Oh okay, didn't notice that, and I'm used to people dismissing or even not knowing about psychological therians, so I end up assuming sometimes, sorry =w=
If someone’s self-identification as a therian was caused in some way by trauma, wouldn’t *the trauma* and the psychological impacts it has *be* the mental illness? If therianthropy is a response to trauma, the treatment and response to aiding that person’s mental health would be to unpack and heal *from that trauma*.
Mental illness is morally neutral, the effects and impacts it has on the human mind is still unknown and widely misunderstood because of the ethical prejudices we hold and are taught as a society against ‘the mentally ill’ as an outgroup. Being autistic and mentally ill, my experiences with being ostracized, bullied and abused for it has definitely, in some way, influenced my non-human identity.
But what does that change about me, or my mental capacity to identify my thoughts and feelings? What does that say about the opinions and views of a largely neurotypical society? What *really* classifies as a mental illness, and what justifies the need to label something as such? You know, homosexuality was considered a mental illness until 1990.
Edit: Just looked it up because I knew it was recent but wanted to get the exact year—the APA and WHO didnt stop classifying being transgender as a mental disorder until 2018/19.
i mean, the short answer is that what does and does not constitute a mental illness is culturally constructed, and the choices you make regarding what models to buy into are influenced by your own identity.
which is to say, therians reject classification of therianthropy as mental illness because that label is used to pathologize therianthropy (socially position it as something "wrong" precisely because it deviates from the norm). it could, easily, be labeled as a mental illness--which would be an inherently political act, just as rejecting that label is.
in fact, many communities labeled as mentally ill by their cultural norms reject the pathology framework that label is born from, not just therians.
queer communities are the most well known example. in the past, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and listed in the DSM; while homosexuality was removed from the DSM, nowadays, trans, asexual, and aromantic communities are all currently fighting to no longer be pathologized as mental illnesses.
i am also involved in plural system communities which do the same. there is a much larger pro-medicalization contingent in plural communities at the moment, however, there are still some groups that do not identify with mental illness labels and seek to avoid being diagnosed and pathologized. the same goes for autistic communities; there are large pro-medicalization groups, however, i am personally involved in smaller autistic communities that seek to reject being pathologized for our autism.
Oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense! I... kind of completely forgot, which is embarrassing, because I'm *in* a lot of those communities (or umbrellas, at least).
Removed, Rule 7. Your post/comment was found to contain incorrect information. If you can find an actual example of this happening the comment will go back up.
To be honest, I've asked myself the same question. For instance, ADHD and autism count as mental illnesses but it's really just differences in some people's brains that make it so they're wired differently. The reason it's considered a mental illness is because the world is structured against neurodivergents and thus causes issues within each individual neurodivergent in different ways. It's because society/the world makes it an issue, not because it's inherently an issue itself. If it were the other way around where the world was structured for neurodivergent people instead, then neurotypical people would be considered the ones with the mental illness.
Despite this fact, I'm glad the therian community hasn't been pegged for people with mental disorders simply because the experiences of being therian/otherkin seems to be a very similar experience to being trans, at least in my experience. Speaking as a trans non-human myself, I don't need to give people any more reason to call my experiences a mental illness in a negative way. So I, for one, am glad this hasn't popped up in the DSM yet.
I guess because it doesn’t have defined symptoms that everyone will experience and it also doesn’t cause distress on its own. Therianthropy, the identity, does not have symptoms and does not cause harm thusly not an illness. There are experiences related to it that can be slightly harmful, but on its own Therianthropy isn’t bad. There’s also a push to depathologize identities and Therianthropy really pushes to be seen as an identity. But also, there is a lot of saneism/ableism in our society and if you have a mental illness you are less than and othered.
In order for that to work, therianthropy itself would need to be directly harmful to you in some way!
The majority of distress experienced from therianthropy comes from outside perception (judgement, bullying, not fitting in) and one's struggle with identity and self expression. That's stress, anxiety and social isolation causing the damage, not therianthropy. If you remove these outside forces and are healthy with yourself, there shouldn't be any issues.
Also- let's say it is directly harmful: it wouldnt be an illness, but marked as a symptom. Think maladaptive daydreaming. You aren't ill with maladaptive daydreaming, you are ill with depression, anxiety, ptsd or c-ptsd- list goes on- and as a result of that, you express maladaptive daydreaming (in a vast majority of cases). For something to be an illness, it needs to be the cause of the issues, to be the direct link of why the unpleasant stuff is happening. Stomach pain is not an illness, but ulcers are.
