Feral Affliction

Feral Affliction is a mental illness that was discovered 1000 years ago and is still not fully understood.
It was first noticed in canine shifters but shortly after that there were feline and elven cases of it. What is known about it is that there is a trigger. Such as a certain smell, a sight of something, or an occurrence. This trigger sends the affected person back to basics. For most cases it they go into very defensive to protect what they love. Take what they want. Attack without warning, cause their instincts are screaming that they are being attacked. If not attacking they hide, run, or hiss. How it affects each person is different. Many live with Feral Affliction leading normal full lives. They had learned to cope or to help through the triggers. There are some medicine that helps shifters while there are some magic spells that help the Elves.
The cause of this illness is unknown but theories abound. Some think that it is a chemical imbalance in the body or maybe even in the brain. Many radicals think that they were just born with it. Some had suggested that it was an overload of magic. Other say that it is a virus. There is even the theory that it comes as a punishment from the heavens. There are a small group of Medics that think that it might be multi different factors that cause it.
While there are many affected by this illness the knowledge is around many are still very skeptical about it. They just think that the affected just don’t want to try to keep their instincts in check. Some just think it is all in the affected head and blowing things way out of portion. Because of this thought process many who are affected keep very quite about and don’t seek help. There are several groups that are trying to get this thinking changed but it is a very slow process. There are in bigger towns and cities that have havens for those that suffer. They allow them to come in and get help without anyone else knowing.