Causes of Feeling Nonhuman that are NOT Therianthropy

I'm back and would like to continue this discussion. Keep in mind that I would like to make a video of this for Therian Nation. I have looked at all the responses and looked more deeply into a few possibilities, so here's an updated list.

Animal-hearted/Other-hearted/Kith

People can obviously feel deeply connected with animals without identifying as nonhuman. Some Animal-hearted people do claim to have shifts similar to Therians.

https://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Animal-hearted
https://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Other-hearted

Copinglink/Otherlink

Therianthropy (and a therioside) is an innate part of us that is not consciously chosen. Copinglinks and Otherlinks knowingly create nonhuman personas as coping mechanisms or various other reasons.

https://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Copinglink

Roleplay/Experience Taking

It's fun to create characters and act out being someone or something else. This can be a positive interest or outlet. It's easy to feel connected to anthropomorphic characters. Mimicking these characters and their animal behavior can and does occur. Experience taking can happen without a person realizing it; however, it's usually temporary. Therianthropy and Otherkinity are permanent identities, not hobbies.

Norman, Abby. “The Psychology of Fandom: Why We Get Attached to Fictional Characters.” The Mary Sue, 19 Aug. 2015, http://www.themarysue.com/the-psychology-of-fandom/.

Hsu, Christine. “Psychologists Discover How People Subconsciously Become Their Favorite Fictional Characters.” Medical Daily, 14 May 2012, http://www.medicaldaily.com/psychologists-discover-how-people-subconsciously-become-their-favorite-fictional-characters-240435.

Power Animals/Spirit Animals/Guides/Totems

"Everyone is thought to have a few of these guardian power animals, from childhood on. Over the course of her or his life the person may have several." ( https://www.shamanlinks.net/shaman-info/the-spirit-world/power-animals/ )

Power animals are external, independent entities that can guide us through challenging events in life. They are not limited by the physical world and may choose to speak to you. Others are more cryptic and will use symbology. It depends on what you need. It is possible that working with a power animal can cause shift-like experiences that leads one to feel like an animal. These encounters should not be taken lightly and should be respected due to the connection to Shamanic and Aboriginal cultures across the globe.

In comparison, theriosides are the inner animal self. They are based on real-world animals and should not be able to speak to you or carry on conversations. I've worked with spirit guides and teachers myself, and for me personally those experiences differ from Therianthropy.

Daemon

The following comes from The Daemon Page website.

A daemon is a personified version of the second half of someone's mental dialogue, usually mentally represented in an animal form. Usually has a name, gender and personality; usually the dæmon's personality is at least somewhat different from that of the person.

Daemons are considered to be "mental constructs" instead of spiritual entities. Mental consturct means "The idea that dæmons are something that people "do" with their minds, rather than something that exists objectively and independently of us." They can be spoken to, and they can speak back to you. Daemons can change form or shape until they become stable, but some remain fluid.

Those of us who call ourselves "dæmians" have taken [Phillip] Pullman's wonderful dæmon concept (His Dark Materials) and turned it into a fun - and even useful - mental construct. For us, dæmons are a part of our consciousness that we've assigned a name, gender, and symbolic animal form. They're glorified imaginary friends that act as the other side of our mental dialogue - sometimes being the voice of reason, devil's advocate, or just a friend. Simply put, dæmons play the role of constant mental companion.

Daemians, people who enjoy daemonism, do not believe they are an animal like Therianthropes do. They do not identify as a nonhuman species. It is highly possible that a lot of people are actually creating daemons and then tricking themselves into having shift-like sensation and feeling nonhuman.

https://daemonpage.com/

https://daemonpage.com/forum/

Earth Listener, "Daemonism, Therianthropy, & Multiplicity" Project Shift, March 2011. https://project-shift.net/daemonism-therianthropy-multiplicity/

Tulpa

The tulpa itself may not cause a person to feel nonhuman, but it could be possible for a person to create an animal tulpa and misidentify it as a therioside. This could easily lead them to confuse normal behaviors and sensations with being nonhuman. Whereas a therioside usually merges and integrates with the humanside of us, a Tulpa becomes more and more independent and separate.

The most general definition as accepted by the Western tulpamancy community is as follows: A tulpa is a thought-form that is imagined into existence. It is a sentient and autonomous mental companion. Tulpas are–or resemble to an indistinguishable point–a second consciousness co-inhabiting a brain with their creator. Upon creating a tulpa, the creator, or “host” will essentially share their head and their life with another person. They are distinct from the host in that they possess their own personality, opinions, and actions, which are independent of the host’s, and are conscious entities in that they possess awareness of themselves and the world.

