I just got here, as a pup who knows people who were grooming victims (luckily never been a victim) I agree!

Research to me is probably something different..

I didn't actively research anything at the beginning to figure out what I was.. I knew that I was significantly different from everyone I had ever met and that I wasn't exactly what they were seeing me as..but I didn't know what that was exactly, and I didn't give it much thought until I saw a form that looked just like me in a book and then I knew that somehow that's what I was, and things began to make sense for the first time.

After that I began reading about mythologies from various cultures to try to find explanations for my experiences, and to see if there were historical mentions of people like me. That evolved into focusing on Eastern Mythology and Philosophy which I later took coursework in college for. I also studied Psychology, Physiology, Physics, and various other fields between my work and university studies as I got older. These are useful when it comes to reality-testing and weeding out mundane yet not commonly known aspects of human development and the world around us.

I've tried to avoid researching too much into animal behavior for the reasons others have mentioned..I needed to know that my behavior was genuine and self-originating. Most of us discover ourselves relatively young, and the mind is highly suggestible at that point, so if you search for something hard enough you'll likely find a way to see it in yourself(even adults can do this..). Things that are real will still be there when you don't look for them, and you'll probably be forced to recognize them eventually because they won't go away. They will also likely have a significant impact on your daily life in some way (some good, some bad).

Tldr: You don't need to use the Force, Luke..just your patience.

Research for me is looking inside myself, first. I thought I was a wolf at first because of how much I loved them. But When I found I was a therian, I took a step back from finding my 'type' and tried to learn myself first.

I did a lot of looking internally and journaled to keep track of my habits and behaviours and traits. This research can affect finding your type! After I had a good understanding of myself, I tried to apply it to other animals. Shifts (if you experience them) can sometimes be enough to narrow down your type, like for my I had very canine/doglike phantom and mental shifts. But lots of canine act similar.

So that's when I do some external research, I'm looking at dog breeds and suddenly I find the Shiloh Shepherd, a dog breed I didn't know existed. I found they and I share a lot within personality, vocals, and phantom shifting. Even my mental self image looked exactly like one.

In short research doesn't have to mean looking at animals and their behaviors, watching doccumentaries, reading about them, etc. It can be useful, but only if you know yourself first. Don't let outside sources make you relate to animals just because you found a new one you think is cool and unique.

Best of luck,
~Fernweh

I don't name my theriotypes but I don't think my name really represents the full me so I am looking for a name that does weird but what ebbs

Good to know

@DustWolf
Thanks for the warning! There are a lot of creeps on the internet, so I’ll keep a look out.

(2019-08-06 2:10)PNWolf Wrote:  I feel like *if* my wolf self has her own name, it's probably just like... a growl, or something. Wolves don't give each other names like Shadow or Luna. Nothing wrong with calling yourself something like that, but that's something you as a human are assigning to your theriotype.

True, true

(2024-03-30 22:35)StormyPica Wrote:  

(2024-03-30 22:32)Beanz Wrote:  

(2022-10-24 19:06)OrdinaryDragon Wrote:  -Basically, a "polymorph" is an alterhuman that has a theriotype that is always changing, kind of like a shapeshifter-! The alterhuman in question may experience shifts of 1 animal at a time, or possibly even multiple (most common in phantom shifts) for example, feeling a wolf tail, and a bird's wings. These do change, though. Sometimes, the person may experience having a seperate identity to this too though. For example: experiencing shifts and strong connection of a red fox; AS WELL AS of always changing creatures-!

-Polymorph vs Polytherian
-A polymorph theriotypes change very frequently, while a polytherian's just stay the same. A polytherian has more than 1 theriotype.
-Please do not jump to the conclusion that you are a polymorph quickly after learning about your therianthropy as it is common to get your kintype wrong-!

-How did I find out that I was a polymorph/my experiences.
-I had been having major struggles finding my theriotype as well, it was constantly changing. When I thought that I had finally found my (second) kintype, I decided to draw it, write about my shifts etc. I noticed that when I was doing this, I would research the animal that I thought it was, as you should. The animals that I researched, I felt a super strong connection with. And it felt like ME-! But these really didn't last too long. Years go on and I experience many shifts. Mainly of dragons. Some of Reindeers, Dogs, Cats, Wolves, Tigers, Crocodiles, maybe even mixed species. Although again- these animals were constantly changing, I would rarley have a shift of the same animal-! I KNEW that I had a second theriotype but, what could it be-?
-A few months ago, I came across the term of a polymorph. I heard of others describing their experiences and it just felt so close to home.

-But. How can you have multiple kintypes if they are constantly changing-? I need an explanation-!
-For me at least- I have always felt a strong connection to dragons. Had dragon shifts, etc. I am comftable in my dragon identity and I never stopped having this connection with dragons. Although with my polymorph side, the creatures here are always changing, unlike my dragon.

-Hopefully this all makes sense-! If you have any questions feel free to ask. :3

I'm sorry. I apologize for the notification but uh-
I know this is a VERY old post, but I had a question. I've known (or thought) that I'm a poly therian, but my problem is that my theriotypes are constantly changing and very inconsistent. For three years I've been constantly changing, adding, and generally questioning my theriotypes because my shifts are different almost every time. I've gotten shifts from different bird species, canines, felines, and many other animals in general. Its inconsistent, and I get it different almost every time. Right now I think I'm just questioning, even though its been over three years, and getting a lot of shifts from animals that aren't my theriotype. I've questioned being a polymorph, and it feels right, but I feel like I won't be accepted as one. I don't know what I am, who I am, or what I am supposed to do. Polymorph feels like the right term, but people might think I'm lying or that I'm wrong. I'm just a huge questioning mess rn-

You could be a shapeshifter. I’m one and so are some others on here.