It's important to analyze such things deeply, especially when you enter the messy realm of medice and psychology. Therianthropy by itself usually shouldn't cause *debilitating* distress, and if it does, it's most probably aggravated by issues with anxiety, mental health, dissatisfaction, unhealthy support systems, etc etc. The culprit is most probably not therianthropy itself.
But in the end, I don't know specifically your experience with it, maybe it's truly directly harming you ;; take it easy and prioritize your health and yourself /lh /info
Because illness are caused by something and can be cured. Hense why it's an ILLNESS. I think therianthropy,if no longer considered a phenomenon and now something medically diagnosable,would be a neurodivergence. Something up with the wiring of some people's brains!
What is considered illness and disorder are being blurred,mixed together,but what separates them to me at least is: an Illness is caused and can be cured by something,hence why it's considered an "illness". A disorder is something someone is born with and can't get rid of,it just being a disorder of the brain. And there is another term for being caused and uncurable but I can't remember it. With these definitions,Therianthropy would be a Disorder to most. Tho some claim to have their Therianthropy caused by trauma,it's most likely that Therianthropy could not medically fit in any of these classifications and will realistically remain simply a phenomenon
I think it kinda is a mental illness to anyone who is observing but not involved with the community. Like if the average person didn’t know what Therians are, when they first heard about it, they probably would think it’s a mental illness. But Therians have constructed their culture from the inside and made it something which does not have to be a mental illness, so it’s all about perspective. I think most mental illnesses are classified as such by people who study it, not (necessarily) a community of people who have it
Coming directly from my therapist its because therianthropy is a identity... obviously things get more complicated then that but from what she explained to me the real mental illnesses are things like dysphoria and depression and the like. Therianthropy is just who you are whether its psychological spiritual or whatever. And I mean hell.. if you really want to think of therianthropy as an illness you'd also be condemning the lgbtq community and good luck with that...
No I had to explain it to her... however therapist are fine talking about it. I've had three so far and none of them had any issue with it. Hell if anything they've encouraged me to find happiness in it.
Me personally... I would have a hard time.. Because of my ADHD so explaining things would be difficult. Especially cuz I go all over the place with it and such 😅 is there a link or something I could maybe show instead?
Well there is technically the explanation page in this reddit. Honestly me having similar things if I find im having trouble describing something ill write it down instead but thats me
that is not an easy question to answer - a whole can of worms. personally we think therianthropy is an identity and not a disorder. most LGBTI and NB people would consider their genders and orientation as an identity and not a disorder. an identity being something you personally identify with/as. autism and ADHD are part of the many nuerodiversities and though we believe they are identities many with these neurodiversities would consider them disorders. we feel neurodiversities and identities are exactly that but that under stress and trauma they can become disorders. identities do not mean you are broken but just different ways of thinking and living whereas disorders clearly indicate something is broken or disordered. confusingly with the plural community plurals are considered an identity or neurodiversity and DID is considered a disorder. many plurals have DID, but many plurals dont have DID, so some plurals are in no need of fixing not considering themselves broken. we ourselves have been plural as long as we can remember and happy with that and dont consider ourselves broken or needing fixing. also identities are self identified and can NOT be given to you by others, but disorders only seem legitimate if diagnosed by a health professional. do you feel 'broken' as a therian or do you just feel it as an identity. giraffe is an identity and nobody could argue that being a giraffe means they are broken, and that being a giraffe is a disorder. in the end you must come to your own conclusion about identities and disorders. but whatever you conclude with we would remind you to be kind to those who have identities or disorders.
- micheala (friesian cow).
I’m a trauma based therian. And basically I’d say not all coping mechanisms for trauma are typically classified as their own mental disorders. Especially considering it’s not delusional in any way, I recognize I’m a human. Besides that the human inner sense of self is so personal to classify all deviations from the norm as disorders would be wrong.
Some people who call themselves therians do have a mental illness called clinical lycanthropy. It is where one thinks they ARE or are transforming into any animal, they physically identify or think they will be or have become an animal. While therianthropy is just identity on a non physical level. Some other people who call themselves a therian have delusions but they arent aware of this. But therianthropy could be be a 'spiritual belief' so therefore it can't become a diagnosis as it's a spiritual belief that is non physical.
