Eudysphoria

Eudysphoria is a neologism coined by A. Gaines to represent and characterize dysphoric (the Greek meaning “hard to bear”) affect that is ego-syntonic and positively experienced in particular cultural contexts. The term critiques U.S. ethnopsychiatry’s uniformly negative conception of dysphoric affect and highlights the existence of distinct, positive cultural evaluations thereof. Psychiatry interprets dysphoric affect