(2024-08-21 18:38)LavenderWobbleDragon Wrote:  But it's just a theory, a therian theory I just wanted to say that sorry

Um, that's why it's in the "Explanations of Therianthropy" subforum...? Also wdym "just a theory"? I'm a bit confused as to what you meant here.

(2024-08-20 23:53)SpicyWaffles Wrote:  Hello everyone. I think it's around time I share my personal theory on why I am a therian. Please keep in mind that this is my theory, and it's not meant to invalidate others who may think differently. It might be really similar to other theories but I just wanted to share my personal view.

I'll put it simply. I believe that my experiences as a therian were a way for my subconsciousness to process either my anxiety or trauma. Now, I could be wrong, but this is what makes the most sense to me. Before I went through the traumatic experiences, I wasn't as affected by my anxiety as I am today. I had a pretty easy life, no bullying or stressful situations and plenty of friends. Then I moved to a public school, and it (the traumatic experiences) happened. I started seeing things differently, in short. I started acting differently, and my performance in school decreased. Socializing with others was living hell. That's when I believed that I started experiencing things that are associated with therianthropy/alterhumanity.

I don't believe that you can just magically become a therian one day. I think that you have to be in the correct environment since a very young age for your subconsciousness to develop those things. As for me, I used to attend a very special private school that was nearly 100% outdoors, and I regularly learned about nature and learned a crap ton about it. And in case you were wondering how the hell my parents could afford that kind of school, well, they couldn't. They were on financial aid for a while, then got a free year of education due to special circumstances that I won't be saying.

Essentially, it's something psychological and a way for my brain of coping (which is very similar to other theories out there, I know). That also may be why I tend to have more shifts and a more animalistic mindset during times of anxiety.

That's it, really. Apologies if this is sloppily written, I'm on new meds for my migraines as of today and it makes me really tired. Feel free to ask any questions or smth.

But it's just a theory, a therian theory I just wanted to say that sorry

Many things! So many things that I literally have a list, but I’ll spare you of it. For the most part, it’s just a lot of ways that I don’t fit in with human beings.

I don’t feel connected to humans, I don’t think like they do, when I watch humans I feel like I’m watching a different species, I don’t get along with them, I don’t feel attracted to them (asexuallll), and I just don’t understand a lot of their culture at all. From war to socializing to however the heck humans enjoy making eye contact with each other and don’t see it as aggressive...I’m lost. Very lost.

So! If I’m not human, I must be something else. I thought I was koalakin for a little while, then grizzly bearkin, but then discovered cryptids...and everything suddenly made sense. I do enjoy being alone, being shrouded in nature or imagining living in liminal spaces or empty buildings. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by human life, dissociation and isolation is always the first thing I turn to. Just laying down with all the lights off in complete darkness, or looking through images of liminal spaces and losing myself in them, or going outside in the dead of night when no other humans are awake. It’s incredible. It feels like home. I truly am a cryptid at heart and at mind.

...oh, also some other stuff like my mood changing with the weather and prolonged staring were always issues I had. Cool stuff!

Hello everyone. I think it's around time I share my personal theory on why I am a therian. Please keep in mind that this is my theory, and it's not meant to invalidate others who may think differently. It might be really similar to other theories but I just wanted to share my personal view.

I'll put it simply. I believe that my experiences as a therian were a way for my subconsciousness to process either my anxiety or trauma. Now, I could be wrong, but this is what makes the most sense to me. Before I went through the traumatic experiences, I wasn't as affected by my anxiety as I am today. I had a pretty easy life, no bullying or stressful situations and plenty of friends. Then I moved to a public school, and it (the traumatic experiences) happened. I started seeing things differently, in short. I started acting differently, and my performance in school decreased. Socializing with others was living hell. That's when I believed that I started experiencing things that are associated with therianthropy/alterhumanity.

I don't believe that you can just magically become a therian one day. I think that you have to be in the correct environment since a very young age for your subconsciousness to develop those things. As for me, I used to attend a very special private school that was nearly 100% outdoors, and I regularly learned about nature and learned a crap ton about it. And in case you were wondering how the hell my parents could afford that kind of school, well, they couldn't. They were on financial aid for a while, then got a free year of education due to special circumstances that I won't be saying.

Essentially, it's something psychological and a way for my brain of coping (which is very similar to other theories out there, I know). That also may be why I tend to have more shifts and a more animalistic mindset during times of anxiety.

That's it, really. Apologies if this is sloppily written, I'm on new meds for my migraines as of today and it makes me really tired. Feel free to ask any questions or smth.

@Lupus Ferox

Basically, I just wanted to say that everyone is probably born with an animal side. Some people develop it at birth and some people develop it later, perhaps in response to some external factors. Or often they suppress it and shut it down and become a normal person.

