Maybe I've know it for a long time, just didn't realize it for as I was too young.
I was always pretending I was a werewolf, jumping around my room from object to object on all fours. I used to jump straight off my bed (it was very hight) on the ground.

And I was always sneeking in on people and making them scare and stuff.

Yeah I know. I am not aware if I have any Therian friends or family. But my Dad growls a lot, lol.

what I was trying to get at there was the part about many not realizing it at a young age, not so much a grand awakening. That and the "soul" thing, like are said, are because I'm not very good at putting into words what other people feel (even when I can empathize with the feeling itself).

i am around thirteen and i feel this feeling its so wierd its almost tingly like something is trying to break out like a lot of people say and i am completely and totally obsessed with wolves hence my name and i have been learning,reading,and watching wolves for forever and i also always run to the wolf exhibit at the zoo. ive always like to run around on all fours and act like a wolf and i exhibit wolf behaviour with my emotions but i dont know if its real if its just me or its true i have this sort of primal instinct this want to run forever and be free from the hassles of the world to live life simply and off of instinct and i also hate being in crowds its awkward and it puts me on the defensive and my tolerance level is very low at those times. i also like to sneak amongst people and quitely move through wherever i am. i also have been staying up later and everything about me is dying to break free and let loose and its a really amazing feeling. the only thing i havent been having are dreams about wolves but i feel a deep connection with dogs and wolves and they respect me ..... opinions and answers please! thanks so much!

Last edited by obsessedxwithxwolves (2009-09-21 20:41:30)

What BDK said. Also, not all Therians dream as nonhumans. And dogs respect anyone who will feed them. Wolves are just curious folks.

If therianthropy isn't genetic, it, at least acts as though it were. I doubt if there are any pure Therians anymore so we're all going to show a combination of traits.

How do you tell if a Black person is a Black person? They're black? No, some Black people can pass as white. Their hair is course? No, some have smooth hair. Their dialect? What dialect? Thick Jamaican or Obama. Is sorta doubt if a lot of people would even be able to tell if Obama was a Black man if all they had was his voice to go by.

How do you tell if someone is a Therian? Family resemblance. There are a lot of traits that might indicate that a person is Therian but not all Therians display them all and some of those traits exist outside the Therian community. Black people have a higher disposition toward diabetes than White people and that's a characteristic of the Black population. Does that mean that White people don't have diabetes. Absolutely not.

The best guide that I ever heard is that only Therianthropy can explain the life experiences of a Therian. A Therian will hear about Therianthropy and they'll say, "Okay. That explains it." And the issue is closed. The bell has rung. The question, "Why am I the way I am," has been answered.

We are animal shamans by birth. I am not a Wolf - I'm a Werewolf. My human brain functions in ways that resemble a wolf because it's been set up from birth to do so. And for some reason, when I look in a mirror, there's a wolf there looking back. I can't ignore, question, or doubt that. It's not an issue so it's nothing that can be questioned. It's simply the fact of my life. It's the way my brain is structured. It's the chemicals that flow in my veins. It's the musk that comes out in my sweat.

That's okay, I cook pretty well - I'll win him back over

(heh heh)

Last edited by WolfVanZandt (2009-09-30 23:27:38)

wow. my experiences of being a therian r almost exactly like urs O.O

Count me in as another person who's not sure if they're a "therian" or not..  

