Your question about what it means to be human is one that philosophers have debated for millennia, and still, there is no true answer. The majority of my philosophy classes in college centered around that question, which was interesting for me as a deeply integrated therian, and it got me thinking about my own experience.

That said, here's the thing that has been touched on many times here: humans and animals are not as far removed and separate as most think. Humans are animals and thus share core instincts with other living creatures, even if those instincts may seem dulled in the human world. So, how did I determine I was a therian in light of this? I look at all my instincts, urges, experiences, etc. and compared them to what I learned over time is typical of most humans. I was born a therian, so certain things I thought were normal in my early life I quickly learned were not typical at all for humans.

Also, I looked at my experiences and compared them to my knowledge of other animals: do I share this trait with a wolf that humans don't share or don't experience in the same way? Plus, the phantom tail I feel on a constant basis is a bit of an easy giveaway.

Necessary caveat here that the ""line"" I'm about to discuss is individual, and while collectively most people would probably agree on this, it IS still unique to each person. I'm mentioning this here for you to take and then evaluate where you feel you fall along this spectrum as you see fit. I'm no expert, I'm just coming in here with my own experiences and observations from having been in the community for the last 13 years.

I think if we start from the assumption that everyone feels an alienation from humanity at some point in their life, it provides a good baseline. Going further, you find people who have moments where they wish they weren't human, but again, that still falls under the disillusionment, and a step beyond that is likely wish fulfillment. I think anything beyond this is what tips into therianthropy. Because at this step, you have someone who actually feels nonhuman. Most people who simply feel disillusioned or want a break from being human do not seriously go "I would actually consider being a nonhuman animal full time," like, if really pressed on it. Going to make the gender comparison (credentials: I'm trans LOL) and say that even people who are frustrated by the expectations of their gender roles or their anatomy don't necessarily want to transition. Think of all the cis women out there who can't stand getting periods, for instance. I do want to say that this is where that ""line"" is, and I put it in double quotes because even this is a grey area.

This is the point where you ultimately have to decide for yourself if you feel as though you are animal enough to be nonhuman. You have to look to the clues your body and brain are giving you, listen to your gut. Follow the train of thought if you are to seriously consider yourself nonhuman and see if it makes sense, feels comfortable, and then sit with it for a while. The truth has a way of revealing itself to you. Would I, a jaguar therian, consider being one full time for instance? No, I would not. But "wanting to be a nonhuman animal" is not the only metric by which you should judge your nonhumanity. The reason I pulled it as an example is because it's an easy one to use for comparison, and also I'm entirely aware that a lot of therians would in fact choose to be their theriotype without thinking twice about it.

That's why I say to listen to the clues your body is giving you about your nonhumanity. You have to decide if they are a strong enough indicator that what you're experiencing deviates enough from what your average person experiences to be considered falling under therianthropy. No one's going to throw you out if you don't experience shifts, if you don't want to physically be nonhuman, or don't have a theriotype nailed down. We only really care that you're authentically talking about your experiences (to the best of your ability). In my opinion, the fact you're here tells me that there's something notable about what you're experiencing, and that what you've read about therianthropy so far resonated with you in some fashion. I'd start there and interrogate further.

(2025-11-18 7:36)AriVB Wrote:  

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  A person who has never had shifts. They don’t think much about being an animal. They recognize a certain animal in some, but not all, of their traits. They find comfort/joy in telling themself they are a specific animal and engaging with that part of themselves. They feel no significant disagreement with humanity, but agree with the idea of being that specific animal instead of, or alongside, being human.

Is this how you feel like yourself?

Yes, although I didn’t say so because I didn’t want the conversation to be entirely focused on me.

(2025-11-18 11:38)DustWolf Wrote:  

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  Hi there! This is a question I’ve been meaning to find the answer to and haven’t found anything… clarifying. The question is, to what extent must you feel animalistic to be a therian?

Is a therian ‘made’ by involuntary experiences like shifts, belief in having an animal soul, or a strong knowing somebody has about the nature of their self? I know therianthropy is a personal identity that people can’t really tell you, so it’s hard to say what’s ’therian’ or not, but I kinda just need somebody to say something detailed on the topic.

Yes.

Well a therian isn't "made", you either are or you aren't. The reason people show up on these forums is because they have some experience that feels like something described here and they are hoping that talking to other people with the same experiences will help them understand what they feel.