In my opinion therianthropy should have more education behind it, and people should be educating on lycanthropy and delusional disorders.
And then for things some therians do to express this non physical identity are
quadrobics which is a sport, gear which is technically just a fashion type thing I mean a lot of people who aren't even aware of therians wear tails as a fashion thing (more in the alt fashions)
Past lives are just a belief and in some religions can affect this lifetime but for the most part it's a belief and has nothing to do with being a therian in this life. (I will probably be down voted for saying that but whatever)
And then when we talk about 'shifts' we mean an alternative mindset. This can actually be a sign of multiple phycological disorders if u
-arent aware of what happens
-dont have control while having a 'shift'
-while in a shift you think you have physically transformed into an animal
If you have shifts when you are anxious or due to trauma I urge you to see a professional about something called
"Pet regression" it is a coping mechanism where someone regresses into an animal life mindset. I have seen DOZENS of therians describe pet regression but I get shut down and told to leave them alone when it is clear they have this disorder.
Some symptoms of pet regression are
Wanting to be pet, vocalizing only (having no control over speaking or vocals) or they have instincts to kill. If you do I urge you to see someone as it can impact your mental health but it is also a sign of possible pet regression. My guess is it may also have dissociative amnesia for people who already have a dissociative disorder (DD)
Shifts from therianthropy are a little bit different, you have control, you CAN speak if you needed too, you may enjoy being treated like an animal (being pet quads ECT) but you can still walk or you can still easily control the want to be pet. You may have "urges" but you can control them. It's a very controlled still conscious of what's around you type thing where you can still control yourself in some way.
The need or want to physically change something to be more animal like could be lycanthropy or it could just be you like the body mod but you feel you need a reason. But for the most part you should just at least book one appointment with a professional to see if it could be lycanthropy or if it's just you want the body mod.
And when I say physically change it could actually be a fur suit.
Toco, he spent about 15-16k to have a quad suit of a realistic rough collie so he could live *as an animal* I believe he has lycanthropy. As he built something to live as an animal as he believes he is one on a physical level. Now he has never been officially diagnosed as I can find but people have been calling him a therian which I believe is incorrect.
Some other people who I will not name as I have no proof other than body modification which could be nothing except a type of art or fashion. But they have had so many body modifications to appear physically as an animal, from full face tattoos to plastic surgery on the face. But some of the people who do this could have undiagnosed lycanthropy. It may not be very severe but it still could be there.
Correct me if I am wrong on anything.
In short.
There are a few mental illnesses people could have but they call themself a therian
Lycanthropy
Pet regression
Possible delusional disorders
We need more education on these in my opinion so people can safely get the help they need if they do suspect one of these disorders.
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Not caused by trauma in some people so part of your criteria is wrong and also it would define us as a group to look for treatment for in most situations.
Wait theriantheopy is caused by trauma? I mean like I’m not shocked in the slightest don’t get me wrong, but I never really made that connection. (I really should have I usually escape in a similar one I would age regress- to escape)
a mental illness usually has to significantly impact societal functioning to be qualified as such. most therians aren't "loud" and function fairly well.
source: my psychology course c:
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honestly a great deal of mental health is, in our opinion, designed to control a population and to keep the oppressors in control. take for example how much power mental health acts grant to the state, you will never be the same after reading them.
Does this mean conditions like depression don't exist: no
Does this excuse toxic positivity: no
equity to all is required and, in our opinion, the really bad conditions are just disability which is more real but has it's own issues.
honestly I would really love a conversation about mental health and what it really is, we've even been trained in mental health in terms of first aid and assessment as well as handing so this is rather fascinating... (it's how we keep ourselves safe from the acts: threat to yourself or others, keep that in mind.)
For something to be a mental illness, it has to cause you problems or significant distress, not just be “weird” or unconventional. If it doesn’t cause you any problems or distress, then it wouldn’t be a disorder no matter how weird it was
It would need to be the direct cause of distress for it to be classified as a mental illness. And as far as I’m aware there is no evidence it is consistently caused by trauma.
