Okay, so, what if let's say 25% of humans have the traits of therianthropy? But it is naturally dormant, like it's our instincts and only comes out when we need it. The reason some(most on here) of us have our therianthropy so defined is that we were in a lot of stressful or bad situations at one time or another. It helps disassociate us from humanity and whatever is going on in your life and instead helps you fit in with other creatures or species. In a way it's like you imprint on something you're around a lot, like in my case it was my late cat. I also think this can explain otherkin if they read a lot of stories/watched shows/other with fantasy creatures but that's not entirely for me to say.
Now I know a lot of you will say that you hadn't had your trauma or bad experiences when you therianthropy started to show, but also a lot of you are/were neurodivergent, lgbtq, or just the "weird kid" and that can also cause a lot of isolation from humanity.
I also believe scary experiences can also lead to bringing out your therianthropy more or starting it all together. For me I've been a Therian for as long as I can remember (though I hadn't actually known that's what I was.), but a couple months ago I fainted, (for anyone who doesn't know, imagine you're just chilling and suddenly you find yourself on the ground surrounded by people trying to talk to you or panicking. You're probably not fully conscious so you don't know what's going on, all you see is panic and fear, suddenly you're escorted by someone(or someones) you may or may not know to a doctors office, nurses offices, or something else depending on your situation and what happens, all while being barley conscious and hardly able to walk. Keep in mind it's probably different for different situations and people.). My point is, it's scary. And boy did I feel disassociated. And ever since then I can't think about what happens very well without panicking, so my mind takes a different approach. I've been in some kind of small state of disassociation ever since. Instead I've found my therianthropy getting stronger, almost daily shifts, animal instincts, and more. I think it's a way to help my brain process what happened.

In short I think therianthropy is almost like a scab, except for you're mind. It's a way for your brain to process and heal from stressful situations you've been put in without being equipped to hadle them well. More often then not with trauma and disassociation. That's why talking about your problems, and more socialization/fitting in more can cause you're therianthropy to be less active, you don't need it's protection as much anymore. And while you're therianthropy will never go away fully, it'll make itself more dormant. It's a brain coping mechanism that's a different experience for everybody. And many different brains have many different coping mechanisms. But of course that doesn't make it any less real, or you any less of your theriotype.

Anyways, I hope this rant hasn't been wayyy too long. And this mainly talks about Psychological therianthropy, I have my own theories for spiritual. As I believe they are two completely separate things/identities that have a similar effect. Though I guess some spiritual things could tie into this theory.
Please tell me your thoughts on the "Scab Theory"


Okay, I'm going to clear some things up.

1. I do not think therianthropy is voluntary. That would be a coping-link.
2. I don't think this applies to everyone. This is mainly based on my experiences, and even then this only applies to one or two of my theriotypes.
3. I think the therianthropy is caused by feeling disassociated from humans, so you're mind may latch onto a (non-human!) animal to feel more like you belong. I don't think you know you're doing this though, it is subconscious.
4. If your theriotype is something you had never heard of or seen until you put in some research, this likely does not apply to you. That's okay.
5. When I say "When you need it" I don't mean you can just whip it out to ace hunting practice, I mean; have you ever felt a strong emotion, and in turn had a strong shift? That's your brain trying to help you focus on something else to make the emotion less overwhelming, or at the very least help you process better. Or something alike.
6. No I'm not talking about berserker shifts. Though if any of you think I am, could you tell me why you think that?

(2023-07-03 8:47)DustWolf Wrote:  Useful realization, don't you think?

LP,
Dusty

I don't know.
I was simply using a seeming common and rather narrow definition of what one claims constitutes being Therian.
But in the end I guess I also don't care, I am whatever it is I am and relying on endless labels to define myself beyond the physical isn't serving me any favors.

Hey,

I've been waiting for an opportunity to respond here, when my day afforded me enough concentration to actually give you a useful answer.