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  A person who has never had shifts. They don’t think much about being an animal. They recognize a certain animal in some, but not all, of their traits. They find comfort/joy in telling themself they are a specific animal and engaging with that part of themselves. They feel no significant disagreement with humanity, but agree with the idea of being that specific animal instead of, or alongside, being human.

Why are they here?

Every therian also has non-therian traits. Not everything you do in life absolutely needs to be explainable with therianthropy. People are here to get help with the experiences that are related to therianthropy, but they do have other experiences.

Fooling yourself into something that you don't genuinely feel, even if it brings you joy, is not what therianthropy is about. The point of places like TG is to help understand what you do experience. There might be other sites where roleplaying as an animal is the goal.

Being misanthropic (anti-human) is not required or related to therianthropy, though personally I am a therian who is misanthropic.

(2025-11-18 0:57)SilverKitsune Wrote:  Any deeper info and corrections I'll leave to the true experts, should they care to comment, but for myself those are my own thoughts, beliefs, and experiences.

There are no experts in therianthropy, it's a subjective experience.

LP,
Dusty

Thank you for the detailed reply! I greatly appreciate it. I recognize the mistake on wording with “made,” and I hadn’t intended for it. I’m not here to roleplay or fool myself. This is a topic I’m interested in regardless of whether I belong in the community, even if only to understand it better. And much of the time, understanding something works in relation to your own self. I won’t say I’m on here just to understand other people, but by now I’m resigned to not being a therian. Plus, I believe even while not being a therian, understanding the topic can still be beneficial. One thing I think about is that if I’m not majorly something else or other than human, what does it mean to be human? Is ‘human’ simply the vast norm and therianthropy the outlier, or does being human require something more than a lack of therianthropy?

So I’m here to understand things both to know myself and what the community actually is. I take an agnostic stance on a lot of things, particularly on my own identity, so I take things slow and see what happens. Regardless of who I am or might be, I am really just here to learn.

(2025-11-18 11:38)DustWolf Wrote:  

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  Hi there! This is a question I’ve been meaning to find the answer to and haven’t found anything… clarifying. The question is, to what extent must you feel animalistic to be a therian?

Is a therian ‘made’ by involuntary experiences like shifts, belief in having an animal soul, or a strong knowing somebody has about the nature of their self? I know therianthropy is a personal identity that people can’t really tell you, so it’s hard to say what’s ’therian’ or not, but I kinda just need somebody to say something detailed on the topic.

Yes.

Well a therian isn't "made", you either are or you aren't. The reason people show up on these forums is because they have some experience that feels like something described here and they are hoping that talking to other people with the same experiences will help them understand what they feel.

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  A person who has never had shifts. They don’t think much about being an animal. They recognize a certain animal in some, but not all, of their traits. They find comfort/joy in telling themself they are a specific animal and engaging with that part of themselves. They feel no significant disagreement with humanity, but agree with the idea of being that specific animal instead of, or alongside, being human.

Why are they here?

Every therian also has non-therian traits. Not everything you do in life absolutely needs to be explainable with therianthropy. People are here to get help with the experiences that are related to therianthropy, but they do have other experiences.

Fooling yourself into something that you don't genuinely feel, even if it brings you joy, is not what therianthropy is about. The point of places like TG is to help understand what you do experience. There might be other sites where roleplaying as an animal is the goal.

Being misanthropic (anti-human) is not required or related to therianthropy, though personally I am a therian who is misanthropic.

(2025-11-18 0:57)SilverKitsune Wrote:  Any deeper info and corrections I'll leave to the true experts, should they care to comment, but for myself those are my own thoughts, beliefs, and experiences.

There are no experts in therianthropy, it's a subjective experience.

LP,
Dusty

There might not be any true experts, but you definitely know a heck of a lot more compared to what I do in the general physical knowledge category. I would consider that "expert" or "high level".

Before I ever actually looked into therianthropy and the true meaning, definition or any type of knowledge confirming my own experiences, I literally went off my own instinct.

For myself, I would say I am more "nature smart" when it comes to therianthropy, meaning I was having, and felt extremely comfortable with my experiences far before I ever decided to take a deeper dive into the "behind the scenes" knowledge.

What drove me here was pure curiosity, and I also love to help teach, and learn more, so I figured that once things in my life settled and my schedule wasn't as busy, I would check this place out, see what it has to offer, and what I can offer to this place, and in a world that is currently overflowing with misinformation, disinformation, lies and falsehoods, I wanted to get a deeper look and insight into what I already have known about myself, while being able to share with others, and bring to the table what I can while doing so.

