#my child development and my psychology and my statistics

[fuckingarataswespeak]

I'm so scared of losing my friends

[shyfoxsky]

I really think that the therian community needs more essays on former trends and general forms of conduct, because I've said it before and will continue to say it, but the way the community was structured in the mid to late 2010s when I was first awakened was fun and exciting and helped me really find the good in my identity, but also was extremely toxic, judgy, and detrimental to my overall journey.

In my first few years in the community, I was embraced into a corner of the internet that was all about animals and the ethical treatment of them and appreciating and worshipping nature as we all considered ourselves more a part of it than "others". I was also dragged by my tail into a corner of the internet that forced me to give up every single personal, little detail about my personal identity and how I felt about it and the step-by-step of how I got there just to be allowed to speak.

That community both sang the praises of wolf therians, put them on a pedestal, to the point that it felt like they were above all other 'types, while also simultaneously tearing down anyone who questioned wolves, especially certain coat colors, to the point that you had to defend a master's thesis in front of a panel of graymuzzles for anyone to allow you the label "wolf therian". From day one, you were conditioned to believe there was no fun and intimate community, no pack meets, no content for you, unless you were a gray wolf, but you had to be educated on par with the top experts in the world on both identity and the species to not be considered "another kid that likes wolves". If you were anything else, you were an outcast in a world of outcasts. You were just "trying to be unique". You never got edits, outfits, etc. without asking creator accounts for them yourself. The community's terminology was structured around wolves. Howls, packs, etc. You either had to accept that you were going to be outnumbered in any close-knit small group you joined, if you were even allowed and it wasn't "wolves only", or, you could make a group designed around 'types similar to yours, which would never be found by others like you, and would quickly only become a failed idea.

That community is what led to my complicated and painful feelings towards wolves. For the rest of my life, no matter what happens, I will always have doubt in my identity because of it all. I will either be a wolf who believes I'm one because of the community's influence, or I won't and will believe I'm not because I want to escape the stereotypes that come with being a wolf.

That community also was riddled with rigid, unspoken rules about what was and wasn't an acceptable therian identity. I never heard of systems during that time, never saw anyone identify solely psychologically, and no one identified only because they felt like that creature. Back then, you were a standard therian with a single 'type, maybe a second if you'd been researching and journaling every single day without fail for more than a year with statistics to back it up. You had a reason for your identity, but it couldn't just be that you imprinted on your pets as a child (that's not enough), or that it developed from trauma or autism (therianthropy isn't a mental illness), or that you simply feel that way (you're just a wolfaboo). You had to be a misplaced soul, someone with past lives, on rare occasions, you could be a permanent walk-in spirit (but definitely not in a plural way). Don't even get me started on the idea of polymorphs, conceptkin, etc.

I personally feel like a standard therian, but to this day, I still question the origin of my identity. So much of my identity as a red wolf hinged on it being endangered and from my area, because then I could be a misplaced soul due to there not being enough bodies for red wolves to be born into. When I first awakened, I thought my identity came from a past life, even though I personally don't believe I can ever find out what those were, if I even have any. Later on, when I realized being raised with dogs and always seeing and being compared to canines likely had something to do with it, and I considered it to have come from imprinting, I still felt as if I was required to find some spiritual side to it as well. I still struggle with this, to the point that I barely know what I believe in afterlife-wise anymore, and I certainly don't understand what led to my identity, if something even led to it at all.

Those kinds of things needs to be discussed more, because to an extent, I feel like it's still present, both in the same and different ways. The newly-awakened alterhumans of today, yesterday, and tomorrow, all deserve to have a truly accepting space to figure themselves out without pressure to conform to an unspoken standard of how one should identify. Tumblr is better about it than most sites, but ones like TikTok might set things back, if they haven't already, despite the attempts of well-meaning individuals who are trying to break through the algorithm and educate others. I just think more discussions need to be had and more perspectives and experiences need to be shared for the sake of awareness and making sure damaging practices don't continue forever.

