ego-dystonic

[ee-goh-dis-ton-ik, eg-oh-]

adjective

Psychiatry.

1. of or relating to aspects of one's behavior or attitudes viewed as inconsistent with one's fundamental beliefs and personality (ego-syntonic ).

Example Sentences

Famously, homosexuality gets removed from the DSM, but for a while lingers on this concept of ego-dystonic homosexuality — you may feel like you're gay and not want to be gay which of course, in a homophobic society, impacts a lot of people.

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In 1973, the book, published by the American Psychiatric Association, changed the diagnosis of “homosexuality” to “sexual orientation disturbance,” and later to “ego-dystonic homosexuality” before dropping it altogether in 1987.

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But he offered a deft compromise: In subsequent printings of the DSM-II, homosexuality was replaced with “ego-dystonic homosexuality,” the condition of gays or lesbians unhappy with their orientation.

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Ego-dystonic homosexuality was specifically aimed at patients who expressed ongoing distress or sadness about their sexual orientation, even if homosexuality could no longer be considered a mental illness.

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Many used the diagnosis of ego-dystonic homosexuality as an excuse to legitimize reparative therapy—and still do.

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