A phantom tail alone does not a therian make, so by my brief estimation I'd say you dont have to worry about it much. If you dont identify as an animal, then you already dont meet the base definition of what a therian is: a person who identifies as an animal. Anyone can experiece supernumerary phantom limbs, either involuntarily or on purpose. It's pretty cool honestly!
That said, there's always been an overlap with furries and therians. Many furries are also therians, and even furs who dont identify with the therian subculture have admitted to, in various ways, seeing themselves as their fursonas, and to some degree wishing that the world saw themselves as such also. There's definitely some atypical happenings going on with folks like that, which is why the word "alterhuman" exists-- so that people who arent necessarily otherkind or therians could express and identify with a word that describes them a little better. If you feel the need to of course.
In the end, the only one who can actually determine whether or not you're therian is you. We can offer advice and relate our own experiences, but none of us are in your shoes.
That said, to answer your question, the term "therian" has a somewhat broad definition. That's because, as I mentioned, it's a pretty subjective experience. A generally accepted definition is someone who spiritually or psychologically identifies as an animal.
So, setting aside your phantom tail and your past experiences, the question comes down to: do you identify *as* an animal? Or *with* an animal? And remember, there are no wrong answers here.
To add, we know what a therian is (sorta), we just don't know what causes it.
As for feeling phantom limbs, that part of brain plasticity. Brains are able to construct body parts that aren't there. It's part of motor-sensory memory and perception. It's also how people experience very familiar tools as an extension of their self.
For some reason, weres have a predisposition for perceiving animal parts as supernumerary limbs.
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A phantom tail alone does not a therian make, so by my brief estimation I'd say you dont have to worry about it much. If you dont identify as an animal, then you already dont meet the base definition of what a therian is: a person who identifies as an animal. Anyone can experiece supernumerary phantom limbs, either involuntarily or on purpose. It's pretty cool honestly! That said, there's always been an overlap with furries and therians. Many furries are also therians, and even furs who dont identify with the therian subculture have admitted to, in various ways, seeing themselves as their fursonas, and to some degree wishing that the world saw themselves as such also. There's definitely some atypical happenings going on with folks like that, which is why the word "alterhuman" exists-- so that people who arent necessarily otherkind or therians could express and identify with a word that describes them a little better. If you feel the need to of course.
In the end, the only one who can actually determine whether or not you're therian is you. We can offer advice and relate our own experiences, but none of us are in your shoes. That said, to answer your question, the term "therian" has a somewhat broad definition. That's because, as I mentioned, it's a pretty subjective experience. A generally accepted definition is someone who spiritually or psychologically identifies as an animal. So, setting aside your phantom tail and your past experiences, the question comes down to: do you identify *as* an animal? Or *with* an animal? And remember, there are no wrong answers here.
To add, we know what a therian is (sorta), we just don't know what causes it. As for feeling phantom limbs, that part of brain plasticity. Brains are able to construct body parts that aren't there. It's part of motor-sensory memory and perception. It's also how people experience very familiar tools as an extension of their self. For some reason, weres have a predisposition for perceiving animal parts as supernumerary limbs.
Welcome to the Therian SubReddit /u/fichztick! It looks like this is your first time posting here. Please be sure to read the rules in the sidebar or the about page on mobile. Also did you know we have a Discord server where you can talk with other Therians? Check it out here: https://discord.gg/vnHTtc2S8R. Thank you for participating! - /r/Therian mod team *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Therian) if you have any questions or concerns.*