I was born therian, yes, but not entirely due to external factors, methinks. The external factors, like how my surroundings handled or understood me, made me feel alienated on top of the alienation that came from within, really. From a toddler's age, I desired not to fit in nor did I want to have anything to do with other children my age. I also did not become a therian from the one moment into the next, meaning that it must have lingered in my mind from the moment I got conscious or relatively self-aware. Though admittedly, there is a high number of autistic therians with high iq's to be found across the community and those who do not wish to be a part of it or who haven't discovered it yet.
For me, it was per sheer accident, a case of luck or bad luck (I'll leave that in the middle), I got to believe that I should have been non-human to begin with. I don't think anyone helped me to pursue the path which ultimately led me here. I just felt estranged and lived a life on my own mostly, as it is the case with severely handicapped children, as children with asd or anxiety do. The puddle of personality traits just fit right to consider therianthropy as an identity. So, in general, I don't think I was under influence of anything back then, just the mind and the triggers in my environment.

I am not sure if this is anything coherent or fits the description as you posed it, but these are my two cents concerning my own discovery. I hope this is a somewhat correct representation of what I believe in. xD

(2024-08-15 19:59)Enerand Wrote:  I agree with most of it because it sounds very like my own experience.
This is how it works for me
I know I became a therian because I’m autistic and I mimic people I also have a very high IQ so my brain constantly craves new information so when there are no people around, I mimic animals (I often went to the zoo when I was little 5 times a week or something) because of my autism and mimicking I feel as much human as I feel animal because I learned to be both. I don’t have a sense of self of my own I am what I learn if I learned how to be a plant I would feel like I was part plant.

It’s a vague story but I hope you can understand.

It sounds interesting

I agree with most of it because it sounds very like my own experience.
This is how it works for me
I know I became a therian because I’m autistic and I mimic people I also have a very high IQ so my brain constantly craves new information so when there are no people around, I mimic animals (I often went to the zoo when I was little 5 times a week or something) because of my autism and mimicking I feel as much human as I feel animal because I learned to be both. I don’t have a sense of self of my own I am what I learn if I learned how to be a plant I would feel like I was part plant.

It’s a vague story but I hope you can understand.

So today I want to tackle a topic I've been mulling over for a long time. And that is my theory on therianthropy. In part I will probably say what has been said here so many times, but never from me. It's quite possible that I'll say a lot of things here that a lot of the critters here will disagree with, so I say okay, it's fine that everyone has different opinions, so let's discuss and debate it. Any thoughts and criticisms are welcome. This theory applies to me from my perspective and also remember I am a psychological therian so nothing spiritual. So sit back and let's get started.

My theory, as a few therians here have discussed, is that we all have within us the potential to "become" a therian. As in, we are born as therians, or at least as humans with some animal potential, and then it's up to each of us to develop that primitive side or to discard it and become a normal human.
It develops differently for everyone, for some as an integral part of them from birth and for others it is released after trauma when our mind and body probably want to protect itself. Or someone just puts it under some imaginary lock, a barrier that eventually falls and then older adults have the opportunity to explore themselves properly. But we are also often oppressed by the demands and expectations of others that you can completely suppress your therianthropy.
So that would be the beginning of my theory. The second part will be more of an individual thing.
This won't apply to everyone, so you'll probably disagree a lot. Anyway, I think that for a few people/therians, like myself, my therianthropy has been greatly influenced by society. By being very wild from birth and liking to be outdoors, I was looked at strangely by others. And I was ostracized and felt I didn't fit in myself. And so I think my as-yet-unbounded therianthropy took the form of a wolf. (More likely I think the wolf was always there in embryo if that's possible, but this helped me realize who I am.) Because the one I had as a child seemed powerful, dangerous, deadly, and fierce. Someone I wanted to be and already was. My body and soul began to protect me. After all, if a young child's brain sees a powerful animal, could there be a possibility that it will partially identify with it? The brain controls the body and the mind, but we in turn control the brain, simply a vicious circle.
And that concludes the second part of my theory that some therians adopt habits and behaviors from animals that some therians adopt habits and behaviors from animals that they find their characteristics to be something they need/want. They no longer want to be the weak ones, but they want to be strong. Maybe I'm talking about copinglink? I don't know, I don't know much about it, I just want to point out that you are often influenced by your surroundings (perhaps pets or something?)
For myself, I rather lean towards the first part of my theory, the second part is mostly hypothetical reasoning. I would very much like to welcome other opinions here.

The topic of "tik-tok therians" gets brought up on TG a lot, and while I understand the hostility, I don't really think it is surprising that children are drawn to the idea of therianthropy. For kids, especially those who are neurodivergent or don't "fit in" for any reason, animals can bring a great comfort. A lot of kids who don't fit in are constantly looking for communities to join, so making therianthropy a trend or aesthetic makes it more accessible to them. They are also looking for reasons as to why they don't fit in or get along with other people their age, and to put it simply, not being human is a really good explanation for why someone doesn't understand humans or get along with humans. Aesthetics in general have been on the rise, and therianthropy is not the only identity that has been watered down because of it. Many subcultures have been turned into aesthetics on tik-tok and those communities also suffer because of it. Aesthetics and the trends that go along with them lead to easily digestible social media posts and consumerism, which is what algorithms love.
I guess my main point is, therianthropy is being portrayed as an aesthetic or trend online because that is simply how social media works, and that kids, especially neurodivergent kids, are bound to be drawn to therianthropy specifically.