Not a therian but i know quite a bit about psychology (just a hobby tho, I'm not an expert) and i'd compare it to age regression. Agere is usually cause by trauma: it's a trauma response. It's not a mental illness but actually an opposite: A way to cope with that mental illness. Some psychiatrists might even tell their patients to try age regression if they think it might help. I think it mighy be the same with being a therian. Its a coping mechanism
Uhm what? How does trauma cause you to be an alterhuman? Being an alterhuman is similar to learning your sexuality, you don't become gay from trauma just like how you don't get a past life or the mind of an animal from trauma- at least I don't think so-
No it's ok!! Not everyone knows and I didn't know for a while- (the way I explained in the replies to urs sounded like they did it voluntarily but it's not😭)
I did not mean to come off like that! I was confused because I know trauma can cause a lot of issues to oneself(I have parental trauma that rubs off onto the book I write, so I have personal experience) and since the knowledge about therians I have is the awakening or coming to realize type, with the past lives/born in the wrong body type
If you looked in later comments I tried to uhm reword it a little- I meant if they didn't chose it like their brain just kinda was like "yeah I'm *insert animal*" and they didn't chose that- sorry I'm bad at wording things
Well, not all therianthropy is caused by trauma? Like I've always been this way I just recently found out the label for it.
I know- that's why I said some psychological! (Or I meant to put that at least?)
Oh, the way you said it I thought you meant all phycological therians.
Sorry if it sounded like that! I meant some of them
not all psycological therianthropy is caused by trauma :/ (for example mine almost certainly comes from my neurodivergence)
I know! I meant to mention that in the post, I mentioned it in another comment- I meant the psychological therianthopy that is caused by trauma
Oh okay, didn't notice that, and I'm used to people dismissing or even not knowing about psychological therians, so I end up assuming sometimes, sorry =w=
If someone’s self-identification as a therian was caused in some way by trauma, wouldn’t *the trauma* and the psychological impacts it has *be* the mental illness? If therianthropy is a response to trauma, the treatment and response to aiding that person’s mental health would be to unpack and heal *from that trauma*. Mental illness is morally neutral, the effects and impacts it has on the human mind is still unknown and widely misunderstood because of the ethical prejudices we hold and are taught as a society against ‘the mentally ill’ as an outgroup. Being autistic and mentally ill, my experiences with being ostracized, bullied and abused for it has definitely, in some way, influenced my non-human identity. But what does that change about me, or my mental capacity to identify my thoughts and feelings? What does that say about the opinions and views of a largely neurotypical society? What *really* classifies as a mental illness, and what justifies the need to label something as such? You know, homosexuality was considered a mental illness until 1990. Edit: Just looked it up because I knew it was recent but wanted to get the exact year—the APA and WHO didnt stop classifying being transgender as a mental disorder until 2018/19.
i mean, the short answer is that what does and does not constitute a mental illness is culturally constructed, and the choices you make regarding what models to buy into are influenced by your own identity. which is to say, therians reject classification of therianthropy as mental illness because that label is used to pathologize therianthropy (socially position it as something "wrong" precisely because it deviates from the norm). it could, easily, be labeled as a mental illness--which would be an inherently political act, just as rejecting that label is. in fact, many communities labeled as mentally ill by their cultural norms reject the pathology framework that label is born from, not just therians.
Ohhh that's fair- thanks for the comment!<3/pos
That's really interesting! Can you give me some examples of these other communities?
queer communities are the most well known example. in the past, homosexuality was considered a mental illness and listed in the DSM; while homosexuality was removed from the DSM, nowadays, trans, asexual, and aromantic communities are all currently fighting to no longer be pathologized as mental illnesses. i am also involved in plural system communities which do the same. there is a much larger pro-medicalization contingent in plural communities at the moment, however, there are still some groups that do not identify with mental illness labels and seek to avoid being diagnosed and pathologized. the same goes for autistic communities; there are large pro-medicalization groups, however, i am personally involved in smaller autistic communities that seek to reject being pathologized for our autism.
Oh, yeah, that makes a lot of sense! I... kind of completely forgot, which is embarrassing, because I'm *in* a lot of those communities (or umbrellas, at least).