[anamericangirl]

(Girl who sent the two part ask here, just wanted to tac on something I forgot to mention 3/2 ) Something I feel is also criminally glossed over time and time again is the amount of children who feel uncomfortable in their bodies and or some form of dysphoria as a result of violation/ exposure to sex too young. Regardless of the form it’s in. (Molestation, rape, watching porn, etc) These are real issues. If you look up the statistics, the amount of “dysphoric” children (and adults, as well) who turn out to be victims of sexual abuse is appalling. And instead of giving them the support they need after these crimes, (THERAPY) we rush to validate a wholly unhealthy coping mechanism. It’s like someone witnessing a murder, and turning to alcoholism to cope, and instead of people discouraging a destructive behavior, people rush to make it okay to drink excessively in public and give them surgery to have an artificial liver put in so they can continue to drink as much as they want and being mad at anyone who questions these things. You’re not helping anyone by blindly affirming them, especially people who feel this way as a result of some sort of trauma. We are doing people a great disservice by saying, if you are gnc in any way, if you feel uncomfortable in your body, then the immediate next step should be some form of transition. The fact of the matter is, even socially transitioning kids has been shown to be psychologically harmful. And a lot of these kids are most likely looking for approval, attention, and praise from the adults around them, because that is what all children are naturally inclined to do. It’s how humans develop. And I never even touched on the amount of kids who these parents are transitioning in childhood because they like to do things that are stereotypically associated with the opposite sex. So many of those kids just turn out to be gay, or just straight people who aren’t a walking stereotype. Not every single action a child makes is a groundbreaking view into the inner mechanisms of their mind. There are little girls who at 3 years old will attempt to pee standing up and say “I a boy mama” and it means absolutely NOTHING. One of the key ways human children explore and learn (and have since the dawn of humanity) is by imitation. It’s normal and healthy for them to explore different things. They should not be chastised or pushed into transitioning (even if it’s “just social”) as a result of these behaviors. They’re starting from scratch, being formed out of seemingly nowhere, where all they know for almost a year of their existence is a womb, and then being thrust into this crazy ass world trying to navigate it all. Children cannot give “informed” consent. It is was and always will be predatory towards children and adults alike to push transition upon the mentally Ill, victims of sexual crimes, people who don’t fit into the stereotype of their sex, or people who are just fucking gay and that’s fine! You as a parent shouldn’t be jumping into rash decisions after a google search because your 12 year old daughter likes short hair and hates dresses. If you don’t think it’s predatory to push these things in the classroom under the guise of it being sex Ed and that it’s okay for schools to not tell parents what’s being fed to their kids or that their kids are internalizing these messages, you’re just a groomer and there’s probably no helping you. (May have sent this twice? Tumblr was being stupid)

( Last one I PROMISE 4/2) At the end of the day, if you are a legal adult, I don’t really care what you do with yourself, but your right to swing your fist ends at my face. So I and many others do have a problem with people demanding we affirm and conform to their personal choices (denying basic biological reality, calling them things they are not, giving them access to spaces that are not rightfully theirs, and pushing this lunacy on to vulnerable adults and children, to name a few) The amount of actual transsexuals (people who actually have diagnosed gender dysphoria) in the world is very few. The reason why where seeing more and more self proclaimed trans people nowadays isn’t because of “increased awareness and education” it’s largely because, being trans online is clout city if you wanna put it on social media, it makes it so you can behave abhorrently and be largely untouchable (or else you’re a bigot!), it puts you in a position to punish and cancel those you dislike by crying “transphobia!!” Every five seconds, it’s pushed upon anyone who feels unhappy with the expectations put on them because of their sex, are insecure or ashamed of their sexuality, or who feels uncomfortable in their body, and of course a big seller for adults and kids, it gets you brownie points, attention, praise, sympathy, and coddling GALORE. Are you a completely uninteresting person? Do you bring nothing to the table? Do you want some zest in your personal life? Just be trans! Now for a lot of people that’s too much, so if you’d like a lighter option you can consider our most popular package, she/they! (Also available in he/they and they/them). Kids have a hard enough time navigating the first 25 years of their life as it is. They don’t need more bullshit being pushed on them, especially not in place of actual therapy and mental health treatment if they truly have a problem.

