Therians Explained: Psychology, Behavior, & 5 Signs You Might Be One

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Learn the ins and outs of identifying as an animal
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If you’ve been on TikTok recently, you may have heard the term ‘therian’ thrown around. While the therian community has only begun to grow rapidly in recent years, it’s a rich and fascinating subculture, with new members joining every day. In this article, we’ll offer you a comprehensive guide to therians, explaining what they are, debunking some common misconceptions about them, and offering advice to determine if you might be a therian yourself.

Things You Should Know

  • A therian identifies as a species of non-human animal on every level except physical. They often engage in their animal identity’s behaviors.
  • You may be a therian if you notice yourself shifting (getting impulses to behave as a non-human animal) or if you remember a past life as a specific animal.
  • There are other unique types of therians, such as polytherians (who identify as multiple species) and paleotherians (who identify as extinct animals).
Section 1 of 4:

What is a therian?

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  1. Spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally, they relate to the essence and behaviors of this animal, even though they don’t have the physiology to match. [1] Oftentimes, therians feel most like themselves when they engage in specific activities this animal would do.
    • For example, someone whose theriotype (species with which they identify) is a frog might feel most fulfilled when hopping around and croaking, while someone whose theriotype is a penguin might feel most comfortable waddling and huddling with loved ones for warmth.
    • The term therian is derived from the zoological word Theria, which refers to a large group of mammals (including marsupials like koalas and wombats, and placentals like elephants and whales). [2]
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Section 2 of 4:

Common Misconceptions About Therians

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  1. You may like (or even love) a specific animal or species of animal, but that doesn’t mean that animal is your theriotype. In fact, a therian cannot choose their theriotype. Their transition into their theriotype often starts with an involuntary, almost clairvoyant impulse known as shifting.
    • A therian may also experience heightened senses or a tingling sensation when around other animals of their species plus the feel safe and protected. [3]
  2. While some therians may also identify as Queer, their therian identity is completely unrelated. Because of the words “identify as,” some people group therians in with trans and other gender-nonconforming groups. However, therians don’t consider themselves a part of the LGBT community and vice versa. [4]
  3. Furries are people who are especially interested in a specific animal. They often make animal personas (called ‘fursonas’ ) or animal costumes (called ‘fursuits’ ) to connect even further with this animal. [5] However, their fursonas are still a form of roleplaying; they view the animal they’re portraying as a character. Therians, on the other hand, see their animal identity as a core part of them. They are the animal they identify as, whether they’re wearing a costume or not.
    • A small percentage of furries may also derive sexual pleasure from dressing up and behaving as their animal personas. Therians don’t consider their animal behaviors to be erotic acts.
    • Some therians are furries, but as mentioned, not all. The terms are not interchangeable.
  4. Finding your spirit animal is very different from discovering your identity as a therian. Spirit animals are symbolic, sometimes sacred guides that take on the form of an animal and offer you protection and guidance. [6] While they are spiritual, they’re still a separate entity that you can communicate with. Therian animal identities, on the other hand, are not separate from the therian themselves. They share one body.
    • Spirit animals are commonly associated with Native American traditions. [7] However, be careful using the term “spirit animal” or broadly claiming they’re the same since some Native Americans may find this disrespectful.
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Section 3 of 4:

Signs You Might Be a Therian

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  1. A shift is a psychological change in your state of being where you can feel yourself transitioning to your animal identity. [8] If you notice a change in your thought pattern where you become more like your theriotype than your human self, if you feel a phantom limb (a tail, a claw, etc), or you suddenly dissociate and feel like you’re more present in your animal habitat than the real world, you may be undergoing some therian shifts. [9]
    • For example, if your theriotype is a parrot, during your shift, you might lose your independent thought and start repeating other people, feel like you have feathers instead of skin, or randomly start visualizing yourself on a subtropical island.
    • Some therians also experience dream shifts, where they undergo psychological and physical changes into their animal identity whenever they dream. [10]
  2. If you feel like your body is the wrong species whenever you look in the mirror (for example, you should be a wolf instead of a human, you should have claws instead of fingernails, fangs instead of teeth, etc.), you may be experiencing species dysphoria. [11] Species dysphoria is a common symptom for therians, who often feel a longing for the body of their theriotypes.
    • Common symptoms of species dysphoria include bouts of sadness or depression, body image issues, or hallucinations where you feel peaceful imagining yourself as your animal identity. [12]
  3. If you’re a therian, you’re likely to feel a calling to the habitat of your theriotype. Sometimes, your animal identity’s habitat may even feel more comfortable than your own human home.
    • For example, if your theriotype is a beaver, you may feel most like yourself in a marshland.
    • It helps to research your theriotype to learn how they interact with the world around them. [13] For example, if you enjoy the beach more than your house, that doesn’t necessarily mean your theriotype is a crab. It could just be a tranquil environment. However, if you feel the urge to burrow into the sand and walk sideways when you visit the beach, you may be a crab therianthrope.
  4. Oftentimes, people connect to their theriotype because they feel like they were that animal in a past life. Try remembering your past lives by meditating in a quiet room and asking yourself what your past life was like. [14] If you visualize a specific animal while doing this, that animal may be your theriotype!
  5. While some therians go all out and make full animal costumes, even trying on a small piece of your theriotype can help you connect to your inner animal. If you try on a fake tail or cat ears and like the way it looks and feels, you may want to look into therianthropy.
    • If you’re a therian, you may also feel a connection to objects associated with your animal identity, even if they’re not part of your animal’s body (i.e furs, leaves, stones, stuffed animal plushies, etc). [15]
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Section 4 of 4:

Other Types of Therians

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  1. Their theriotypes’ extinction may have happened millions of years ago (like the dinosaurs or wooly mammoths) or within our lifetime (like the Eastern cougar or golden honeytoad). [16]
    • There is debate over whether or not paleotherians are a part of the traditional therian community or a community all their own, since some therians believe the term requires identifying with a currently living creature.
  2. The term ‘cladotherian’ comes from the word ‘clade.’ A clade is an evolutionary group containing all the descendants of a common ancestor across all species (living or extinct). [17] Therefore, cladotherians don’t just have one theriotype; they have multiple.
    • For example, while a traditional therian may identify as a gorilla, a cladotherian would identify as every ape-like hominoid (gorillas, chimpanzees, New and Old World monkeys, etc).
  3. However, unlike a cladotherian, which identifies as a species in a specific group, a polymorph’s theriotypes may be completely unrelated. They may feel like two or more different animals at the same time. [18] They might also feel like one theriotype one moment and a different the next.
    • For example, a polymorph may find themselves shifting into a cat in the afternoon (wanting to lounge around, purr, lick themselves) and a shark (wanting to swim, refusing to look behind them) in the evening.
  4. Often seen as their own, separate community of therians, otherkin find their animal identities in books, movies, songs, folklore, and even their own imaginations. While traditional therians relate to existing biological species, otherkin may have the theriotypes of orcs, goblins, phoenixes, or even species from specific fantasy franchises (the dementors from Harry Potter , balrogs from Lord of the Rings , etc). [19]
    • Otherkin don’t require a metaphysical explanation for their identities. Their inner connection to their fictional theriotypes is more than enough justification for them. [20]
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Is identifying as a therian considered a mental illness?
    Community Answer
    No, identifying as a therian is generally considered an identity, not a mental illness. It may be problematic if someone believes they can physically transform into their theriotype, as physical transformation is not possible.
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  • Question
    Can I identify as a fictional animal and a real animal? (For example: identifying as both a unicorn and a cat)
    Nah bro
    Community Answer
    Yes! Identifying as a fictional being is called Fictionkin and it’s completely valid to identify as a fictional animal and a real animal. Make sure to do a lot of research before you identify as that though.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
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  • Question
    Does it mean I'm a Therian if I feel like I have paws, a tail and ears, and if I have dreams about being a cat?
    Oliver
    Community Answer
    Most likely how I became a therian was I shifted but it could also mean something else. Just try to study theranthropy before you jump to conclusions.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.fox26houston.com/news/community-of-people-who-believe-they-are-animals
      2. ↑ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Theria/specimens/collections/contributors/phil_myers/ADW_mammals/specimens/Chiroptera/Vespertilionidae/Neoromicia_capensis/lower_dorsal5387/?start=3975
      3. ↑ https://www.fox26houston.com/news/community-of-people-who-believe-they-are-animals
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/EHukcdlR9kQ?t=592
      5. ↑ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30806867/
      6. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-red-light-district/202104/10-things-know-about-spirit-animals
      7. ↑ https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/informational/native-american-spirit-animal
      8. ↑ https://youtu.be/-4EUKRXembo?t=52
      9. ↑ https://youtu.be/-4EUKRXembo?t=129
      1. ↑ https://youtu.be/-4EUKRXembo?t=340
      2. ↑ https://www.moviemaker.com/wolf-nathalie-biancheri-species-dysphoria/
      3. ↑ https://www.patientslikeme.com/conditions/species-dysphoria#:~:text=Species%20dysphoria%20is%20the%20experience,an%20animal%20of%20some%20sort .
      4. ↑ https://youtu.be/zn2LNtYechc?t=224
      5. ↑ https://lifeintegrity.com/recordreadingfree.pdf
      6. ↑ https://youtu.be/wHOY1xHVuU0?t=74
      7. ↑ https://youtu.be/9nzzZ-6f6Aw?t=68
      8. ↑ https://evolution.berkeley.edu/teach-resources/clades-1-of-2-definition/
      9. ↑ https://youtu.be/54cndLKraw0?t=3
      10. ↑ https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/why-be-human-when-you-can-be-otherkin
      11. ↑ ​​ https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/why-be-human-when-you-can-be-otherkin

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