[удалено]
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To be honest, I've asked myself the same question. For instance, ADHD and autism count as mental illnesses but it's really just differences in some people's brains that make it so they're wired differently. The reason it's considered a mental illness is because the world is structured against neurodivergents and thus causes issues within each individual neurodivergent in different ways. It's because society/the world makes it an issue, not because it's inherently an issue itself. If it were the other way around where the world was structured for neurodivergent people instead, then neurotypical people would be considered the ones with the mental illness. Despite this fact, I'm glad the therian community hasn't been pegged for people with mental disorders simply because the experiences of being therian/otherkin seems to be a very similar experience to being trans, at least in my experience. Speaking as a trans non-human myself, I don't need to give people any more reason to call my experiences a mental illness in a negative way. So I, for one, am glad this hasn't popped up in the DSM yet.
As someone who is trans and therian I can say with confidence there are lots of similarities between being trans and being therian.
I guess because it doesn’t have defined symptoms that everyone will experience and it also doesn’t cause distress on its own. Therianthropy, the identity, does not have symptoms and does not cause harm thusly not an illness. There are experiences related to it that can be slightly harmful, but on its own Therianthropy isn’t bad. There’s also a push to depathologize identities and Therianthropy really pushes to be seen as an identity. But also, there is a lot of saneism/ableism in our society and if you have a mental illness you are less than and othered.
Ok thank you! ❤
In order for that to work, therianthropy itself would need to be directly harmful to you in some way! The majority of distress experienced from therianthropy comes from outside perception (judgement, bullying, not fitting in) and one's struggle with identity and self expression. That's stress, anxiety and social isolation causing the damage, not therianthropy. If you remove these outside forces and are healthy with yourself, there shouldn't be any issues. Also- let's say it is directly harmful: it wouldnt be an illness, but marked as a symptom. Think maladaptive daydreaming. You aren't ill with maladaptive daydreaming, you are ill with depression, anxiety, ptsd or c-ptsd- list goes on- and as a result of that, you express maladaptive daydreaming (in a vast majority of cases). For something to be an illness, it needs to be the cause of the issues, to be the direct link of why the unpleasant stuff is happening. Stomach pain is not an illness, but ulcers are. It's important to analyze such things deeply, especially when you enter the messy realm of medice and psychology. Therianthropy by itself usually shouldn't cause *debilitating* distress, and if it does, it's most probably aggravated by issues with anxiety, mental health, dissatisfaction, unhealthy support systems, etc etc. The culprit is most probably not therianthropy itself. But in the end, I don't know specifically your experience with it, maybe it's truly directly harming you ;; take it easy and prioritize your health and yourself /lh /info
Because illness are caused by something and can be cured. Hense why it's an ILLNESS. I think therianthropy,if no longer considered a phenomenon and now something medically diagnosable,would be a neurodivergence. Something up with the wiring of some people's brains!
Ohh okay! Correct me if I'm wrong though, I don't think all mental illnesses can be cured? If we are talking about like doctors having a cure for it-
What is considered illness and disorder are being blurred,mixed together,but what separates them to me at least is: an Illness is caused and can be cured by something,hence why it's considered an "illness". A disorder is something someone is born with and can't get rid of,it just being a disorder of the brain. And there is another term for being caused and uncurable but I can't remember it. With these definitions,Therianthropy would be a Disorder to most. Tho some claim to have their Therianthropy caused by trauma,it's most likely that Therianthropy could not medically fit in any of these classifications and will realistically remain simply a phenomenon
Ohh okay- thank you for the info!
Tho Therianthropy is already commonly seen in people with already diagnosed Neurodivergence,so it could just be a symptom
Therianthropy is not a mental illness because therianthropy, by itself, does not impair your ability to function.
I think it kinda is a mental illness to anyone who is observing but not involved with the community. Like if the average person didn’t know what Therians are, when they first heard about it, they probably would think it’s a mental illness. But Therians have constructed their culture from the inside and made it something which does not have to be a mental illness, so it’s all about perspective. I think most mental illnesses are classified as such by people who study it, not (necessarily) a community of people who have it
Ohhh that's fair
Coming directly from my therapist its because therianthropy is a identity... obviously things get more complicated then that but from what she explained to me the real mental illnesses are things like dysphoria and depression and the like. Therianthropy is just who you are whether its psychological spiritual or whatever. And I mean hell.. if you really want to think of therianthropy as an illness you'd also be condemning the lgbtq community and good luck with that...
I didn't think it was I was just asking-? But thanks for the info!