I would again like to take the time to apologize to the owner of this blog, I know I wrote an absolute novel, and you’re probably going to have a hell of a time trying to post these and may or may not be bombarded by idiots as a result, but as someone who was groomed by several different individuals as a child I get incredibly frustrated with people trying to groom children out in the open (and make no mistake, it is grooming.getting these children alone, demonizing their parents, creeps online saying stuff like “I’ll be your parent now” it’s textbook.) and then emotionally manipulating people who question them by saying their kids are going to commit suicide. It’s not right to do this to vulnerable adults, but pushing your weird sex change fetish onto children is abhorrent and should be seen and treated as such.

It’s true and you should say it!

There have been studies published showing that many of those that detransitioned stated they realized their dysphoria was related to “other issues” and people aren’t paying attention to that!

When a child indicates they feel like the opposite sex it’s never like “oh that’s not normal let’s try to find out why they are feeling that way” it’s always “well that means you are the opposite sex so let’s go get that feeling affirmed and put you on puberty blockers.”

That should never be the first option.

Not to mention, like you said, being trans is “trendy” these days. The amount of people identifying as trans has gone up dramatically since the social media became a thing and there are so many testimonies of detransitioners saying social media was a huge influence in their decision to start transitioning because in those online circles they’re all just working to convince kids they’re in the wrong body and that they need to transition to be truly happy and not kill themselves.

There could be a myriad of reasons why someone might be experiencing dysphoria and every attempt should be made to get to the root of the issue and try to prevent the dysphoria from continuing or getting worse before you start “affirming” it. Because chances are, if it’s from something like abuse, transitioning isn’t going to solve the problem.

And I really hate how our culture celebrates the transitioning of children, and even adults, by saying they “found their true selves” as if they fucking know that. How do they know they weren’t their “true selves” before and this transition isn’t a symptom of a serious problem, like it usually is? Transitioning is celebrated as if people actually are born in the wrong body and are girls when they’re boys and boys when they’re girls instead of being seen as the mental illness it is.

These people need help and celebrating their mental illnesses and gender dysphoria and referring to that as their “true self” is incredibly disgusting to me.

[toscanoirriverente]

Hannah Barnes’s book about the rise and calamitous fall of the Gender Identity Development Service for children (Gids), a nationally commissioned unit at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in north London, is the result of intensive work, carried out across several years. A journalist at the BBC’s Newsnight, Barnes has based her account on more than 100 hours of interviews with Gids’ clinicians, former patients, and other experts, many of whom are quoted by name. It comes with 59 pages of notes, plentiful well-scrutinised statistics, and it is scrupulous and fair-minded. Several of her interviewees say they are happy either with the treatment they received at Gids, or with its practices – and she, in turn, is content to let them speak.

Such a book cannot easily be dismissed. To do so, a person would not only have to be wilfully ignorant, they would also – to use the popular language of the day – need to be appallingly unkind. This is the story of the hurt caused to potentially hundreds of children since 2011, and perhaps before that. To shrug in the face of that story – to refuse to listen to the young transgender people whose treatment caused, among other things, severe depression, sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis and stunted growth, and whose many other problems were simply ignored – requires a callousness that would be far beyond my imagination were it not for the fact that, thanks to social media, I already know such stony-heartedness to be out there.

Gids, which opened in 1989, was established to provide talking therapies to young people who were questioning their gender identity (the Tavistock, under the aegis of which it operated from 1994, is a mental health trust). But the trigger for Barnes’s interest in the unit has its beginnings in 2005, when concerns were first raised by staff over the growing number of patient referrals to endocrinologists who would prescribe hormone blockers designed to delay puberty. Such medication was recommended only in the case of children aged 16 or over. By 2011, however, Barnes contends, it appeared to be the clinic’s raison d’etre. In that year, a child of 12 was on blockers. By 2016, a 10-year-old was taking them.