That said... it sounds to me that finding your whole "inner self" thing comes down to labels, that needing concrete-symptoms will give you a visual map of who you actually are (like finding your personality in the horoscope or your personal illness in the DSM-V) when really it is all just psychological. I think you are what you believe you are; however, just because you might think you are a tree does not mean that 99% of the human population who looks at you will agree that you are a tree -- after all, what IS a tree?  (Philosophy warrants migraines). Most people would commonly recognize a tree by saying it has a tree trunk, leaves, and roots, and that it is a form of plant, NOT an animal. The same people could look at you and say that you do not possess a trunk, leaves or roots, that you appear to be a form of animal, human to be exact, but certainly NOT a plant, so therefore you are not a tree, even though you say you are a tree. But just because 99% of the human population calls you a human, that doesn't necessarily mean you are a human and you should therefore act like one. -- Scientific evidence might prove you wrong, but then we could go on and on about what science really is, and what really is proof anyway? We can come up with theories, laws, and ideas, and we can talk and talk amongst ourselves, and we can perform experiments and write down all the outcomes as we want, but that doesn't change the fact that a "fact" is still a common accepted belief among the population, and that reality is really only in our heads -- You can't control what other people think, but you can control what you think, and if you think you are a tree, and as long as this belief of yours does not prevent you from performing your everyday routine/activities, and you aren't harming yourself or anyone else in the process of believing you're a tree, then by all means, feel free to believe it if it means you perceive yourself as living your life in truth and actuality!

Because reality is really just a common belief, and as we all know, the majority can be wrong, deadly wrong, sometimes. So if you're hoping that by having other people confirm your suspicions about being a therian will shape your belief in yourself, be aware that just because someone tells you that you are something, that doesn't make it true. You have to believe it within yourself; that's what makes it real.  

I tried to dazzle you all with psychology but I think I ended up talking philosophy up the wall on ya'll instead! LOL! Saah-wy. (And someone is probably going to post back on this and find something to flame me on... mmh)

As for myself, I was just curious where I can get a reliable list of concrete "symptoms" that may indicate you may be a therian?   

Me personally, I have frequent recurring dreams where I am a werewolf hunting or stalking down prey/people, or I see a werewolf follow me around my everyday business but it won't get too close - every time I try to get closer to it it runs away. While I'm awake, I often get depersonalization, meaning I don't quite feel like myself anymore, that I at times feel a bit "empty" like I've gone numb but I'm still there. Time passes without me realizing it, not good, but I can usually control this feeling.  Anyway, I also at times feel instead of being empty, I feel kind of like a stalker, lol, by this I mean I feel like a predator that has to go out and catch something, and when I accomplish this is only when I can return to being my normal "self" again. I've always thought I have multiple me's, or "spirits" if you will (and no I'm not MPD, lol) but these souls are kind of like my "clothes" for my soul; I can usually control which one washes over me to face the day with. I've consistantly always felt the werewolf part of me being there, but other "spirits" seem to creep up from time to time, like for instance now, I feel kind of like a cat, curious but lazy and self-pleasure seeking, also the 'anything goes as long as it doesn't require much of my time' attitude.  Other times I swear my werewolf side gets really PISSED OFF but I don't know why. I'm also a dragon fanatic and have sometimes felt like a dragon instead; kind of like a rabid werewolf, but on a much larger scale, like I'm REALLY pissed off and ready to rampage. (I don't get angry very often, lol).    I know that I shouldn't ignore this side of me, and I truly believe it is trying very hard to speak to me, getting especially excited whenever I see or hear anything having to do with werewolves. Sometimes I've thought that the werewolf I can see walking around with me, close but not so close I can touch it, in my dreams may be an allusion to being my soulmate trying to seek me out, but I don't have much experience in that, and I've come to learn that you can't trust dreams too much - that all in all they are really just random sparks of thoughts going through my unconscious while I sleep and nothing else.

I'm very tired -- I think I'm starting to not have a point anymore, and possibly stopped making sense at some point.. lol.  At that note, I'm going to submit this and head to bed! 

ciao mi amico

I don't feel like contributing anything other than to remind people to read what other people have already written all over the forum.
oh, and this:

Werewolf of Waldorf wrote:

Wow...I think the last time I was on here was like...August of 2008 or something...sheesh!

I didn't even know you were on here, I haven't seen you anywhere in a while...

Whoa!! Army! Welcome back dude!!

Yep, I made it out alive.