Theories and findings

As I understand it, this forum includes the scientifically minded yes? I am wondering what theories people have come up with and what they have discovered.
I have a theory that this otherkin thing may have developed due to abuse issues (at least, it may have for me) since it is common for survivors to feel different. However, I still don’t have an explanation for why I felt this way before the abuse started.
I do consider the possibility that I am insane. I have gotten checked out several times by professionals. By that, I mean psychiatrists, psychologists, and various counsellors who have had many years of training and experience. The consensus was that I am sane, just odd. I also took anti-psychotics for awhile to try to make this go away (got them legally from a corrupt psych and, yes, I know lots of mentally ill people probably say psychs are corrupt, but this guy really does have a reputation). I have discovered that I do not react well to having my dopamine messed with, but it did not make any of this otherkin stuff go away. I do still consider insanity a possibility, but get pissed off when random strangers who have never met me claim to know better than trained professionals.
So... What theories and discoveries have you guys made?

Over the years I have realized that my core feelings of "not human" are very much linked to the fact that I was adopted at birth and have felt not human from as far back as I can recall (I've also read in many a book on adoption that many adoptees don't feel human). I don't know why I identify with the specific things I identify with honestly, but I definitely feel that being something of a polymorph in both kintype and human life is a result of being adopted and my brain taking the feelings of "be what you have to be to not be abandoned again" to an extreme. I also consider that there might be neurological factors, but that part I can obviously not prove one way or another.

I see my own otherkin nature and the nature of being part of a multiple system to be psychological and neurological in nature. Plus given how we have felt nonhuman and not alone in this body sense as far back as we can recall (roughly sense about five or so years old), we have felt this way. This had let us to see our experiences as being something naturally occurring in our mind and selves one way or another.

We have never been abused or gone through trauma (unlike the stereotype of multiples) at all. We had a generally happy childhood more or less. I personally think our own existence as we are in our system that it actually comes down to something we were born with, similar to how those of us in our body were born with a certain gender and sexual orientation (or at least predisposed that way mentally).

- Kardegray

From my own experiences, I believe the reason for my being 'kin is both spiritual (which is harder to prove and explain) and neurological. Simply put, my brain and body are wired for something other than human. I don't have anything but personal experience to back that up though. And I've been curious if such a thing would show up on brain scans, etc.

I have had some scans (although I can't remember what kinds or how many other than the CT scan). As far as I know, everything looked normal, but those scans are not exactly in depth. I have not had a chance to dissect my brain though since that would require my death and I'm not too keen on that. I do hope to someday study the neuroplasticity of my brain since, as a polymorph, I imagine that would be interesting, but have not had access to the equipment, time, or expertise that would require.
That's cool, Chimera. I have had these feelings as long as I can remember too although it didn't occur to me that I can't exist until I was fifteen. Wow. One would think I would have figured that out earlier. Man, I'm dumb.

I believe the cause of me being kin is spiritual, but as for our multiplicity, we're very open to be it being psychological. I honestly can't tell if they are other spirits or splits of my personality or imaginary friends. We don't much care what we are called; we know what we are in feeling, if not in title. I've had an MRI of my brain before (to check for damage from a stroke) and apparently my brain is perfectly normal, with not a thing wrong with it... which surprises me. <!-- s --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_razz.gif" alt=":P" title="Razz" /><!-- s -->

Forgot to mention, I have felt 'not alone' for most of my life, probably as long as I can remember. I've had no awful childhood trauma that I can remember.

I like to think I'm sane, but you know they say the truly crazy don't realize they're crazy, so meh. I really don't know what causes me to act the way I do, nor do I know what causes me to think I'm something other than human and have these echoes of memories that may or may not have ever happened in a past life (and even then, if past lives even exist or not) I reaaalllllly try not to think too hard on it and just accept the way my mind works in it's own version of reality. It may be psychological, it may be spiritual, we'll never truly know until we're dead I guess (and that's just me assuming our souls continue on and we don't just rot in the ground no longer existing)

The way I see it is, I feel happier and more complete thinking the way that I do, and even if it turns out to be false at least I was happy.

Every science tries to explain how things work, what's happening and why. But it's all the same, isn't? Just the branch of science is different. They use different view, approach, words.. Different people are exploring that but in the end it's all the same. Universe is based on the same rules as our body, wich is reflection of our soul etc..

So being Otherkin is nothing more than our way of looking at things and understanding them.
If you would study psychology, you wouldn't be here and your thoughts on Otherkin stuff would probably be something about archetypes (probably).

Shailla Wrote:So being Otherkin is nothing more than our way of looking at things and understanding them.
If you would study psychology, you wouldn't be here and your thoughts on Otherkin stuff would probably be something about archetypes (probably).

I've studied psychology. Studying how the mind works doesn't suggest that it's impossible to believe in reincaration, other plains of existence, or any of the other otherkin classics.

NOTE: I am not trying to 'necro' this thread but I feel this topic is important and bears further discussion so I chose to continue it as opposed to starting a new thread.

There are two things that I think bear further scrutiny in regards to 'Otherkin';

1. Prefrontal Core Epilepsy: It doesn't cause physical symptoms but has been linked to 'eccentricities'.

2. 'Othered' Individuals: I also believe Otherkin could possibly be the result of perhaps individuals who've been so 'othered' by society/family/etc. that they have reflexively cut ties to humanity as a whole in order to preserve themselves. Kind of like chewing your emotional arm off to save yourself from a social bear-trap.

For myself neither of those revelations really change anything because there's still causality to consider. Just because something 'can' be linked doesn't mean it 'is' linked, and therein lies the kinundrum (like what I did there ;D). Additionally both are extremely hard to prove due to either breadth or elusiveness.

Additionally I think it's important to note that even if being 'kin' is a psychological condition;

A) There is neither a sufficient diagnosis nor treatment for it within medicine.

B) With or without modern medicine's help we are still dealing with it.

Therefor I think it's important for kin to stick together and provide support for each other given the lack of other avenues for resolution of this dissonance.