Maybe what might help is trying to be vulnerable when you are triggered with the person who did? Like tell them if you feel scared, suddenly angry, alone, etc. however you reactions are. And let them know that it triggered you. Seeing them treat you with kindness retrains you to feel safe.

Oh sorry I had replied again while you were replying. I just saw that. I mean...yeh I get it. My triggers affected all my trust of the entire human species. Like it is very specific to humans who see me. It sucks ass. But I have been healing slowly, 20 years so far, it's slow. But it is better.

Healing is not a straight line. It takes practice. And we are allowed to make mistakes. We can slip into old mentalities. We can fear everyone who wears a human face. Abused animals can heal. But we don't heal on our own. We need others.

I do not know the context of this but I am a nonhuman animal and also traumatized severely. Trust can be hard as can being vulnerable. The kindest people can feel threatening. And one can be afraid of oneself being a danger. But the pieces slowly come back together and your spirit never left you.

First I gotta work up the courage to go to something that celebrates nonhuman animal people and allows us to safely explore our identities without letting fear stop me from going. If it happens again, I will try to attend somehow.

Thank you. I am gradually learning to accept myself. I never knew there were things like this. And it still scares me to go out there and be myself. I can't help but be who I am. I am a musician. I would want to be a part of something like this as audience or performer. But also scared to.

Oh man, can I commission one of these?

There's nothing out there. No representations, no dialogues, no media, nothing that even addresses the reality of my nature, my identity, my experiences. And then something comes up, once in a million, and I am so disillusioned, too afraid and too disbelieving to go. There is a pit in my gut.

I don't even know why I am telling you this. I just happened upon your page cause I was following the coyote hrt comic and I liked your poems. Just seeing these photos. I never thought there'd be anything for me as a therian. I feel I missed the one time there was something real for who/what I am.

I am deeply sad I did not go. I was here in Seattle for a week. I had seen the poster. There has never been anything for me as a nonhuman like this, and I didn't understand that I wanted to go but I had given up in my life that there would never be anything like this. I didn't believe it was real.

There are communities that do not view being a nonhuman being as anything unusual. Some are spiritual communities, almost all are oppressed under colonialist systems. But in many human cultures that exist and have existed, it is simply normal and recognized there are those who are nonhuman animals.