(2026-07-15 21:59)Abelioscruxthymn Wrote:  

(2020-07-26 19:06)DustWolf Wrote:  What if Therianthropy is more of a connection than a condition?

Given the context, it might be helpful to define those words. Is having been in an abusive relationship a connection or a condition?

I think an abusive relationship is a condition.

A condition is like... a state of being. Something that you presently contain, whether it's something physical or purely psychological. While we call abusive relationships... relationships... the truth is what is relevant is how that affects us, rather than it being interpersonal. And the effect it has on us exists within our psyche.

Meanwhile a connection is more like a relationship in the true meaning of the word. In the present context of therianthropy, me saying that therianthropy might be a connection means that we don't HAVE therianthropy, we just observe the equivalence relationship between how we think and how we think animals think.


I didn't quote the remainder of the argument because this thread is basically a precursor to my Explanations of therianthropy post where I explain that I believe that therianthropy is a form of convergent evolution.

While animal behaviour is mostly dictated by genetics / nature (I'm speaking of wolves, obviously), our human psyche is a good combination of nature and nurture as you have indicated. We are shaped by the combination of our genetics and our life experiences. However, in therianthropy viewed as a form of convergent evolution, because we live in a similar environment as wolves, my combo of nature and nurture has brought me to the same conclusions as just nature brings wolves.

I think this is something of a reasonable conclusion that doesn't need to violate any laws of physics to be true and I am quite contented with it.

LP,
Dusty

(2023-04-02 4:26)TherianRose Wrote:  First of all, welcome! You've got your paws, claws, and other appendages on a great resource for learning about therianthropy. If you haven't read the FAQs on the main Therian Guide site yet, I highly recommend starting over there.

It can be difficult to figure out if you identify with or identify as a given animal/being, and having doubts is a very common part of the therian experience. If you're uncertain or questioning, you're definitely not alone! Throughout this post I say animal, but otherkin are included as well - just replace "animal" with whatever term suits you best.

Personally, it took a lot of reflection, meditation, and journaling over a period of about six months to confirm that I am a therian and subsequently determine my theriotype. It can be a long process, or your type/species might hit you suddenly as you're researching, but don't worry either way. I'm sure you'll figure things out and we are happy to help too!

Now, let's move on to the tips...

(1) First, consider what overall animals feel "right" - canines? Felines? Birds? Reptiles? Don't be afraid to imagine yourself as several different animals! Taking notes can be very helpful during this stage since it can get a little overwhelming. It's also ideal to start with a broad category (also called a clade) and narrow things down from there.

(2) Once you have an overall animal family that feels right, next you can start to envision more specifics about yourself. Try to do so in as much detail as possible - what does your skin feel like - do you have fur? Scales? Feathers? How do you move? Are you looking for others like you, or do you prefer to be solitary? What climate do you feel at home in? What plants and/or animals say "food" to you? Often at this point, a set of characteristics will stand out and help you determine your type(s) and eventually, species and subspecies.

(3) Research can also help a lot during this time of uncertainty. Try to learn everything about your possible theriotype as you can! Again, I recommend doing some journaling about how each one makes you feel, what traits and characteristics hit home and what might not resonate as strongly. In my experience, after reading a lot of studies and articles about wolves, my inner monologue morphed into "oh yeah, we do that," or "they're right, we do like xyz" whenever wolves were mentioned. Of course, this isn't something every therian experiences, but it was a key factor in my awakening.

Ultimately, the decision whether or not to label yourself as a therian is up to you. Don't be afraid to claim the label even if you're still unsure - the beauty of it is that our labels are free to change as we learn more about ourselves. I hope this is helpful for those of you who are just starting on this journey, and for those who already know your theriotype, I'd love to hear how your journey began! Of course, my inbox is always open as well.

~ Rose

This is an amazing post and I wish that I had found it earlier because it's just so helpful and fab!
Hopefully this will help newly awakened/awakening therians!