In a word, I guess confirmation would describe best why I am here.

I will also say that although each experience is unique, individual and subjective, there are certain areas in which some therians have had far more experience, which I would personally consider "expert" compared to what I know overall.

I'm looking to expand my understanding and overall knowledge, so that I will not only be able to help other therians, but also explain things to humans in terms they can understand to a point, and direct them to where they can find out more if they want to learn more.

What you explained in this thread is also very helpful and insightful for me as well, and what you said about misanthropy is something I didn't know much about, but if it is something that I have ever come across and didn't know about or what it was, I'll definitely be educating myself on that too.

Thank you for your insight Dusty.

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  Hi there! This is a question I’ve been meaning to find the answer to and haven’t found anything… clarifying. The question is, to what extent must you feel animalistic to be a therian?

Is a therian ‘made’ by involuntary experiences like shifts, belief in having an animal soul, or a strong knowing somebody has about the nature of their self? I know therianthropy is a personal identity that people can’t really tell you, so it’s hard to say what’s ’therian’ or not, but I kinda just need somebody to say something detailed on the topic.

Yes.

Well a therian isn't "made", you either are or you aren't. The reason people show up on these forums is because they have some experience that feels like something described here and they are hoping that talking to other people with the same experiences will help them understand what they feel.

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  A person who has never had shifts. They don’t think much about being an animal. They recognize a certain animal in some, but not all, of their traits. They find comfort/joy in telling themself they are a specific animal and engaging with that part of themselves. They feel no significant disagreement with humanity, but agree with the idea of being that specific animal instead of, or alongside, being human.

Why are they here?

Every therian also has non-therian traits. Not everything you do in life absolutely needs to be explainable with therianthropy. People are here to get help with the experiences that are related to therianthropy, but they do have other experiences.

Fooling yourself into something that you don't genuinely feel, even if it brings you joy, is not what therianthropy is about. The point of places like TG is to help understand what you do experience. There might be other sites where roleplaying as an animal is the goal.

Being misanthropic (anti-human) is not required or related to therianthropy, though personally I am a therian who is misanthropic.

(2025-11-18 0:57)SilverKitsune Wrote:  Any deeper info and corrections I'll leave to the true experts, should they care to comment, but for myself those are my own thoughts, beliefs, and experiences.

There are no experts in therianthropy, it's a subjective experience.

LP,
Dusty

(2025-11-17 20:11)Barkbarks Wrote:  A person who has never had shifts. They don’t think much about being an animal. They recognize a certain animal in some, but not all, of their traits. They find comfort/joy in telling themself they are a specific animal and engaging with that part of themselves. They feel no significant disagreement with humanity, but agree with the idea of being that specific animal instead of, or alongside, being human.

Is this how you feel like yourself?

You're welcome Barkbark.

Glad I could be of some service with what little (I feel) knowledge I have.

I at least wanted to help give you a good basis.

Any deeper info and corrections I'll leave to the true experts, should they care to comment, but for myself those are my own thoughts, beliefs, and experiences.

The only thing I know for certain that I can say is true of everyone, is that we all have (had) our own experiences, and that each experience is individual and different, and that's what truly defines us.

Conferring with the community is just another way to confirm an experience, and to verify if something truly therian or not.

Outside of that, it's all you, the user. Haha. (I threw in just a tad bit of gamer humor for playful effect).

@SilverKitsune this did help! I suppose I don’t have much to say right now but I do appreciate what you’ve said. (And as a side note, I hadn’t meant to use the words “made” and “become” in that way, but I guess I have! Thanks for pointing it out!)

Barkbark,

Personal disclaimer:

I am by no means an expert on therianthropy at all, but here are my own personal thoughts and beliefs:

When it comes to therianthropy, the word "made" or "become" is something that I am personally irritated by, and I don't speak for the community as a whole, but when it gets right down to it, one either is or is not a therian.

To specify, a spiritual therian is one who may have had experiences that are spiritual in nature, such as dreams, possible memories of a prior life, or an intrinsic belief outside of one who only has the mindset of an animal.

A psychological therian is one who, and this is something I am not quite familiar with due to my identity being based more so on the spiritual side, but from what I understand it to be incorporates animalistic instincts and behaviors into their brain (a sort of rewiring) from something such as trauma, a very highly impactful event, or even something such as neurodivergence, like those with autism or a mental illness (Note: I am not familiar with the full range of autism or the impacts it has on a person other than from what I've seen or heard, and I have heard from some that it can also fall under the mental illness category, however I don't know enough about it to include it in mental illness, so the two categories are separated here).

