This is a very interesting perspective, and I do enjoy discussions of such things! Your evolution theory does admittedly remind me a lot of many explanations I've heard from those who describe themselves as physically alterhuman, or more specifically capable of physically shifting. I do not personally have any opinion on either, though it is curious to me how this sentiment seems to be shared, or at least considered at some greater scope. As you said yourself there is no true evidence for this though, albeit it is an interesting thought.
Although I agree that some degree of alterhumanity can psychologically come from trauma and mental disorders ( speaking myself as someone with audhd, p-did and psychotic depression ), but I do have to agree with what everyone else is saying in mostly that ultimately, I'm not sure this is something you truly precisely pinpoint because we're so diverse as a community, and also because everybody experiences everything super differently lol. It'd be nice if it was easier. I love discussions like this tho

@ouch

I’d like to point out that not all neurodivergence and not all mental illness is rooted in trauma.

While this theory isn’t without merit, I think it’s a bit reductive. Not all therianthropy is rooted in trauma either, and while I’m sure that therianthropy as a defense or coping mechanism certainly exists, I think there’s also a lot of therians for whom that isn’t the case. Take me as an example: I have ASD and ADHD, both of which are biological in origin. My mental health issues, mainly compulsive behavior, social anxiety, generalized anxiety, and depression, are all primarily rooted in my AuDHD. Not to say there aren’t other contributing factors, but that’s the primary cause. While my lynx-self could absolutely have developed as a response or coping mechanism to that, there are several other equally plausible explanations, and in any case there’s not really any trauma for it to be caused by.

And, as @Thorn pointed out, the sheer variety of animal instincts experienced by therians is a bit of a roadblock for the theory. Many of the instincts and instinctive behaviors that therians experience are from different evolutionary lines and would have no biological mechanism for existing in a human brain.

I’m really not trying to crap on your theory, I just think it needs some more work. Hopefully you can think of a way to reconcile these issues

This is a very interesting theory, thank you for sharing, love reading about stuff like this

I really like this theory and how it connects to mental illnesses. At their most fundamental level, mental illnesses are just instincts (either developed during ones life, or developed by their ancestors and passed down) made to help people survive. Obviously they cause harm but the reason they develop at all is in response to trauma and trying to survive that trauma.

I agree with @Thorn on the range of therianthropic instincts making it unlikely that they would originate from some same instinctual baseline that all humans have. But there is something to be said about therian instincts developing much in the same way mental illnesses do, as a defense mechanism.

No two traumatic events are the same and that is what leads to the range in neurodivergent experiences, I see no reason why the same wouldn't apply to therianthropy.

@KeweyTanuki for me, linkremoved.net has a really good dictionary


Idk if thats helpful still, but yeah…

(2026-01-30 18:27)Evi Wrote:  Not sure how much you have in, but when I was poking around where my little sib interacts with other therians, I found this dictionary. It seems very well-thought out with a whole lot of terms, both genuine and fanalune. It also has sources (lots of tumblr but there’s a few genuine sources, even TG!).

Thanks Evi! There's a therian-specific version here too.

I have seen the word "otherkiv" once or twice its unnecessary (I think) according to one YouTube video (I could not find anything else on it its --
An otherkiv is someone who receives/has non-human experiences, much like a therian. unlike therians however, they do not identify as their would be theriotype, or kivtypes.
I am new to this community but ehhh sort sounds weird. I think this counts faunalune I think. (corrent me if I am wrong)

Therianthropy is a term originally from Greek meaning “wild animal” and “human.” Historically, it referred to mythological shapeshifting (like werewolves), but in modern usage it also refers to a personal identity experience where a person feels, mentally or spiritually, that they identify as a non-human animal.

Therianthropy is not a medically recognized mental disorder as of the time of writing this.

Psychological therianthropy
The identification with an animal may come from neurodivergency, the subconscious, or personal coping mechanisms developed over time.

Some theorize that early experiences (like trauma or unique brain wiring) could contribute to how someone relates to an animal identity.

There are rare clinical conditions (like clinical lycanthropy) where someone literally believes they are an animal, but that’s distinct from how therians describe their experience.

spiritual identity
The connection to an animal might be understood as a spiritual essence that resonates with that animal.

This interpretation is personal and varies. It isn’t tied to a specific religion, and many therians who think spiritually about their identity still practice entirely separate religions or none at all.

Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy?
https://thetheriansociety.com/therian-discussion-document
https://alterhumanity.fandom.com/wiki/Psychological_Therianthropy?
https://alterhumanity.fandom.com/wiki/Spiritual_Therianthropy?
My own experience lol

Not sure how much you have in, but when I was poking around where my little sib interacts with other therians, I found this dictionary. It seems very well-thought out with a whole lot of terms, both genuine and fanalune. It also has sources (lots of tumblr but there’s a few genuine sources, even TG!).

If anyone has any other therian-related words they want me to chop up and put into the faunalune generator, please reply to the thread with the word and its supposed definition. Or even just chunks of word work fine as well. This is meant to be something we can all have a knowing giggle at.

Or if anyone knows a good place to source more terms which isn't TikTok, that would be great to know too.

Thanks to @Murray for the spiffy faunalune logo also!