Experienced happiness when in dire need (7)
I believe the answer is:
enjoyed
'experienced' is the definition.
(enjoying is a kind of experiencing)
'happiness when in dire need' is the wordplay.
'happiness' becomes 'joy' (I've seen this in another clue).
'when in' indicates putting letters inside.
'dire' indicates an anagram.
'need' with letters rearranged gives 'ened'.
'joy' going within 'ened' is 'ENJOYED'.
(Other definitions for enjoyed that I've seen before include "Delighted in" , "Took pleasure in" , "Liked" , "Relished" , "Took delight in" .)