"AM I OTHERKIN?"

The "Awakening"

The serious acknowledgement of potential non-humanity is known as an awakening. It describes the feeling that, upon an event that brings your attention to otherkin or general non-humanity, something within you "wakes up" sympathetically — setting in motion a series of questioning, self-exploration, and possible lifestyle changes. This could refer to a spiritual awakening or instead the stirring of a repressed psychological connection with non-humanity.

For some, this is defined as a single concrete date on which they decided to wade into living their life as otherkin. For others, awakening is a long and gradual process that goes beyond identifying a kintype for the first time; a process that doesn't truly end. Awakening can take weeks to years. Regardless of how it turns out, whether you're otherkin or not, you will have gotten to know yourself better.

Common Experiences

There are several typical experiences for otherkin. Most you meet will be personally familiar with a majority of these. If more than one phenomenon described is prevalent in your life, it may point towards being otherkin

Shifts: A shift — from "shapeshift" — describes any sensation or response that meshes with your kintype. There are many varieties of shift, the two most commonly discussed being "mental" (altered behaviour, emotion, or instinct) and "phantom" (perception of non-human body parts).

Instincts: May be related to shifts. Inhuman reactions and reflexes, such as prey drive, food cravings, vocalisations, and mimicking animal behaviour.

Dysphoria & Euphoria: A deep and persistent yearning to have a different body or lifestyle in line with a certain species. On the flip side, a sense of joy and correctness in being perceived as, or feeling closer to, your kintype.

Self-recognition & Self-perception: A sense of familiarity with a certain species. You see "yourself" in photographs, descriptions, and encounters with a non-human creature, or see the individual as a relative of sorts. When imagining, depicting, or recalling yourself, it feels natural to add bestial attributes which may align with a kintype.

Dreams: You may have recurring dreams involving taking the form of your kintype, meeting your kintype, or exploring its natural habitat. Note your reaction upon waking from these dreams: are you disappointed it's over?

Noemata: Inherent knowledge about your kintype's life or environment. This could manifest as detailed memories of a once-lived life or as "facts" unconnected to a reincarnation event.

Homesickness: Longing for places, habitats, or time periods that cannot be explained in another way. You may feel at home in, or seek out, a particular environment.

Identifying a Kintype [WIP]

It may feel urgent right now, but your non-humanity isn't going to disappear like sand between your fingers from the moment you recognise it to the moment you point out that first kintype. It will remain there indefinitely, for as long as you need it to. I know this is tired advice, but please take your time. This period of discovery will last the rest of your life. Introspection and thinking about the bigger picture are crucial skills. You will get to that comfortable point you wish to be at if you let things breathe.

Observation

A vital part of coming to understand your non-humanity is to simply observe yourself. Just like an animal in the wild can be observed by a naturalist, you too can perform a similar task with yourself in your own mind.

Pick out a dedicated notebook for writing about your otherkin-related feelings if it will help you to keep focused. Write down what you can sense about yourself. Anything and everything, no matter how irrelevant or silly it seems at the moment. You could ask yourself things like...

Do I have a phantom body? Can I feel...

Non-human limbs?

How large are they, and how are they shaped?
Are they furred, scaled, or hooved?
What is the arrangement of my toes?
Would I prefer to stand upright, walk on all of my limbs, fly, or swim?
Do I have wings? Where are they located?

A sensation on my skin?

Is it more like fur, scales, chitin, feathers, or machinery?
Does it feel warm, wet, dry, rigid, or fuzzy?
Does it seem to respond to emotion?

An extension of my head or face?

What is the shape and size of my head?
Do I have a snout; is it long, pointy, or flat? Is there anything unusual about it?
Are there any whiskers or antennae present?
Is there a sensation of horns or antlers? What do I think they'd look like?
Do I have non-human ears? How large are they, are they pointed or round?

A tail?

How is it controlled? Is it prehensile?
How long and wide is it?
What is it made out of?
Does it respond to emotion?

Have I experienced non-human instincts? Do I...