For me, doing research is learning about myself, exploring my identity, learning about others' experiences, asking myself questions, thinking things through and just talking to people and getting their opinions!

I think that therianthropy is involuntary because you don't wake up one day and decide I'm going to be an animal today and I'm going to act like this and I'm going to pretend to have shifts and similar.

Therianthropy isn't a conscious choice for me - it is just simply who I am and who I will be.
Choosing to wear gear and do vocals and quads is a choice, a personal choice but being a therian in itself is just who you are.

(2020-07-26 19:06)DustWolf Wrote:  What if Therianthropy is more of a connection than a condition?

Given the context, it might be helpful to define those words. Is having been in an abusive relationship a connection or a condition?

(2020-07-26 19:06)DustWolf Wrote:  Like, we like to think that therianthropy is something we are born with, but the more I've tried to understand my own therianthropy, the more I realised the reason I can relate to wolves, is because of a number of things I've been through in my life, that made me end up this way.

I wasn't simply born as a wolf therian, I was moulded, admittedly by forces outside my control (abuse, etc), but who I am and why I am more like a wolf than a human was something I've become through both nature and nurture.

Ultimately if anyone looked deep enough into their Therianthropy they might find that the reason for their animal traits is... that they're a person who is like that animal. You can find some of those traits (in therians) also in family members who are clearly not therians or in human cultural norms, etc.

What I'm saying is that for different reasons we as people develop traits that make us like certain animals and then that connection we have to those animals -- that is our therianthropy.

This is akin to the nature vs. nurture argument (highlighted above by @BearX ) brought forward in some other areas, such as with queerness. Generally, my stance is nature gives you the biological/neurological hardware necessary to be able to experience the dimension of the subject in question. The nurture component determines, perhaps with some additional help from nature, where in that subject you land. For example, in the abusive relationship situation mentioned above, someone without a limbic system - the portion of the brain that processes emotions - will not experience emotional trauma. Someone with a hyperactive one may not only be very traumatized from that relationship but see every subsequent partner who even mildly resembles the prior abusive one as triggering in some way. Therapy - another nurturing effect - can help mitigate these effects.

With therianthropy, I think while almost all people have the necessary neuro-hardware to understand the idea, only a fraction of those have the nurture to give it due reflection. Within that group, some have the nature that gives them phantom limb experiences. I don't yet know about the various types of shifts to assign them to one or both categories, but that would be my schema for analysis.

(2026-07-11 1:56)FernFox Wrote:  I believe (my) therianthropy is involuntary because I didn't choose my experiences, nor did I consciously decide to perceive myself as an animal. My behaviours came prior to any self-identity I had of being a fox.

My experiences began in very early childhood, and while there were times where I did the normal child thing of pretending to be different animals, there was never a time that I looked at a fox and thought "This is the creature I'm going to pretend to be from now on". In fact, behaving like a fox preceded any knowledge I have of reading or learning about canine behaviour. My body posturing, social cues, vocalizations, and other non-human-like instincts came naturally. And it took me a veeery long time (until adulthood) -- and lots of miserable masking and suppressing -- before I accepted that I was more fox than I was human.

I really relate to this!!

The shapeshifter side of my identity probably stemmed from my voluntary, playing-pretend years and turned into an involuntary experience and identity (in a sense, because I'd rather not identify as a shapeshifter, but I feel unfulfilled if I don't as it's an experience I'd be leaving out of my identity) over time.

The cat side of my experience is also involuntary, but it never started as a voluntary thing. I feel like I must have imprinted on cats due to my exposure to them at an early age. I never meant or particularly wanted to pretend to be a cat, it was just learned behavior I supose.

It's my wolf side that's really interesting, though. Originally, I thought I had developed canine experiences over time from media exposure, but I've had some memories come back to me recently and some stories told to me, and I know realize I displayed specifically wolf-like behaviors at a very young age before being exposed to canines in the media and in real life. Perhaps since humans are social animals and similar to wolves in some ways, this is why I was very wolf-like as a child? But then again, I still had behaviors that were noticeably different from other children's.

