What is dysphoria exactly?

[Taka]

You're just like me in a lot of ways and I find that oddly comforting, haha. I'm also pretty stick-like, but never was bothered by this even though I felt like I was supposed to want more pronounced curves as a teenager. Throughout all ages I would secretly be happy any time someone made a comment about my body being too masculine in some way. One time a boy in daycare asked me why I had an adam's apple and the teacher/supervisor was like OMG DON'T SAY RUDE THINGS even though I didn't mind. It kind of made me happy and I was afraid to show or admit that.

I think this is also probably why I never felt dysphoric about my body, and why I need it to be explained to me. I actually like my body. I just like it MORE when it's male (in dreams and my imagination). I grew up in a female-dominated environment with a lot of strong women, so it's not even a matter of being brought up around traditional gender roles for me.

The exception is my chest. I like boobs, but I've always felt this sudden twinge of paralyzing paranoia anytime something or someone touched my breasts. Now I know why. I guess that's dysphoria.

I've also always preferred to sing low notes. I thought it was just a quirk of mine. It makes sense in the context of being transgender. I am thrilled at the prospect of being able to sing even lower someday, haha.

With that aside, thank you all for your answers so far. Especially captains--your definition really cleared it up for me. I have a better grasp of what dysphoria is, now.

my entire life, or at least since i was little more than 10, i've wanted a body like yours.

you don't need any body dysphoria, other than wishing those boobs away.
i have the same kind of feelings about my chest. thought it had to do with an incident of abuse, but found out it's just the center of my dysphoria.

try having some more confidence. there's nothing wrong with answering half jokingly when people make "rude" comments on your not too feminine looks.
confusing the adults isn't dangerous, and humoring kids is fun.

[Rachel]

I have been diagnosed with GID then GD as DSM changed terms. I asked my 1st therapist what GID was and do I have it. She rattled off a lot of examples from our past discussions then she said you have it pretty bad sweaty. 

So what is GD?  LGBT can suffer GD because of all the names we are called by pastors, teachers, Family and friends. We  hide out identity ( sexuality and gender), we experience self hate. We change out behaviors based on how others want us to be seen. We hide everything. Then there is physical dysphoria, craving congruence and envy of those who have it. As dysphoria occupies more and more of our time we build defenses, cut and self medicate to numb the pain. If our "coping" ( self medicating and other defenses) exceed out ability to cope we try suicide to stop the pain. At some point we may come out despite the potential of a total loss of everything. Some of us lose everything but 1 thing, ourselves, our identity.

[Davina]

What is Dysphoria exaclty? One word, Hell. All the stuff about hell, is a peice of cake. The nashing of teeth, no problem. Burning, no problem, Repition no problem. When it come to Dante's Inferno and the seven levels of hell Dysphoria is Hell in the truest sense of the word at about level 14.

I say you are about bang on Jesse.  In my case it is that terrible, unrelenting longing and yearning to be my
true self.  It is as if every cell in my body is crying out for release from this inner hell that breaks my heart
and debilitates me so that I can barely function.  Gender dysphoria is  definitely not fun!!!

[Katelyn]

Dysphoria for me is, oh god, so many things, among them having a vagina, not being able to feel ok with sex unless I'm able to present myself as female, hating having to live in the male gender, wanting to look female, wanting to be like other women, wanting to be feminine, wanting to have a female body.

[Taka]

dysphoria is rather similar to the orthodox view of hell. read master and margarita to understand better what i mean.
dysphoria is waking up every day, just to remember that things will be just as wrong as yesterday, and there still is nothing i can do to change it.
catholic hell seems a little easier to deal with, the pain is only physical after all...

[Asche]

... dysphoria primarily was a vague loathing of my body, it's shape, fat distribution, etc. - paired with feeling disconnected from it in a weird way. ...

That pretty much describes how I have always felt.  When I have to look in the mirror, I kind of block out that what I'm seeing is me.  It's just that body that I have to maintain, the way I have to maintain my car.  It wasn't until recently that I realized that the things that bother me most (bulge in the pants, body hair, etc.) are the things that mark me as male.  When I was younger, I was glad that I had something of a skinny kid look (androgynous?), and did not want muscles or otherwise come across as masculine.

I think the dysphoria is also why I have a hard time forcing myself to care about things like my weight or my health.  I just want to not be aware that my body exists.

(I don't know if I'd feel differently if I transitioned.  My mind is a mystery to me sometimes....)