-test El-Mallakh,R.S.,Gao,Y.,&Roberts,J.(2011).Tardivedysphoria:Theroleoflongtermantidepressantuseininducingchronicdepression.MedicalHypotheses,76(6),769-773.Retrievedfromhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306987711000223 Morin,A.,(2019,April22).Whatisdysphoria?Retrievedfromhttps://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-dysphoria-4588634 Purse,M.(2019,June17).Dysphoricmaniainbipolardisorder:Episodeswithmixedfeatures.Retrievedfromhttps://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-dysphoria-378817 Schweitzer,R.D.,O’Brien,J.,&Burri,A.(2015,October5).Postcoitaldysphoria:Prevalenceandpsychologicalcorrelates.SexualMedicine,3(4),235-243.doi:10.1002/sm2.74 LastUpdated: 07-30-2019 ReadMore LivingWithFrustrationinaRelationship DSMBidsGoodbyetoGenderIdentityDisorder,HellotoGenderDysphoria TheGriefofJoy:WhenFeelingsofLossAccompanyHappyTransitions Pleasefilloutallrequiredfieldstosubmityourmessage. InvalidEmailAddress. Pleaseconfirmthatyouarehuman. 9comments LeaveaComment Nancy June27th,2018at 5:42PM Iwanttobecomeatrangenderfemale. Reply Vivian August21st,2019at 12:23PM Nancy,doyouhavesupport,resources? Reply Joe February14th,2019at 11:53AM Ifindmyselfinastateofdysphoriawheninastressfulsituationrelatingbacktoadysfunctionalfamilyupbringing.InotherwordsitishowIreacttostress. Reply Jon February19th,2019at 7:47AM Trylivingwithchronicpainfor19years.Unresponsivetotreatment.Dysphoriacanbecomecontagious. Reply Gary March16th,2019at 4:11PM Trybeingaaroundgangstalkers,“ordinaryandregularpeople,”astheirrelatedorunrelatedtargettoreachtheir“results.”Thatwillcauselongtermdysphoria.AttemptedmurderIcallit. Reply Bob September5th,2019at 1:18AM Issueswithmywifehascausedmetobeinaperminatestateofdysphoriaforover2weeksnow.Drowninginguiltwithnopathtoatonementorforgiveness.Suicideismyonlyoptionitwouldseem. Reply TheGoodTherapyTeam September5th,2019at 7:57AM Ifyouwouldliketoconsultwithamentalhealthprofessional,pleasefeelfreetoreturntoourhomepage,http://www.goodtherapy.org/,andenteryourpostal/zipcodeintothesearchfieldtofindtherapistsinyourarea.Ifyou’relookingforacounselorthatpracticesaspecifictypeoftherapy,orwhodealswithspecificconcerns,youcanmakeanadvancedsearchbyclickinghere:http://www.goodtherapy.org/advanced-search.html Onceyouenteryourinformation,you’llbedirectedtoalistoftherapistsandcounselorswhomeetyourcriteria.Fromthislist,youcanclicktoviewourmembers’fullprofilesandcontactthetherapiststhemselvesformoreinformation.Pleasecontactusifyouhaveanyquestions. Ifyouareexperiencingalife-threateningemergency,indangerofhurtingyourselforothers,feelingsuicidal,overwhelmed,orincrisis,it’sveryimportantthatyougetimmediatehelp!Informationaboutwhattodoinacrisisisavailablehere:http://www.goodtherapy.org/in-crisis.html Reply Emily May10th,2020at 9:42PM DON”TKILLYOURSELF Reply Sindel December29th,2020at 6:24AM Idealwithgenderdysphoriaforover2yearsalreadyandIamstillgettingtherightsupport.IknowIamdesperatetogetonHRTbutIwouldNEVERATTEMPTTOSUICIDE.Iamasurvivorfrommyownsuicide.IknowIhaveparentswhodon’ttreatmerightasIcameouttothemlastyearaboutit.Theyaretransphobicpeople.IamgoingtogetremarriedwhenceIgetonHRT.I’mjustgoingthroughsomelegalbattlesrightnow. Reply LeaveaComment BycommentingyouacknowledgeacceptanceofGoodTherapy.org's TermsandConditionsofUse. Name:* Emailaddress:* Comment:* Currentye@r* Leavethisfieldempty   Notifymewhennewcommentsareadded.   SubscribemetotheGoodTherapy.orgpublicnewsletter. *Indicatesrequiredfield. 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