So what I do know is that even if, in my younger years, my cat experiences were much stronger and more visible (to myself and others), there were still those wolf behaviors that came from... absolutely nowhere. There is no way the experience of therianthropy could be voluntary, in my opinion. Just because there is absolutely no way I could've chosen to be a wolf and a cat.

(2026-07-11 22:07)Abelioscruxthymn Wrote:  What's the appropriate response to the next generation who much more widely things therianthropy is a more malleable and subjective mental construct? There was an interaction on another server where that sort of belief was widely pervasive, and folks mentioning their perspective of it being involuntary were dismissed; it is my understanding that scenario sparked interest for this thread.

Ceding ground on terminology or perspective with a large group for substantial time creates a morass that is hard to undo.

That's a good question, since it's so wide-spread now on the internet.. My own (probably unpopular) opinion would be for us to cut it off at the source and distance ourselves from the Alterhuman umbrella. The anti-questioning culture and much of the identity-only concepts seem to have derived from it being a vehicle for ideas that originated in echo-chambers on tumblr and Alt+H's attempts to classify various communities as related identity groups without a clear understanding of what any of them were originally describing themselves as.. Other than that, I think we have to keep trying to find better ways to introduce and break down concepts of Ontology for an audience who likely has never encountered it.. I'm hoping it'll get easier once the social media craze dies down and the next generation tries to distance themselves from it; fads tend to come and go in cycles and, from what I've noticed, few seem to persist past the 10-year mark.

Much of what we're seeing now seem to have been recent developments occuring within the past 6 years.. The constant joining and leaving of people in the greater community sets up a situation where we have a lot of relatively new people teaching the completely new, with all of their information stemming from wikis, one-off posts, and whatever the spaces they join promote as acceptably-true..then the new ones branch out and propagate those views as if they're long-established community understandings when they're really not. TG isn't exempt from this either; the breakdown of views and experiences described here don't always represent what you'll find in other spaces, but we try to promote general critical thought, and we have a number of members who are still around from the early community who try to make it known when something is completely inconsistent with how we understood things.

Even so, you can't really have any cohesion of ideas if everyone's giving vastly different versions of what the single thing we're all supposed to have in common even is (that we're animals in some way). I think we could remedy this if we worked on improving our messaging and descriptions to be clearer and less up-for-interpretation, and if we try to foster a cultural shift, starting with the newcomers, that emphasizes the importance of understanding ourselves as animals over the more human-centered arguments that seek to emphasize it as separate, ephemeral, and non-essential to the experience. I realize it's kind of a vague statement, but we need to bring back the emphasis of the *animal* in animality..

As a final thought, I also think we should try to discourage advertising of the ideas of therianthropy to people who have not actively sought them out. If someone is really experiencing therianthropy then they will be drawn to find us on their own, and the community as a whole will benefit from having those who have had more time to consider what they are and establish their own understandings, without outside influences guiding their views and beliefs about themselves..

(2026-07-11 15:54)Cygnus Wrote:  I think confusion/conflicts over this crop up specifically because the modern community is so fixated on therianthropy being thought of as an identity, and it's led to a lot of weird grey-area arguments about things that could be possible if therianthropy were merely a malleable and subjective mental construct that was more a part of their formed personality than any sort of pure-ontological state, no matter how far such an idea veers away from its original understanding(s).

What's the appropriate response to the next generation who much more widely thinks therianthropy is a more malleable and subjective mental construct? There was an interaction on another server where that sort of belief was widely pervasive, and folks mentioning their perspective of it being involuntary were dismissed; it is my understanding that scenario sparked interest for this thread.

Ceding ground on terminology or perspective with a large group for substantial time creates a morass that is hard to undo.