Tulpamancy is a branch of the wider phenomenon of plurality. Plurality is an umbrella term encompassing all phenomena where multiple consciousnesses coinhabit a brain. It should be noted that Western tulpamancy is a practice that is wholly different from the original practice in Tibetan Buddhism. Tulpas are now created for a variety of reasons, some similar and many very different from the reasons of Buddhism and occultism–curiosity, understanding the brain and the nature of selfhood, inspiration, and, most commonly, companionship." The Western tulpamancy community does not believe that the tulpa can physically manifest.

https://tulpa.io/what-is-a-tulpa

https://www.tulpa.info/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa

Plurality Resource - https://pluralityresource.org/

Plural Related Links and Resources - https://houseofchimeras.weebly.com/resources.html

Interacting with/Observing an Animal

When we are around animals often, we can begin to unintentionally mimic them. Veterinarians, animal handlers, and researchers may need to think like those animals in order to treat, train, and study them. For some people, it's possible that they may temporarily feel more animal-like than human. This can also happen to children who are raised around animals. Some imprinting may happen, but most children grow out of it. However, it is possible that imprinting on a nonhuman animal could lead to Therianthropy in some cases.

https://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Psychological_Therianthropy#Imprinting_and_Development

(2018-01-13 21:16)DustWolf Wrote:  I was going to try a potentially controversial suggestion on this subject.

Basically, TG has a much higher % of LGBT+ than the general population. I've heard LGBT+ people mention that they once believed themselves to have a non-human identity, because of how alien they felt within their bodies.

Do you think it's possible that some people think of themselves as therian, but are in fact only LGBT+?

Still undecided if this should be included given the current situation of discontent between the two communities. Perhaps some more input will help.

Medical/Psychological Conditions/Other

The following can cause people to have unusual feelings about their physical bodies and react to their environment in ways that might make them feel disconnected from normal humans. In most cases, Therianthropes live a balanced and successful life. An individual could be a Therianthrope and also have one of these disorders with the Therianthropy being a positive part of the individual's life. If your quality of life is being negatively affected for any reason, please seek professional guidance. This information should not be used for self diagnosis.

Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders involve problems with memory, identity, emotion, perception, behavior and sense of self. Dissociative symptoms can potentially disrupt every area of mental functioning. The attitude and personal preferences of a person with dissociative identity disorder may suddenly shift and then shift back. The identities happen involuntarily and are unwanted and cause distress.

There are three types of dissociative disorders:
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative amnesia
Depersonalization/derealization disorder

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/dissociative-disorders/what-are-dissociative-disorders

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/conditions/depersonalizationderealization-disorder

https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/depersonalization-disorder-mental-health#1

Others in this category can include but are not limited to Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder.

Clinical Lycanthropy

Clinical lycanthropy is a rare form of reverse inter- metamorphosis wherein patients believe that they are undergoing transformation or have transformed into a non-human animal. In comparison, Therianthropes do not suffer from the hallucinations or delusions of having physically transformed.

https://www.livescience.com/44875-werewolves-in-psychiatry.html

https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.13030057

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14674954

Autism Spectrum

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impacts brain development causing most individuals to experience communication problems, difficulty with social interactions and a tendency to repeat specific patterns of behaviour. There is also a markedly restricted repertoire of activities and interests.

https://autismcanada.org/about-autism/

Therianthropy and the Autism Spectrum - A Dissection, February 10, 2018 https://thetadelta.tumblr.com/post/170743523134/therianthropy-the-autism-spectrum-a-dissection

(2018-03-29 5:05)Wolf Daughter Wrote:  

(2018-01-13 21:16)DustWolf Wrote:  I was going to try a potentially controversial suggestion on this subject.

Basically, TG has a much higher % of LGBT+ than the general population. I've heard LGBT+ people mention that they once believed themselves to have a non-human identity, because of how alien they felt within their bodies.

Do you think it's possible that some people think of themselves as therian, but are in fact only LGBT+?

Still undecided if this should be included given the current situation of discontent between the two communities. Perhaps some more input will help.

At first I was confused as to how being LGBT+ could cause anyone to feel like an animal in any way and without some context, or doesn't make any sense.

However, some of the IARP's research has concluded that it's not uncommon for someone who is curious about being LGBT+ but limited in exploring due to cultural stigma or other prejudice for these individuals to create an anthropomorphic "fursona" that has a more fluid or open sexuality.

Furthermore, they have found it's not uncommon for someone to create a fursona of an opposite gender to explore something else in that department as well.

