"Different" isn't "Insane"
I was discussing with Shen Tirag recently about her personal therianthropy theory, mental therianthropy, and the theories related to atypical neurobiology and neuropsychology in a general way. Those seems to be pretty popular lately, seeing the number of topics on this subject as well as the numerous comments suggesting that many therianthropes have atypical brain functionning and such as. At the same time, the idea that therianthropy could find its cause (partially or completely) in "atypical" neurobiology seems widely misunderstood by a good number of people.
Let's not start the "spiritual VS mental" therianthropy debate, this isn't a real debate. There is no opposition to me, and anyway this writing is not about how one of these theories is better than the other. I am not a specialist of brain chemistry, I simply am someone with a critical mind who can't shut up when seeing something wrong or innacurate. This essay is about clearing up a big misconception on the "neurobiological therianthropy" takes and it may interest everybody.
What pushed me to write this is that many time I saw people arguing "If therianthropy was caused by abnormal brain functionning, I would be in a psychiatric hospital" or "If I was brainfucked I would be seeking professional help". Obviously if one follows that way of thinking it's because they don't understand at all what "atypical" means in the first place - certainly not "crazy". I guess it's not so hard to jump from "atypical brain" to "crazy" or "in need of professional help" when each time the theory is presented with a comparison with autism. While autists aren't crazy and that highly functional mild autists exist, most of time the kind of autists that comes to our mind is the "Rain Man" type. To me this is unrelated to therianthropy as therianthropes are perfectly able to funtion normally in society. I will go back to this later.
Another important point is that the idea that therianthropy may be caused by something different in the way our brains work may be scary. It is terrifying to some, even, and the concept is quickly dissmissed and replaced by a theory that would be much more flattering to the individual. Why is it scary? Because nobody likes being considered as nuts. Because we animal people often have struggled with the idea of being animal inside fearing for our sanity, wondering if we were freaks, if people would think of us as freaks. So when the idea that the cause of therianthropy could be something differing from the norm, people associate "different" with "bad", "crazy", "dangerous" and they go "Hell no!". And they are right on the fact we therians aren't nuts, diminished or disfunctional individuals.
However this isn't what the neurobiology/neuropsychology theory is about. Atypical doesn't mean our brains don't work fine. Atypical, here, means our brains work differently. As in, another way to function, not to disfunction; and it is as efficient as another. Not better, but certainly not worse as far as therianthropy goes, and there are other types of atypical brain functioning that makes perfectly sane and functional individuals. Synesthesia (Greek, syn: together + aisthesis: perception) is one of them. Synesthetes perceive their environement an unique way, associating sounds with colours, or projecting colours onto graphems (letters, numbers, etc), or having other unusual perception associations, while they are totally normal individuals. They require no professional help and synesthesia does not keep them from having a normally functionning life. This condition is not a disease or mental illness. "Synesthesia is "abnormal" only in being statistically rare". Can you make the parallel? Synesthetes perceive things that are real to them but that other can't see. This is exactly what your phantom limbs are about, dude. You are not imagining them, you feel them naturally and they are a valid, real experience, but others can't see 'em. And you aren't crazy either (not more than any other human being living on this planet ;P).
So I think it is time some people look into the concept of atypical neurobiology and understand it does not make animal people dysfunctional people or fake therianthropes. To me, this theory doesn't even condamn spiritual people. As an example, since what you are isn't the product of your imagination and that you really are animal inside; if it is who and what you are. Why wouldn't your soul, the core of you, be animal, if you believe so? Why should it be mental or spiritual if you feel both apply to you? Why would it be impossible to think both concepts can coexist? If you believe in some kind of reincarnation, what keeps you from thinking you were a deer in a past life and this part of you is revealed through your "atypical" neurobiology in this current life? When someone ask you if you are a mental or spiritual therianthrope, keep him/her from putting you into boxes if you feel you are both.
In the end, debating over causes we can't prove for sure is a waste of time. Arguing over what caused your therianthropy is totally pointless and keeps you from enjoying life as the animal person you are. This is worth for both neurobiology-obsessed and spirituality-obsessed therians. Focus on the way you experience your animal, not why you were born an animal person. I see a lot of fluffesque theorizing - fluff as in people mistake this as the whole point and give it too much importance - but I see way less accounts of what is being your animal like, your perspective, and what makes you you. Some people create general theories on therianthropy before even thinking and knowing about their personal one. Some people are so obsessed with theories and words that they have forgotten what being an animal feels like.
I say, they should go for a walk in the woods. :)
~Akhila
September 2005