What Makes You Believe /You/ Are Therian?

So … perhaps I am in a minority here, but — I do not think there is any one explanation for therianthropy, just like I do not think there is any one explanation for sexuality, or gender identity, or any other such individual facet of one’s self. We experience and are influenced by so many different things, perspectives, & people throughout our lives; I find it reductive to attribute any one thing about yourself to any one other thing about your life. Reality, and personality, just doesn’t work like that.

That is not to say there’s no place for theory! There’s tons of space for theory. And I’d like to invite you all to tell me why you think you are therianthropic.

For me, I openly attribute isolation from, lack of socialization with, and trauma caused by humans from an early age to me identifying as & seeking community with other nonhumans. All of these things are related to my autism and PTSD, but I would not consider those the source of my therianthropy; rather, I consider them external factors that led me to discovering my therianthropy.

My therianthropy itself, I feel, is more psychological than spiritual, yes — but I also feel that it is innate. I can’t tell you why I feel, think, and do some of the things that I do; whether I was predisposed from birth to be this way, or if I would have been different had I been a happier child — but I’m inclined to think that, whatever it is, it was Always inside of me, inside of my brain, my heart, what many would call my ‘soul.’

My two-spirit identity also ties into this. Rather than a human male and human female spirit, I feel a vague, ambiguous animal spirit & an even vaguer and more ambiguous human spirit live inside of me.

That said — those are just my influences and self-interpretations!

What are yours?

I'll be honest I've never really been asked this question before so I need some time to think about a proper response but for now I believe I am therian because I was born different and that my past lives helped influence who I am today. I also believe in the idea of reincarnation as well so I do believe that I will come back as a wolf or a lion one day after this current life.

Does that make sense?

(2023-06-08 0:33)StargazerStella Wrote:  I'll be honest I've never really been asked this question before so I need some time to think about a proper response but for now I believe I am therian because I was born different and that my past lives helped influence who I am today. I also believe in the idea of reincarnation as well so I do believe that I will come back as a wolf or a lion one day after this current life.

Does that make sense?

Makes perfect sense to me!!

Introspection is a process, and not all of these questions will have immediate, cohesive answers.

I also believe in reincarnation, and I haven’t considered how that might connect with my own therianthropy … so thank you for giving me something to think about as well!

I think It's because of my trauma, Ilzoation, and just, not fitting in with any human around me, if you get the jist. when I was young. But even when I was little little. I always felt like I had a deeper connection to cats. I would watch Yt videos on warrior cats, or watch documentaries and always think "Hey, that kinda feels like me!" If that makes any sense. But Im also not exactly sure what makes me a Therian. I am still on a hella big path of discovery so thats what I think. I also believe in reincarnation, But I don't think My soul used to be an animal.

(2023-06-08 1:08)Glitchy_XD Wrote:  I think It's because of my trauma, Ilzoation, and just, not fitting in with any human around me, if you get the jist. when I was young. But even when I was little little. I always felt like I had a deeper connection to cats. I would watch Yt videos on warrior cats, or watch documentaries and always think "Hey, that kinda feels like me!" If that makes any sense. But Im also not exactly sure what makes me a Therian. I am still on a hella big path of discovery so thats what I think. I also believe in reincarnation, But I don't think My soul used to be an animal.

I do get the gist! Trauma and isolation from humankind is a big part of why I found community here.

We all discover ourselves in different ways, at different paces. That early connection you felt is a good sign. Question everything, move forward with curiosity & an open mind, and all those missing pieces tend to fall in place with time.

Originally I throught it was because of reincarnation, but looking at my kintypes... I'm not that sure about it anymore. I'm starting to think it's more psychological.

To be honest, I don't really have an explanation for my therianthrophy, because every theory I've heard about doesn't explain everything. Maybe I was just born this way and am supposed to be like this for no logical reason...

(2023-06-08 6:35)House of Psychos Wrote:  Originally I throught it was because of reincarnation, but looking at my kintypes... I'm not that sure about it anymore. I'm starting to think it's more psychological.

To be honest, I don't really have an explanation for my therianthrophy, because every theory I've heard about doesn't explain everything. Maybe I was just born this way and am supposed to be like this for no logical reason...

Believe it or not, “I don’t have a particular reason” is the most common reason I get when I ask this question — so you’re definitely not strange for that, nor alone in feeling it! I don’t think any one theory ever will explain everything; at least, not outside of very small groups of therian who happen to have concluded upon a single ‘source’ for themselves. Most of us contain multitudes, and most feelings & behaviors come from more than one place. ^^ At least, as far as I know.

