(term coining post, I guess)
There's been talk of essentially needing to find a word to express some of the physical experiances otherkin and therians experiance. Some have resorted to trying to reclaim and alter the definition of the term physical shifting (or p-shifting) to fit this gap, but that attempt has recieved criticism and complaint. Physical shifting as a term was weaponized by manipulative and abusive people, and as such many still feel hurt around the term. So to I'd like to propose a new term for the aforementioned experiances.
Somatic = in relation to the body (specifically derived from the word psychosomatic, more on this later)
Shifting = an experiance that aligns you more with your kintype/theriotype
Examples of Shifts and experiances under the Somatic Shift umbrella-
Body aches (in relation to kin/theriotype)
Nesting cycles (heat/rut)
Berserker shifts (if I'm remembering the description of the shift correctly)
Unintentional shift in gait (when you subconsciously move like your kin/theriotype, such as toe walking)
And what it explicitly is not-
A "special" hormone levels changing
"Morbing out" (full body morphing or shapeshifting)
The point of this term is to express the physical experiances that we otherkin and therians experiance, while putting emphases on the fact that these specific experiances are not outside the realm of physiological possibility for the bodies we exist in. Its also expressing that these specific experiances are not solely physical in nature either, they're a blend of mental and physical- they're psychosomatic.
Now I know many have a knee-jerk reaction to the term "psychosomatic", please let me elaborate. When something is Psychosomatic, that means it is a Mental Factor that has effected the body Physically. Stress sickness is a good example of this. When Stress (mental factor) gets bad enough, your brain will respond by sending out chemicals into the body causing Sickness symptoms (physical effect). There's no virus or bacteria being fought, but you'll still physically feel like you have the flu.
Sensory Shifts are a great example of this too. (To use myself as an example) I am a feline. I percieve the world through feline-inity. So my brain tries to subconciously work my body as if it were also feline. My otherkin processing (mental factor) causes my brain to try to sense things around me as a feline, so it spends more time focusing on sensory processing (physical effect.) Meaning I experiance shifts of hightened smell, taste, touch, light sensitivity, etc.
These are very real physical experiances. But the fact that they are both psychosomatic and physiological changes is what really sets them apart from the expectations that come from the term "physical shifting". Physical shifting was defined to mean the literal and full body physical shift from current body to kintype/theriotype body.
We as a community have shunned the term "physical shifting" for good reason. It left an opening for manipulative and abusive people to target some of our most vulnerable members. Those of us who have extreme species dysphoria, delusions, or are very young, are targets for those who want to hurt others. "Pshifter" cults would lure people in with promises to ease their pain, and body transformation, only to groom and abuse them. Many of these spaces are still active. And I don't think it's safe to attempt to reclaim a term when it still puts parts of our community at risk. But Somatic Shifts still gives us a way to express what we need to.
So this would make the categories of shifting, Mental, Somatic, Astral, Magic/Spiritual, and Phantom (though phantom might fit under Somatic for some, I know it won't for all).
I am open to critique and conversations about this :)