While I doubt that anyone would choose to be part of the furry fandom or look into the possibility of being a therian exclusively to explore the possibility of being LGBT+, I believe that this may be some of why we see occasional members identify as an animal of an opposite gender.

As far as sexual orientation goes, perhaps there are those who create an animal "avatar" if you will, to explore their sexuality without the pressure of having an alternate orientation affixed to themselves and then discover they feel a deeper connection to the character they've manifested?

This is an interesting concept.

Lyc

I have thought of a couple more possibilities, and I think I have decided to include the LGTB+ as well. I need to work on that section more, but this is what I have written.

Creating an Alter Ego

An alter ego (Latin, "the other I") is a second self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term also refers to "the different behaviors any person may display in certain situations" and "the part of someone's personality that is not usually seen by other people". Some create alter egos to live out better versions of themselves because it can be fun and empowering. Other people create alter egos to protect themselves. It's possible that young children and teens are creating nonhuman alter egos to explore who they are and test social situations.

Marelisa Fabrega, "How to Create an Alter Ego" (and Why You Should Want To), Daring to Live Fully Website, https://daringtolivefully.com/alter-ego

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/alter-ego

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alter_ego

Practising an Animal or Earth Based Spirituality/Religion

Therianthropy itself is not a religion or spirituality, and it does not require any individual to be a believer in such. There are many religions and spiritualities in which people worship gods or goddess that are often represented as animals. Some gods and goddesses appear as part animal and part human, such as Egyptian Gods. Believers of these theologies sometimes worship the animal itself too. Some rituals involve becoming the animal for a short period of time. Some beliefs also promote fellowship with all creatures on earth.

Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, "Animal worship" February, 16 2018, Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/animal-worship

(2018-04-01 16:30)LycanTheory Wrote:  However, some of the IARP's research has concluded that it's not uncommon for someone who is curious about being LGBT+ but limited in exploring due to cultural stigma or other prejudice for these individuals to create an anthropomorphic "fursona" that has a more fluid or open sexuality.

Furthermore, they have found it's not uncommon for someone to create a fursona of an opposite gender to explore something else in that department as well.

While I doubt that anyone would choose to be part of the furry fandom or look into the possibility of being a therian exclusively to explore the possibility of being LGBT+, I believe that this may be some of why we see occasional members identify as an animal of an opposite gender.

As far as sexual orientation goes, perhaps there are those who create an animal "avatar" if you will, to explore their sexuality without the pressure of having an alternate orientation affixed to themselves and then discover they feel a deeper connection to the character they've manifested?

Being LGTB+ instead

While there is no published data about the number of LGTB+ people in the Therianthrope community, the number does seem to be high compared to the regular population. The Furry Fandom and Therianthropy are not to be confused with one another, but a lot of Therians also participate in the Furry culture.

"It may be the case that the furry fandom, which espouses openness and acceptance as its central virtues, may be a particularly welcoming place for members of sexual minorities." "Ultimately, future research is needed to clarify the nature of these interesting sex and fandom differences in sexual orientation."

Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Roberts, S. E., & Gerbasi, K. C. (2016). FurScience! A summary of five years of research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project. Waterloo, Ontario: FurScience. https://sites.google.com/site/anthropomorphicresearch/home/publications

The same could be true for the Therian community. It could be seen a safe place in which to explore sexuality by a person saying their therioside is the opposite gender of the human body. Of course, this might not mean that person is actually a Therianthrope. An individual who is surrounded by anti LGTB+ might use Therianthropy as a reason for why they don't feel comfortable in their body. Therianthropy could be a safer alternative explanation that the individual could keep to themselves without feeling guilty or ashamed. People who join the Therian community often come out as LGTB+ after they have found it to be a safe environment in which to discuss how they feel about their gender dysphoria. The feeling of being nonhuman could diminish as a person accepts that they are LGTB+.

This is one of the best threads I've seen on TG so far. Thank you so much for this.

(2018-04-04 1:01)Wolf Daughter Wrote:  "It may be the case that the furry fandom, which espouses openness and acceptance as its central virtues, may be a particularly welcoming place for members of sexual minorities." "Ultimately, future research is needed to clarify the nature of these interesting sex and fandom differences in sexual orientation."

Plante, C. N., Reysen, S., Roberts, S. E., & Gerbasi, K. C. (2016). FurScience! A summary of five years of research from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project. Waterloo, Ontario: FurScience. https://sites.google.com/site/anthropomorphicresearch/home/publications

The same could be true for the Therian community. It could be seen a safe place in which to explore sexuality by a person saying their therioside is the opposite gender of the human body. Of course, this might not mean that person is actually a Therianthrope. An individual who is surrounded by anti LGTB+ might use Therianthropy as a reason for why they don't feel comfortable in their body. Therianthropy could be a safer alternative explanation that the individual could keep to themselves without feeling guilty or ashamed. People who join the Therian community often come out as LGTB+ after they have found it to be a safe environment in which to discuss how they feel about their gender dysphoria. The feeling of being nonhuman could diminish as a person accepts that they are LGTB+.