Again, since I am by no means someone who is an expert on therianthropy in general, these are all things I know and understand them to be, as I have heard, read, or researched (much of it out of my own curiosity).

Breaking things down though, outside of these two specific areas, there's a lot of grey area when it comes to things like terms, experiences, and even acceptance.

If I were you, the easiest way to understand therianthropy is to look at and reflect on my own view(s), ask myself "what are my experiences", and then consult with the community for further information.

For myself specifically, I am a Spiritual Silver Fox Therian.

I am certain of this because of my own experiences that I have had, and I want to note that the best way to find out about yourself and whether you may be a therian is to share your personal experiences, and see if those fall under a category of general community agreeance and acceptance. To be clear, it's the experiences I am talking about, not acceptance of you as a person.

If you have had an experience such as something like a shift, or specific recurring dreams, or describe your beliefs of having the spirit of an animal as one of your core beliefs, and something that doesn't come and go, there's a very good chance you may be a therian.

In what you have presented in your "example" person, that to me unfortunately does not sound like a therian.

The reason being is that the word "recognize" has more of an "animalhearted" feel to it, meaning that one has more of an admiration or general interest/attraction to that animal, rather than a belief that they are that animal.

You also mention the phrase "telling themself", which also seems to me like something that is more of an admiration rather than a core belief.

In my own personal experiences and thoughts, my core belief when it comes to my spiritual therianthropy is that I literally live the life of my theriotype, the silver fox, to the greatest extent I can.

Without going into too much detail, a short list for myself is something like:

Diet (not specifically matching, but very close)

Atmosphere (certain therians enjoy a climate that is similar to what their theriotype enjoy)

Sleeping or living spaces (certain places of the home, or maybe the entire home are made to have the feeling or resemblance of that of which their theriotype feels most comfortable in or enjoys)

Doing certain things that make one feel more in touch with their theriotype outside the above listed (for example, certain exercises or staying active, having a schedule that is closest to ones theriotype - mine is a very late schedule with a bedtime of around 4AM on average, and little naps throughout the day, if I feel like it - )

The last thing you also mentioned in your example was the phrase "agree with the idea of", and that unfortunately to me also says that, because these are "ideas", it's not a therian belief, but more so of an admiration and respect for the animal and what it stands for, similar to a totem or spirit animal, rather than a true therian.

On a final note, I also want to say that although I am based as a spiritual therian, I have also made the cross to psychological in addition to my spiritual beliefs.

I will not go into that here because that will muddle this explanation up and make it confusing for someone who is still unsure, but for myself, having a basis as a spiritual therian that has crossed into a psychological side to enhance, enrich and compliment their identity, this is a very individual experience, and some may share it with me, however the person you have described in the example you used, I believe does not fall into any category of which I have mentioned in this post.

I hope this helps your understanding of therianthropy and clears a bit of it up.

As I stated previosuly as well in this post, I am absolutely not an expert on therianthropy, so please do not take everything of what I have said here literally.

What I have described here is based on what I have read, heard, or talked about with others, as well as my own personal beliefs and experiences, so please take what I said with a grain of salt, and continue to explore and ask questions.

There may be some things you don't even know about yourself that someone more experienced may be able to help you discover.

Whatever you do, I wish you luck.

Hi there! This is a question I’ve been meaning to find the answer to and haven’t found anything… clarifying. The question is, to what extent must you feel animalistic to be a therian?

Is a therian ‘made’ by involuntary experiences like shifts, belief in having an animal soul, or a strong knowing somebody has about the nature of their self? I know therianthropy is a personal identity that people can’t really tell you, so it’s hard to say what’s ’therian’ or not, but I kinda just need somebody to say something detailed on the topic.

I’ve come up with an ambiguous(?) person down below. Tell me if you think this person could count as a therian, or could but probably isn’t, or they are not a therian at all.

A person who has never had shifts. They don’t think much about being an animal. They recognize a certain animal in some, but not all, of their traits. They find comfort/joy in telling themself they are a specific animal and engaging with that part of themselves. They feel no significant disagreement with humanity, but agree with the idea of being that specific animal instead of, or alongside, being human.

This is the specific situation I’ve been thinking of, so it certainly doesn’t cover everything that could be included in this topic. If you want to add in another hypothetical/example, please do! Any discussion on this would be greatly appreciated, because this whole thing is a bit confusing.