Okay, thank you. I will look further into it. This is a new peice of information that I will explore. Again,thank you, friend.

(2024-03-30 22:32)Beanz Wrote:  

(2022-10-24 19:06)OrdinaryDragon Wrote:  -Basically, a "polymorph" is an alterhuman that has a theriotype that is always changing, kind of like a shapeshifter-! The alterhuman in question may experience shifts of 1 animal at a time, or possibly even multiple (most common in phantom shifts) for example, feeling a wolf tail, and a bird's wings. These do change, though. Sometimes, the person may experience having a seperate identity to this too though. For example: experiencing shifts and strong connection of a red fox; AS WELL AS of always changing creatures-!

-Polymorph vs Polytherian
-A polymorph theriotypes change very frequently, while a polytherian's just stay the same. A polytherian has more than 1 theriotype.
-Please do not jump to the conclusion that you are a polymorph quickly after learning about your therianthropy as it is common to get your kintype wrong-!

-How did I find out that I was a polymorph/my experiences.
-I had been having major struggles finding my theriotype as well, it was constantly changing. When I thought that I had finally found my (second) kintype, I decided to draw it, write about my shifts etc. I noticed that when I was doing this, I would research the animal that I thought it was, as you should. The animals that I researched, I felt a super strong connection with. And it felt like ME-! But these really didn't last too long. Years go on and I experience many shifts. Mainly of dragons. Some of Reindeers, Dogs, Cats, Wolves, Tigers, Crocodiles, maybe even mixed species. Although again- these animals were constantly changing, I would rarley have a shift of the same animal-! I KNEW that I had a second theriotype but, what could it be-?
-A few months ago, I came across the term of a polymorph. I heard of others describing their experiences and it just felt so close to home.

-But. How can you have multiple kintypes if they are constantly changing-? I need an explanation-!
-For me at least- I have always felt a strong connection to dragons. Had dragon shifts, etc. I am comftable in my dragon identity and I never stopped having this connection with dragons. Although with my polymorph side, the creatures here are always changing, unlike my dragon.

-Hopefully this all makes sense-! If you have any questions feel free to ask. :3

I'm sorry. I apologize for the notification but uh-
I know this is a VERY old post, but I had a question. I've known (or thought) that I'm a poly therian, but my problem is that my theriotypes are constantly changing and very inconsistent. For three years I've been constantly changing, adding, and generally questioning my theriotypes because my shifts are different almost every time. I've gotten shifts from different bird species, canines, felines, and many other animals in general. Its inconsistent, and I get it different almost every time. Right now I think I'm just questioning, even though its been over three years, and getting a lot of shifts from animals that aren't my theriotype. I've questioned being a polymorph, and it feels right, but I feel like I won't be accepted as one. I don't know what I am, who I am, or what I am supposed to do. Polymorph feels like the right term, but people might think I'm lying or that I'm wrong. I'm just a huge questioning mess rn-

You could be a shapeshifter. I’m one and so are some others on here.

(2022-10-24 19:06)OrdinaryDragon Wrote:  -Basically, a "polymorph" is an alterhuman that has a theriotype that is always changing, kind of like a shapeshifter-! The alterhuman in question may experience shifts of 1 animal at a time, or possibly even multiple (most common in phantom shifts) for example, feeling a wolf tail, and a bird's wings. These do change, though. Sometimes, the person may experience having a seperate identity to this too though. For example: experiencing shifts and strong connection of a red fox; AS WELL AS of always changing creatures-!

-Polymorph vs Polytherian
-A polymorph theriotypes change very frequently, while a polytherian's just stay the same. A polytherian has more than 1 theriotype.
-Please do not jump to the conclusion that you are a polymorph quickly after learning about your therianthropy as it is common to get your kintype wrong-!

-How did I find out that I was a polymorph/my experiences.
-I had been having major struggles finding my theriotype as well, it was constantly changing. When I thought that I had finally found my (second) kintype, I decided to draw it, write about my shifts etc. I noticed that when I was doing this, I would research the animal that I thought it was, as you should. The animals that I researched, I felt a super strong connection with. And it felt like ME-! But these really didn't last too long. Years go on and I experience many shifts. Mainly of dragons. Some of Reindeers, Dogs, Cats, Wolves, Tigers, Crocodiles, maybe even mixed species. Although again- these animals were constantly changing, I would rarley have a shift of the same animal-! I KNEW that I had a second theriotype but, what could it be-?
-A few months ago, I came across the term of a polymorph. I heard of others describing their experiences and it just felt so close to home.

-But. How can you have multiple kintypes if they are constantly changing-? I need an explanation-!
-For me at least- I have always felt a strong connection to dragons. Had dragon shifts, etc. I am comftable in my dragon identity and I never stopped having this connection with dragons. Although with my polymorph side, the creatures here are always changing, unlike my dragon.

-Hopefully this all makes sense-! If you have any questions feel free to ask. :3

I'm sorry. I apologize for the notification but uh-
I know this is a VERY old post, but I had a question. I've known (or thought) that I'm a poly therian, but my problem is that my theriotypes are constantly changing and very inconsistent. For three years I've been constantly changing, adding, and generally questioning my theriotypes because my shifts are different almost every time. I've gotten shifts from different bird species, canines, felines, and many other animals in general. Its inconsistent, and I get it different almost every time. Right now I think I'm just questioning, even though its been over three years, and getting a lot of shifts from animals that aren't my theriotype. I've questioned being a polymorph, and it feels right, but I feel like I won't be accepted as one. I don't know what I am, who I am, or what I am supposed to do. Polymorph feels like the right term, but people might think I'm lying or that I'm wrong. I'm just a huge questioning mess rn-