BB, no, i haven't finished my PhD yet. still, i was speaking from some sort of experience (different, but in some ways similar). the moment of submitting, or the final viva, can be very anticlimactic, i agree. but later, after a few days or weeks, in my experience a quiet, but strong satisfaction and pride can set in. it is a very personal thing, as i tried to indicate. the "PhD" is maybe not so important. but you know very well what devils you had to fight, what crises you had to overcome, all the battles you fought on the way... the pride in overcoming all these very personal obstacles is not easily shared. but you can feel it nonetheless.
and, thinking about that future feeling, now when i am struggling with these personal obstacles, does sometimes help me to keep going. which is why i thought to share it with chris. knowing of course, that it won't work for everyone.