What is gender dysphoria?

Gender dysphoria describes the feelings of distress some people experience due to a sense of incongruence between one’s assigned sex at birth and one’s gender identity. There are different varieties of dysphoria, shaped by a person’s environment and can be influenced by the perceptions and behaviors of others. Gender dysphoria can change in nature and degree with different contexts and other factors. Gender dysphoria is not the same as being transgender. Everyone experiences dysphoria differently.

Many trans people also experience gender euphoria, which is feeling affirmed in one’s gender identity.