This is incomplete, ask questions below to make this more comprehensive!
2024 Update: I hope to update this post to be more comprehensive soon, as it is not the quality of posts which I would like to make in 2024.
Have you recently discovered you are a therian, or you have realized that for a while? Well, this is the article for you. Navigating school while being a therian can be different from those who aren’t therians. This could be because of involuntary shifts happening when you are at school or dealing with being bullied because you are a therian. Regardless of the reason, I hope this article can be helpful in some way for you in the upcoming school year. I will try to keep this comprehensive and update it occasionally.
While some of these may apply to alterhumans in general, this article was made particularly for therians.
Should I tell someone at school I’m a therian?
This depends on where you live and your comfort level. You don’t have to, as it isn’t a requirement to be public about being a therian to be a therian. Personally, I do not think you should tell everyone this. It could go wrong and cause bullying from peers and your parents could have a negative reaction. Peers at school do not necessarily need to know that you are a therian. If you want to wear gear, you can say it’s for cosplay or fashion. However, if you have involuntary shifts at school, you can try to ground yourself, which will be covered later.
If you do decide to tell someone, you should try to see what they think about therianthropy first. Casually bring it up without mentioning that you are a therian yourself. If they respond positively continue. Ideally, you will casually bring it up multiple times before concluding if you want to tell them or not. If they respond negatively, you should not precede in telling them. *You can be yourself without telling them.
I think someone at my school is a therian! What about telling them?
Even if you think someone at your school is a therian, that does not mean you should instantly jump to tell them that you are a therian. Regardless of how good the reason for you thinking they are therian is, if they are not telling you outright that they are a therian, you should try to follow the steps as before. Try to bring up therianthropy to see their reaction and if it is positive or if they tell you that they are a therian outright, it might be a good time to tell them then. Don’t be disappointed if they react negatively, all it shows are that they are not educated on therianthropy.
Should I tell everyone?
You can tell everyone if it’s a very accepting area, but it is better not to if you live in a closed-minded area. It is not needed for everyone to know about therianthropy, even if you decide to wear a tail to school. Depending on your grade level, you are going to be stuck in school with the same people for years that might bully you if you live in a closed-minded area. While it might be tempting to shout it to the rooftops and try to educate others, you need to put your health first.
I already told someone, and everyone knows! What do I do?
This is more difficult to deal with. If mostly everyone reacts positively, that’s great! If people react negatively, you can deny it or accept it and try to educate others. Therianthropy is not known by many people which can cause people to hold misconceptions which leads to bullying. While bullying is estimated to be ignored by 25% of teachers, people are less likely to bully if you educate them.
If people continue to bully, you will just have to have resilience and community. If your parents know about you being a therian and are supportive, your parents can help you. Find or interact with those who accept therianthropy to have a network of people you can go to. Practice self-care by getting exercise, eating healthy meals, and/or doing a relaxing activity. *School does not last forever.
Should I wear gear to school?
Generally, you must weigh the pros and cons. Does wearing gear bring you happiness? How do people around you judge those who wear gear? Are you comfortable with people potentially bullying you from wearing gear? While wearing gear can bring you happiness, it is important to consider your safety if you do wear them too. If you get bullied for wearing a tail, it could impact your mental health, so it would be best to decide based on how you think people would react.
If you decide to wear a tail at school and someone genuinely asks why you are wearing one, it’s not always the greatest idea to say that you are a therian. You can say instead it’s for cosplay or fashion. Some people don’t understand therianthropy and some can get hateful if you say you are a therian, so it would be best not to explain it in a short conversation.
If you are going to wear a tail to school, this is a great video to watch to keep your tails pull-proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LxI69GGeBQ
If you decide not to wear gear but want to express your therianthropy subtly for any reason, get creative! You can draw a Theta-Delta on your hand that other therians could recognize. You could wear jewelry or clothing with the Theta-Delta symbol or your theriotype too. Personally, I couldn’t obtain any jewelry with the Theta-Delta symbol, and I like wearing simple clothing, so I got sticks of my theriotype (an arctic fox.) The possibilities are only limited by what you can think of!
How do I deal with shifting at school?
When you are at school, it is not always a good time for a shift to happen. You can deal with shifting by grounding. Grounding in this context means to due human activities, like doing math, listening to specific music, stimming, and more. What works for another person might not work for you, so it is best to try multiple grounding techniques and find what works for you.
