Myenia Wrote:Therianthropes would'nt say 'she' when referring to themself...without being crazy, at least.
Unless of course they were trying to clarify when they were referring to their animal side. I do this myself, as I find it's sometimes easier to say "my wolf side", when describing certain things about being a therianthrope. I'm not two entities in one body, but sometimes it's just easier to differentiate.
For the original question, I'm not sure how I tell the difference but some part of me knows that my therian side and my totem, despite being the same animal, are different. I generally only interact with my totem animal in meditation. That's not to say that I can't at any other time, but as a spirit entity my totem isn't tied to the physical world so she comes and goes as she pleases. My therianthropy is with me all the time. Think of an animal totem like a guardian angel; they help you, teach you and watch over you, but they're a separate entity from you. Being a therian is part of who I am and it's a part of my soul. Some people will tell you that totem animals change as a person does and that once the totem teaches what it needs to, it moves on. Therianthropy isn't like that. You either are, or you're not and there's no way to become a therian. There are methods to attract an animal totem.
Ultimately, you will have to be the one to figure out if you're a therian or if your totem animal is trying to teach you something. Sometimes we act like our totems because they want us to learn from their animal habits. Do some research on tigers and study their behaviours and see if you can apply anything to your daily life. Are you running from something? Perhaps tiger wants you to turn and fight. If after you've examined tiger and still can't figure out what she's trying to teach you, ask her in meditation. This was actually how I found out about my being a wolf, my wolf totem told me while in meditation and then everything fell into place.