Have preferences related to socialisation?
Feel attuned to any environments or worlds?
Seem drawn to certain food groups or diets, especially things deemed strange or inedible?
Experience an emotional response to certain creatures, such as recognising them as "similar to me"?
Feel as if I have a "prey drive" or an unexpected aversion towards predatory animals?
Have unorthodox behaviours and emotional expression? Do I "act like an animal" when I shouldn't?

Can I recall anything from outside of my current life? Am I familiar with...

A connection to any places, worlds, or time periods?
Any particular species or fictional characters?
A sense of "missing" something?
An event that I couldn't possibly have been involved in?

Most likely, after this step you'll have ended up with a long list of ideas which won't seem to point in one particular direction. As frustrating as it is, not everything you note down is going to be a sign of non-humanity; many of them will be interests and quirks of yours with simpler explanations. One particular corner young otherkin back themselves into is a belief that everything interesting they notice about themselves, no matter how vague, must point towards a kintype.

Think about the aphorism "When you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." As someone who has grown up in a different body, perhaps even a different world, you have developed your own likes, dislikes, cultural associations, memories, and personality traits.

Preferring certain food groups and meals is possibly simply a matter of taste. Craving raw meat, blood, or non-foodstuffs like rocks and sand might be related to a vitamin deficiency. Experiencing intense interests in certain animals, having severe emotional outbursts, and expressing your feelings in a way different to other people may be part of an underlying condition such as autism. If you're feeling strange sensations or pain, it could be a real warning sign from your body. Rule ordinary explanations out before you use these experiences to pinpoint a potential kintype.

Sourcing Information

WIP

Seeking Community

So, where can you go? Long-standing, currently active, forums for therianthropes include The Werelist and Therian Guide. A relatively newer, and more general, forum is Nonhuman National Park. Tumblr continues to have a pretty strong, yet diminished, non-human community. Subreddits such as r/Otherkin, r/Therian, and r/TherianAdult (for older therianthropes) can be helpful for newly-awakened otherkin seeking connection with others in the same boat. Be aware that many subreddits suffer from a lack of more seasoned otherkin answering queries. TikTok is currently the most popular among young therianthropes, but the platform carries stereotypes of misinformation that may or may not be true. See above for some pointers on navigating this.

If social media isn't your thing, there are several annual events for alterhumans of all stripes. Currently, the main runners are Othercon (second weekend of August), The Centaurus Festival (second weekend of March), and Howlcon (third weekend of September). These events take place over one weekend in the year, hosting various events, panels, movies, and creative projects by and for non-humans.

On the indie web, you can find a small community of non-humans with personal sites; some on free webhosts such as Neocities and Nekoweb. Many were there since the beginning, but a lot of modern websites were created in a revival movement of the original otherkin web presence. While it may not be helpful if your only taste of the community is through your personal website early on, it can't hurt to set up an otherkin journal or dedicated webpage. To find some personal websites ran by otherkin webmasters, check out the alterhuman, therian, otherkin, and fictionkin tags on Neocities or my Resources page.

"Shifter's Disease"

An informal term coined by therianthropes to refer to individuals who, while researching therianthropy, subconsciously convince themselves that they are a therianthrope. Similar to medical students' disease, where those studying diseases for the first time will become fearfully preoccupied with possibility of being affected by it themselves, it involves attributing non-human or magical explanations to mundane, human experiences, usually out of a desire to be a therian. This name is tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken too seriously.

One of the best things you can do to prevent falling into false beliefs is to take your time and keep some perspective. Don't rush recklessly into finding your "true" kintype and establishing yourself as a community figure within days or weeks of finding out what otherkin means. Think twice before deciding a certain experience is a sure sign of your non-humanity. It can be exciting to jump into the concept, but remember, it's not going anywhere. Chances are, you'll have your whole life to settle into yourself.

Rule out the mundane before jumping to conclusions. Take time away from the influences of otherkin writings and go off on your own for a while. Pause any relevant public updates, web diaries, or group participation to see how your feelings on non-humanity respond when you have nobody to prove them to. While its helpful in other aspects of your journey to discuss with others, your non-humanity should be able to stand on its own.