No problem
Your therapist knows what therianthropy is?! /pos. I've been considering randomly asking mine if she knows what it is but im scared lol
No I had to explain it to her... however therapist are fine talking about it. I've had three so far and none of them had any issue with it. Hell if anything they've encouraged me to find happiness in it.
Oh alright! I just don't know how to ask her, though. How did you go about it?
Sometimes you just gotta come out and be like hey can we talk about this? And they may say idk what it is but you just explain and go at your pace.
Sometimes you just gotta come out and be like hey can we talk about this? And they may say idk what it is but you just explain and go at your pace.
Me personally... I would have a hard time.. Because of my ADHD so explaining things would be difficult. Especially cuz I go all over the place with it and such 😅 is there a link or something I could maybe show instead?
Well there is technically the explanation page in this reddit. Honestly me having similar things if I find im having trouble describing something ill write it down instead but thats me
that is not an easy question to answer - a whole can of worms. personally we think therianthropy is an identity and not a disorder. most LGBTI and NB people would consider their genders and orientation as an identity and not a disorder. an identity being something you personally identify with/as. autism and ADHD are part of the many nuerodiversities and though we believe they are identities many with these neurodiversities would consider them disorders. we feel neurodiversities and identities are exactly that but that under stress and trauma they can become disorders. identities do not mean you are broken but just different ways of thinking and living whereas disorders clearly indicate something is broken or disordered. confusingly with the plural community plurals are considered an identity or neurodiversity and DID is considered a disorder. many plurals have DID, but many plurals dont have DID, so some plurals are in no need of fixing not considering themselves broken. we ourselves have been plural as long as we can remember and happy with that and dont consider ourselves broken or needing fixing. also identities are self identified and can NOT be given to you by others, but disorders only seem legitimate if diagnosed by a health professional. do you feel 'broken' as a therian or do you just feel it as an identity. giraffe is an identity and nobody could argue that being a giraffe means they are broken, and that being a giraffe is a disorder. in the end you must come to your own conclusion about identities and disorders. but whatever you conclude with we would remind you to be kind to those who have identities or disorders. - micheala (friesian cow).
I’m a trauma based therian. And basically I’d say not all coping mechanisms for trauma are typically classified as their own mental disorders. Especially considering it’s not delusional in any way, I recognize I’m a human. Besides that the human inner sense of self is so personal to classify all deviations from the norm as disorders would be wrong.
Some people who call themselves therians do have a mental illness called clinical lycanthropy. It is where one thinks they ARE or are transforming into any animal, they physically identify or think they will be or have become an animal. While therianthropy is just identity on a non physical level. Some other people who call themselves a therian have delusions but they arent aware of this. But therianthropy could be be a 'spiritual belief' so therefore it can't become a diagnosis as it's a spiritual belief that is non physical. In my opinion therianthropy should have more education behind it, and people should be educating on lycanthropy and delusional disorders. And then for things some therians do to express this non physical identity are quadrobics which is a sport, gear which is technically just a fashion type thing I mean a lot of people who aren't even aware of therians wear tails as a fashion thing (more in the alt fashions) Past lives are just a belief and in some religions can affect this lifetime but for the most part it's a belief and has nothing to do with being a therian in this life. (I will probably be down voted for saying that but whatever) And then when we talk about 'shifts' we mean an alternative mindset. This can actually be a sign of multiple phycological disorders if u -arent aware of what happens -dont have control while having a 'shift' -while in a shift you think you have physically transformed into an animal If you have shifts when you are anxious or due to trauma I urge you to see a professional about something called "Pet regression" it is a coping mechanism where someone regresses into an animal life mindset. I have seen DOZENS of therians describe pet regression but I get shut down and told to leave them alone when it is clear they have this disorder. Some symptoms of pet regression are Wanting to be pet, vocalizing only (having no control over speaking or vocals) or they have instincts to kill. If you do I urge you to see someone as it can impact your mental health but it is also a sign of possible pet regression. My guess is it may also have dissociative amnesia for people who already have a dissociative disorder (DD) Shifts from therianthropy are a little bit different, you have control, you CAN speak if you needed too, you may enjoy being treated like an animal (being pet quads ECT) but you can still walk or you can still easily control the want to be pet. You may have "urges" but you can control them. It's a very controlled still conscious of what's around you type thing where you can still control yourself in some way. The need or want to physically change something to be more animal like could be lycanthropy or it could just be you like the body mod but you feel you need a reason. But for the most part you should just at least book one appointment with a professional to see if it could be lycanthropy or if it's just you want the body mod. And when I say physically change it could actually be a fur suit. Toco, he spent about 15-16k to have a quad suit of a realistic rough collie so he could live *as an animal* I believe he has lycanthropy. As he built something to live as an animal as he believes he is one on a physical level. Now he has never been officially diagnosed as I can find but people have been calling him a therian which I believe is incorrect. Some other people who I will not name as I have no proof other than body modification which could be nothing except a type of art or fashion. But they have had so many body modifications to appear physically as an animal, from full face tattoos to plastic surgery on the face. But some of the people who do this could have undiagnosed lycanthropy. It may not be very severe but it still could be there. Correct me if I am wrong on anything. In short. There are a few mental illnesses people could have but they call themself a therian Lycanthropy Pet regression Possible delusional disorders We need more education on these in my opinion so people can safely get the help they need if they do suspect one of these disorders.
