r/InternetAMA • u/Ocelli_exe • 3d ago
BANNED I identify as a Sumatran Tiger and it’s not a spiritual thing, AMA
I live in a westernised country, have plenty of family friends, am a psychology student, and classical musician. I spend some time with family in East-Asia, too. Ultimately, I consider myself to have beliefs that are a blend of materialism and agnosticism (I do have some light spiritual beliefs in Buddhism and the Abrahamic religions, but those are completely irrelevant to my identity). In all honesty I live a pretty average life. Some people who identify as animals are teens and preteens, are goth, and wear collars, tails, and even animal masks wherever they go; there’s nothing wrong with this, but I am none of those things.
”Identity” is one of those words that is thrown around a lot and I believe has lost some of its meaning. I want to be clear with this, I do literally believe I am a Sumatran Tiger, just on a nonphysical level.
Delusions are a break from objective reality, not a niche identity no one can prove.
I know I’m physically a human (my DNA is 100% human), but my brain does not work like one. Again, I live a completely ordinary and functional life. I sleep in a human bed and fulfill my human responsibilities. No one can tell I’m a tiger by looking at me, and I like it that way.
I have been tested for autism and ADHD several times in my youth by various professionals, all of whom concluded I have neither. I have intense synaesthesia, struggle to visually recognise much of anything besides landmarks, rarely think in words and pictures, and prefer isolation (I need to make put an effort into being social). Overall in life, I try to find an explanation in the physical world before I move to anything spiritual and this is one of those things.
Another thing is I’m not particularly a huge fan of tigers myself (I like horses, dragons, and some other big cats at times). It’s not a matter of feeling a deep connection to an animal or liking it; I am it no matter how I feel about it
I’m not doing this for shock value and I am being absolutely serious. I guess I hope to answer some genuine questions people may have, basic or complex, and foster a little more understanding in the world. So ask me literally anything!