WhiteFox Wrote:I consider myself to be a contherian in that I am both always, no shifting from one to another. Though I'll be honest, I'm basing this off of the terms and definitions you posted, and I'm not sure where these even came from. I've only heard co (con?) therian once on werelist, and suntherian, not at all.
As I said, those are the basic definitions that I know of. If you do a quick google or yahoo search for contherianthropy and suntherianthropy you can find more definitions from various sources. They are recognized terms within the therian community and most therians have at least heard of them. Although like me, they probably don't know the specifics involved!
The guy that came up with the term suntherianthropy created it because he felt that it was what most contherians meant when they were referring to themselves. Contherian refers to a completely integrated human/animal person, who does not experience any type of shifting. Suntherian is more like how Myenia described it, with fluctuations in mood; sometimes more animal, sometimes more human. At least, this is how I've come to understand these terms.
Myenia Wrote:I'm a suntherian. For me, when I say a mild mental shift, I'm talking about something that nobody else notices as inhuman.
I liked the way you worded that and it seems to be what I myself do, at least when in the presence of other people. I would consider what I do around other people "mild" because well, I consciously try to not act outwardly wolfy. I seem to have enough control to be able to still act normally, albeit a bit strange if someone is paying close enough attention to me. I'm usually an outgoing and fun type of person, but in the middle of a mental shift (at least what I've always called a mental shift, but in your terms Mye it would be a mild mental shift) I tend to become reserved and very quiet because I'm focusing more within myself.
Myenia Wrote:Honestly, Elinox, the only person who knows if you'd be considered a suntherian is yourself. I think alot of people are still aware that they're human when they shift (not everyone though...), but its all about control.
Yes, I know only I can properly label myself, but I figured I'd ask if what I experience sounded like contherian/suntherian to someone who already considers themselves to be one of those terms. I've always felt that I'm a mix of wolf and human but depending on the situation I'm more wolf/more human/etc. I don't think I'm ever just one or the other. I recognize that certain things are more/less human and more/less wolf, but both are part of me. I've never honestly explored the idea of contherian/suntherian because the term therian always just seemed like enough of a label for me. But now that I've been thinking about it more, about how I act and how I experience wolf, it sounds a lot like how Mye described being a suntherian. Granted, I'm sure it's different for everyone, and I'm still not sure about the phantom limbs (although I've always described them as always being there over my physical human body) but perhaps in becoming more experienced with my therianthropy, I am in fact a suntherian as well. *shrug* Who knows?