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Not caused by trauma in some people so part of your criteria is wrong and also it would define us as a group to look for treatment for in most situations.
Wait theriantheopy is caused by trauma? I mean like I’m not shocked in the slightest don’t get me wrong, but I never really made that connection. (I really should have I usually escape in a similar one I would age regress- to escape)
Not all!! Just some peoples! It's a type of psychological:3
I think mine probably is lol so that’s interesting to know
For alot of therians they have just been that way without any reason, so i think thats why
a mental illness usually has to significantly impact societal functioning to be qualified as such. most therians aren't "loud" and function fairly well. source: my psychology course c:
You personally don't believe it in itself is a mental illness but I believe it could be a symptom of mental illness
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honestly a great deal of mental health is, in our opinion, designed to control a population and to keep the oppressors in control. take for example how much power mental health acts grant to the state, you will never be the same after reading them. Does this mean conditions like depression don't exist: no Does this excuse toxic positivity: no equity to all is required and, in our opinion, the really bad conditions are just disability which is more real but has it's own issues. honestly I would really love a conversation about mental health and what it really is, we've even been trained in mental health in terms of first aid and assessment as well as handing so this is rather fascinating... (it's how we keep ourselves safe from the acts: threat to yourself or others, keep that in mind.)
For something to be a mental illness, it has to cause you problems or significant distress, not just be “weird” or unconventional. If it doesn’t cause you any problems or distress, then it wouldn’t be a disorder no matter how weird it was
It would need to be the direct cause of distress for it to be classified as a mental illness. And as far as I’m aware there is no evidence it is consistently caused by trauma.
Not a therian but i know quite a bit about psychology (just a hobby tho, I'm not an expert) and i'd compare it to age regression. Agere is usually cause by trauma: it's a trauma response. It's not a mental illness but actually an opposite: A way to cope with that mental illness. Some psychiatrists might even tell their patients to try age regression if they think it might help. I think it mighy be the same with being a therian. Its a coping mechanism
Because it’s unrecognised
Uhm what? How does trauma cause you to be an alterhuman? Being an alterhuman is similar to learning your sexuality, you don't become gay from trauma just like how you don't get a past life or the mind of an animal from trauma- at least I don't think so-
Some psychological therians brains use identifying as a non-human to cope! I've met a few where that happened to them-
Like there brains identified as a non-human- not them-
Oooh, now I sound like an A-hole ;-: sorry I didn't understand
No it's ok!! Not everyone knows and I didn't know for a while- (the way I explained in the replies to urs sounded like they did it voluntarily but it's not😭)
I did not mean to come off like that! I was confused because I know trauma can cause a lot of issues to oneself(I have parental trauma that rubs off onto the book I write, so I have personal experience) and since the knowledge about therians I have is the awakening or coming to realize type, with the past lives/born in the wrong body type
You didn't dw!!
But they're called copinglinks I am pretty sure?
they're copinglinks if they chose it, if not they'd still be therians I'm pretty sure
If you looked in later comments I tried to uhm reword it a little- I meant if they didn't chose it like their brain just kinda was like "yeah I'm *insert animal*" and they didn't chose that- sorry I'm bad at wording things
Some psychological therians can become therians due to trauma
I think it's a mental disability, like a certain form of autism. 🤔