This is a very interesting concept, indeed and I agree, the number of LGBT+ members of the community does seem high enough to warrant further study and questioning.

Lyc

Some mental conditions like Autism can cause you to feel isolated, and even non-human. In my experience, it's a different nonhuman feeling to getting feelings toward my kintypes, but it is a nonhuman feeling nonetheless.

Not sure if it's significant enough to mention as a specific other, but back pain also frequently seems to cause phantom wings due to the feeling of pressure on one's back mixed with a tendency towards imaginative ability, right? One often hears of people talking about how either they have phantom wings so they think they're a bird, or having phantom wings that don't connect to any specific theriotype. But the thing is that back pain and poor posture is very common, especially nowadays I presume. For people who have imaginative ability, they can easily imagine phantom limbs even without being a therian; I did it as a child to induce cameo shifts whenever I wanted, and am still able to do so now. So when my shoulders ache a bit from carrying things, I'll often feel the pressure on them and my brain will interpret that pressure as wings. I feel like I've heard this discussed in the past, but that was a few years back and I'm not entirely sure.

Dude, this is great!
Though i should note that any one on the autism spectrum but is a therian otherkin ect. Totally happens as well and doesnt mean they are not really a therian just because they are also on the spectrum. Im sure yall know that, but just a tip for newbies. Perhaps @Xce could elaborate more on this.

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Also kinda off topic but dust and lycs suggestion on the lgbt bit is intresting too. Im guessing cause nonhumans are more like nonchalant on this ?xD nonhuman behaviour is pretty "queer" in the sense of the root meaning, unique in the sense of the way human society works. So naturally i can see why its good to be brought up.


I also dont enjoy the controversy between anyone. Im hoping theres more understanding between the communities in the future.

(2018-04-25 10:10)Future Wrote:  Not sure if it's significant enough to mention as a specific other, but back pain also frequently seems to cause phantom wings due to the feeling of pressure on one's back mixed with a tendency towards imaginative ability, right? One often hears of people talking about how either they have phantom wings so they think they're a bird, or having phantom wings that don't connect to any specific theriotype. But the thing is that back pain and poor posture is very common, especially nowadays I presume. For people who have imaginative ability, they can easily imagine phantom limbs even without being a therian; I did it as a child to induce cameo shifts whenever I wanted, and am still able to do so now. So when my shoulders ache a bit from carrying things, I'll often feel the pressure on them and my brain will interpret that pressure as wings. I feel like I've heard this discussed in the past, but that was a few years back and I'm not entirely sure.

This ^^^^

So I do identify as a fallen angel however I’ve had a friend in the past who was positive they were some sort of winged kin because of the feeling of phantom wings I totally agree that certain people feel phantom limbs when in some form of pain which makes it harder when figuring out if you’re kin or just have the sensation because of the pain experienced. I frequently get back ache but that’s more to do with some dodgy nerve and so when I was trying to figure how the fallen angel kin I had to debate for the longest time that this is what I was actually experiencing and not due to the pain aha. However other shifts told me different.

Being a creative person can lead to think you’re kin ect but really only time and concentration will tell however I can defiantly say I’ve experienced hooved feet when I have a loss of feeling in my ankle but I’m well aware it’s just because of that loss of feeling! And my creativity likes to make good of it

I personally wouldn't discredit therianism developing as a coping mechanism.

"Real" or not, I bet my hide a lot of therians are therians due to past trauma that caused them dissociate and find something to help deal with the day to day struggles.

Once this coping mechanism becomes a habit, it's so ingrained in that person that it's near impossible to say it's not just as real as a "real" therian experience.

That's personally where I think my therianness came from, a way to deal with every day situations when I felt uncomfortable or shut down (at least that's how I feel about it right now, I'm actually in the process of doing better soul searching with the help of another person to see if we can really find out what's up!) I guess that makes me a "fake"? That's fine if some believe so!

I didn't discover what a therian even was until 4 years ago. But it fit so neatly with how I've felt for so long, it seemed to all click.

As for the phantom limbs etc... Again I only really seem to expirience those once I start to think about wolves/myself as my wolf, except on/in certain other situations. What constitutes as a "real" shift or phantom limb experience I don't think we (and by we I mean an outside person of the individual having those feelings) get to decide.