I interpreted the title as: what attributes do I have that are therian-like, but the responses seem to be answering the question of: what do you think caused your therianthropy?

For the former, It's because my thought patterns and urges have wolf-like attributes. What I experience/need doesn't really fit well with what other animals do naturally. Including humans. The wolf is the closest match.

As for what causes it, I- have no idea. I've always kinda been tomboyish in my childhood, I liked to be outside, mucking around through the woods, hands on, the whole nine yards. Plenty of people were like that who didn't turn out to be therians, though. I hardly think that's a cause.

The one that makes sense to me is that humans are naturally very wolf-like. With our social needs and all. Humans and dogs practically grew up together, we are brothers and sisters to our canine companions. We've been hanging around each other nearly since the dawn of our existence. It's hard not to think that they wouldn't tamper with human evolution in any way. We tampered with theirs after all. Maybe it's something that's dormant within all humans. But only comes out in very few. Though, more than you might think.

(2023-06-08 19:01)Saoirse Fiain Wrote:  I interpreted the title as: what attributes do I have that are therian-like, but the responses seem to be answering the question of: what do you think caused your therianthropy?

For the former, It's because my thought patterns and urges have wolf-like attributes. What I experience/need doesn't really fit well with what other animals do naturally. Including humans. The wolf is the closest match.

As for what causes it, I- have no idea. I've always kinda been tomboyish in my childhood, I liked to be outside, mucking around through the woods, hands on, the whole nine yards. Plenty of people were like that who didn't turn out to be therians, though. I hardly think that's a cause.

The one that makes sense to me is that humans are naturally very wolf-like. With our social needs and all. Humans and dogs practically grew up together, we are brothers and sisters to our canine companions. We've been hanging around each other nearly since the dawn of our existence. It's hard not to think that they wouldn't tamper with human evolution in any way. We tampered with theirs after all. Maybe it's something that's dormant within all humans. But only comes out in very few. Though, more than you might think.

I dearly wish I had more time to reply to this — just know I appreciate you sharing your perspective! I love the idea you propose in your last paragraph about the possibility of a dormant connection. If we are just the few whose synapses fired this way — (who knows!) — then I would consider us lucky for having found our roots. Whatever it is, it’s a theory I’ll be chewing on!

This is a thinker of a question.

There are about.. two things I can tie into my belief that I am a Therian. One of which I won't go into deep detail. Not because of sensitivity, but because it is something I've already discussed, and something I am positive a lot can immediately understand.

Trauma is something that affects us deeply, in ways we don't recognize until it is pointed out. I like to think of trauma as a woven basket; each straw is to be picked, and there can be many straws to pick out to unwind the basket. To sum it up, however, humans hurt me as a child, so I gravitated toward the comfort of animals. Soon enough, that just became- me. Autism, trauma, and the general self - are all contributing factors to feeling alter human. I don't belong in this human world, and that's just a fact I know won't ever go away.

But, there is another factor. I am a child of God. I'm a Christ-centered Quaker, so I do not follow strict Christian dogma, but I am absolutely in contact with and adoration of Jesus Christ, and I believe in the Trinity. He is everywhere and in everyone. He is very much real in my universe, and there is nothing I would do to trade off the relationship I have with Him. He is both parent to me, and a guidance in my life. He is just everything to me. I believe that He knows my past, present, and future; He created me with all the detailing one would make, from the beginning of time to now. Evolution and all.

How does this relate to my therianthropy? Well, when I pondered on why God made me a Therian, why did He make me feel so other-human? It's because I believe I have a purpose that isn't so defined yet. But to be a healer, a changer in people's lives. I have seen my actions, both good and bad, affect those who need it the most. It's an odd thing to think of, and it goes deeper. I'm not putting myself on a pedestal either. But I believe that my detachment from the human world is part of my purpose, to not be tied too deeply in earthly thinking so that I may have an outer perspective of things. To be Therian is to have that sense, but to also have an understanding of animals more deeply than those not spiritually, religiously - or whatever you would call it - intuned with the universe. Of course, it's not to dismiss my human form, I recognize that I'm permanently stuck with earthly issues, inside and out.

Though that's what I think of when I wonder why God made me the way that I am, and will continue to do so until I pass. That's why I believe I am a therian, I have this unexplainable purpose that ties into my therianthropy. Perhaps my trauma, my condition, is just what ushers that destined purpose. What if I didn't have trauma? Or autism? Or the past that I have? Would I have experienced divinity from deities or understood the world in a more open way?