If after trying multiple grounding techniques, do not give up hope if the grounding techniques don’t work. It has been suggested in the past to do a voluntary dream or mental shift to make involuntary shifts at inconvenient times less likely to happen. You could do this by doing activities that allow you to connect with your theriotype, such as taking a hike during your free time. Like previously mentioned, there is no one solution that will work for everyone and you might need to try many different techniques before finding what works.
I can’t find any therians in my school.
While it would be great to find therians near you, it is very unlikely, and it will take time. You can try to find others by drawing the Theta-Delta symbol on your hand, wearing jewelry or clothing, or by coming up with another way to signify you are a therian to other therians. People who aren’t therians could know this symbol too, so be careful. However, you should make friends in school that aren’t therians and find a community elsewhere. Over time, you might find therians locally and someone you thought was not a therian might tell you that they have been a therian this whole time.
Keep in mind that if you are finding a community elsewhere to read Safety in Alterhuman Spaces by The Dragonheart Collective. I feel that this document is very helpful to avoid abuse, toxicity, and controlling behaviors in alterhuman spaces, and can be applied more generally for any space as well.
https://dragonsroost.neocities.org/essay/SafetyInAlterhumanSpaces.pdf
References
Bullying: An International Perspective | Office of Justice Programs. www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/bullying-international-perspective.
Caliicocam. Reddit — Dive Into Anything. www.reddit.com/r/Therian/comments/owzpng/any_help_on_feeling_less_anxious_about_wearing_a. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
“Caring for Your Mental Health.” National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/caring-for-your-mental-health.
Death_StarRC. “I Am Going to Be Extremely Open to My School About Being Otherkin, How Do I Avoid Harassment?” Reddit — Dive Into Anything, www.reddit.com/r/otherkin/comments/109r4op/i_am_going_to_be_extremely_open_to_my_school. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
EasyJournalist. Reddit — Dive Into Anything. www.reddit.com/r/Therian/comments/11x1cqa/school. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Im_Really_a_Ghost. “What Do Y’all Think? (Wearing Ears and Tail to School).” Reddit — Dive Into Anything, www.reddit.com/r/otherkin/comments/xum49a/what_do_yall_think_wearing_ears_and_tail_to_school. Accessed 17 Aug. 2023.
Kin-Assistance. “How Do You Recommend Coming Out to Your Loved Ones? And Could You Rec Some Other Good Otherkin/Therian Blogs? (:” Tumblr, 23 Dec. 2014, kin-assistance.tumblr.com/post/105961858505/how-do-you-recommend-coming-out-to-your-loved. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Moore, Brian, and Stuart Woodcock. “RESILIENCE, BULLYING, AND MENTAL HEALTH: FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED OUTCOMES.” Psychology in the Schools, vol. 54, no. 7, Wiley-Blackwell, May 2017, pp. 689–702. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22028.
MrSabrewulf. “Issues With Shift Control? (Serious).” Reddit — Dive Into Anything, www.reddit.com/r/Therian/comments/s2t3b5/issues_with_shift_control_serious. Accessed 18 Aug. 2023.
PD. “How to || Be a Therian at School.” YouTube, 11 Sept. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrq1f4-PoTs. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
— -. “How to Come Out as a Therian || [& Why You Shouldn’t].” YouTube, 13 Feb. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z7HSDZwYEo. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Raypole, Crystal. “30 Grounding Techniques to Quiet Distressing Thoughts.” Healthline, 20 July 2023, www.healthline.com/health/grounding-techniques. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
That_One_Cat_Girl. Reddit — Dive Into Anything. www.reddit.com/r/Therian/comments/14t8riv/is_this_common_to_experience_this_kind_of_bullying. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Therian Territory. “COMING OUT AS a THERIAN/OTHERKIN: Should You? When and How?” YouTube, 7 May 2023, www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EpoA1WGsuA. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Thorn 🜃 (Therian Territory). “Shifting.” Discord, discord.com/channels/906576135796707358/910508816439844915/1077225844675723374. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Vineroot. Reddit — Dive Into Anything. www.reddit.com/r/Therian/comments/11xbuw4/school. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
WanderingFox. Reddit — Dive Into Anything. www.reddit.com/r/Therian/comments/10aelsy/how_can_i_find_therian_friends_at_school. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
