Post by Kali on Mar 22, 2009 16:04:11 GMT -5
Greetings and salutations. Kallisti here, although you may call me Kal if you would like. I am an 18 year old bisexual female. My theriotype is striped hyena. I have never been a part of the therian community before so please, forgive me if I appear mildly timid at first.
I awakened as a therian during my early teen years. It started around the age of 14 for me. I began having periodic shifts in my behavior and thought processes (which I now realize were mental shifts), during which I would exhibit animalistic behaviors. It was strange time as I had never heard of therianthropy before. Over time, I came to believe that at least part of me was not entirely human but that there was an animal side to myself. Of course, I did not tell anyone about these beliefs because even I myself felt them strange and I felt others would believe me delusional at best.
I began to search out answers and it took at least a year before I was comfortable using the term therianthropy to describe my beliefs and experiences. At first, I thought my theriotype to be a wolf, specifically that of a red wolf. it took me two years (from the time I was 15 to the time I was 17) to realize that my theriotype was actually hyena, specifically the striped hyena. It was around this time I had my first dream shifting experiences. I realized that the behaviors I had believed to be those of the wolf (snarling, panting, female dominance behaviors, aggressive and submissive posturing, social behaviors, nocturnality, sloping posture with distinctive movement to match) were all traits of the striped hyena.
The hyena is has an internal influence on me. As far as shifting goes, I have experienced mental shifts, dream shifts, phantom shifts, and one incident which I strongly hesitate to label a shadow shift. Mental shifts are the most common for me. At first they were involuntary but as I have learned more about therianthropy and become more comfortable with my theriotype I have been able to induce mental shifts. Dream shifts are much rarer for me, occurring only once every few months (that I can remember). As for phantom shifts, these are random and usually coincide with mental shifts. During these shifts, I can feel the heaviness of my body, the mane of fur down my back, and my muzzle. When these occur during mental shifts they make for a rather intense experience and there has been at least one time where I have found myself running on all fours during such a shift. As for the shadow shifting experience, I am not sure about whether it was an actual experience or trick of the mind. The incident occurred in the presence of a friend who knew about my therianthropy and theriotype (the only person besides this forum that I have ever felt safe telling) in a very dimly lit attic. I am still not sure as to whether I believe shadow shifting to be viable though so you can understand my hesitation to label it as such.
I consider myself to be a syntherian. I always have the hyena inside me, influencing me. But sometimes it seems like the influence grows much stronger (as when I experience mental shifts).
As I have said before, I have never joined a therian community before (due to lack of private Internet for the most part since I shared a computer with my entire family) and I ask you to please forgive me if I come across as a little nervous. I have only ever told one person (the aforementioned friend) and since she moved away I have not had anyone to be able to talk to or share my experiences with. All I want is a supporting community to share ideas and beliefs with.
I awakened as a therian during my early teen years. It started around the age of 14 for me. I began having periodic shifts in my behavior and thought processes (which I now realize were mental shifts), during which I would exhibit animalistic behaviors. It was strange time as I had never heard of therianthropy before. Over time, I came to believe that at least part of me was not entirely human but that there was an animal side to myself. Of course, I did not tell anyone about these beliefs because even I myself felt them strange and I felt others would believe me delusional at best.
I began to search out answers and it took at least a year before I was comfortable using the term therianthropy to describe my beliefs and experiences. At first, I thought my theriotype to be a wolf, specifically that of a red wolf. it took me two years (from the time I was 15 to the time I was 17) to realize that my theriotype was actually hyena, specifically the striped hyena. It was around this time I had my first dream shifting experiences. I realized that the behaviors I had believed to be those of the wolf (snarling, panting, female dominance behaviors, aggressive and submissive posturing, social behaviors, nocturnality, sloping posture with distinctive movement to match) were all traits of the striped hyena.
The hyena is has an internal influence on me. As far as shifting goes, I have experienced mental shifts, dream shifts, phantom shifts, and one incident which I strongly hesitate to label a shadow shift. Mental shifts are the most common for me. At first they were involuntary but as I have learned more about therianthropy and become more comfortable with my theriotype I have been able to induce mental shifts. Dream shifts are much rarer for me, occurring only once every few months (that I can remember). As for phantom shifts, these are random and usually coincide with mental shifts. During these shifts, I can feel the heaviness of my body, the mane of fur down my back, and my muzzle. When these occur during mental shifts they make for a rather intense experience and there has been at least one time where I have found myself running on all fours during such a shift. As for the shadow shifting experience, I am not sure about whether it was an actual experience or trick of the mind. The incident occurred in the presence of a friend who knew about my therianthropy and theriotype (the only person besides this forum that I have ever felt safe telling) in a very dimly lit attic. I am still not sure as to whether I believe shadow shifting to be viable though so you can understand my hesitation to label it as such.
I consider myself to be a syntherian. I always have the hyena inside me, influencing me. But sometimes it seems like the influence grows much stronger (as when I experience mental shifts).
As I have said before, I have never joined a therian community before (due to lack of private Internet for the most part since I shared a computer with my entire family) and I ask you to please forgive me if I come across as a little nervous. I have only ever told one person (the aforementioned friend) and since she moved away I have not had anyone to be able to talk to or share my experiences with. All I want is a supporting community to share ideas and beliefs with.
