Being kin is a mental disorder.

feralusami:

LOL, you picked the wrong bitch.

first off, i would like to ask you what you mean by “mental disorder”. in this link, there is talk about how the term “mental disorder” has changed from the DSM-IV to the DSM-V. you might be interested to learn that the definition always includes “In DSM-IV, each of the mental disorders is conceptualized as a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an individual and that is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. In addition, this syndrome or pattern must not be merely an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event, for example, the death of a loved one.”

didn’t quite understand that? let me dumb it down for ya: if it isn’t causing you distress, it isn’t harming you, and it doesn’t put you at greater risk, it isn’t a disorder. :3

now, if just one link isn’t enough to satisfy you, i have plenty others. some peer reviewed sources, too! 

here is an article on otherkin with a focus on mental health – including word from professionals about how people who are otherkin are not mentally ill by way of being otherkin. 

also, here are a few academic studies on otherkin and their relationship with mental health:

Bricker, Natalie. Life Stories of Therianthropes: An Analysis of Nonhuman Identity in a Narrative Identity Model, Lake Forest College, April 2016.  
Grivell, Timothy, Helen Clegg and Elizabeth C. Roxburgh. “An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Identity in the Therian Community.” Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research. Vol. 14, No. 2, (May 2014): pp 114-135.

Shane, Margaret. “Chapter 16: Some People Aren’t People On The Inside.” In Educational, Psychological, and Behavioral Considerations In Niche Online Communities, by Vivek Venkatesh, 260 – 271. Hershey: Information Science Reference, 2014.

Laycock, Joseph P. “We Are Spirits of Another Sort: Ontological Rebellion and Religious Dimensions of the Otherkin Community.” Nova Religio. Vol. 15, No. 3 (Feb., 2012): pp. 65-90 http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2012.15.3.65(accessed November 24  2013).

if you can find it, i recommend reading “A Field Guide to Otherkin”, written by Lupa, published April 20, 2007. it includes three different people talking to therapists about being therians. how the therapists respond might surprise you! 

i mean, it doesn’t surprise me, because i’m not an idiot, but… we can’t all be lucky ;3c

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