Clinicians at Gids insisted the effects of these drugs were reversible; that taking them would reduce the distress experienced by gender dysphoric children; and that there was no causality between starting hormone blockers and going on to take cross-sex hormones (the latter are taken by adults who want fully to transition). Unfortunately, none of these things were true. Such drugs do have severe side effects, and while the causality between blockers and cross-sex hormones cannot be proven – all the studies into them have been designed without a control group – 98% of children who take the first go on to take the latter. Most seriously of all, as Gids’ own research suggested, they do not appear to lead to any improvement in children’s psychological wellbeing.

So why did they continue to be prescribed? As referrals to Gids grew rapidly – in 2009, it had 97; by 2020, this figure was 2,500 – so did pressure on the service. Barnes found that the clinic – which employed an unusually high number of junior staff, to whom it offered no real training – no longer had much time for the psychological work (the talking therapies) of old. But something else was happening, too. Trans charities such as Mermaids were closely – too closely – involved with Gids. Such organisations vociferously encouraged the swift prescription of drugs. This now began to happen, on occasion, after only two consultations. Once a child was on blockers, they were rarely offered follow-up appointments. Gids did not keep in touch with its patients in the long term, or keep reliable data on outcomes.

A lot of this is already known, thanks largely to a number of whistleblowers. Last February, the paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, commissioned by the NHS, issued a highly critical interim report into the service; in July, it was announced that Gids would close in 2023. But a lot of what Barnes tells us in Time to Think is far more disturbing than anything I’ve read before. Again and again, we watch as a child’s background, however disordered, and her mental health, however fragile, are ignored by teams now interested only in gender.

The statistics are horrifying. Less than 2% of children in the UK have an autism spectrum disorder; at Gids, more than a third of referrals presented with autistic traits. Clinicians also saw high numbers of children who had been sexually abused. But for the reader, it is the stories that Barnes recounts of individuals that speak loudest. The mother of one boy whose OCD was so severe he would leave his bedroom only to shower (he did this five times a day) suspected that his notions about gender had little to do with his distress. However, from the moment he was referred to the Tavistock, he was treated as if he were female and promised an endocrinology appointment. Her son, having finally rejected the treatment he was offered by Gids, now lives as a gay man.

As Barnes makes perfectly clear, this isn’t a culture war story. This is a medical scandal, the full consequences of which may only be understood in many years’ time. Among her interviewees is Dr Paul Moran, a consultant psychiatrist who now works in Ireland. A long career in gender medicine has taught Moran that, for some adults, transition can be a “fantastic thing”. Yet in 2019, he called for Gids’ assessments of Irish children (the country does not have its own clinic for young people) to be immediately terminated, so convinced was he that its processes were “unsafe”. The be-kind brigade might also like to consider the role money played in the rise of Gids. By 2020-21, the clinic accounted for a quarter of the trust’s income.

But this isn’t to say that ideology wasn’t also in the air. Another of Barnes’s interviewees is Dr Kirsty Entwistle, an experienced clinical psychologist. When she got a job at Gids’ Leeds outpost, she told her new colleagues she didn’t have a gender identity. “I’m just female,” she said. This, she was informed, was transphobic. Barnes is rightly reluctant to ascribe the Gids culture primarily to ideology, but nevertheless, many of the clinicians she interviewed used the same word to describe it: mad.

And who can blame them? After more than 370 pages, I began to feel half mad myself. At times, the world Barnes describes, with its genitalia fashioned from colons and its fierce culture of omertà, feels like some dystopian novel. But it isn’t, of course. It really happened, and she has worked bravely and unstintingly to expose it. This is what journalism is for.

[licorice-and-rum]

please write your rant about male domestic abuse victims

Okay, I'll do this but fair warning, I might include some kind of parallels to the Depp vs Heard trial(s) because my mind functions better if I have some kind of real-life or fictional literature to support me through the development of my thoughts, so if you believe Amber Heard for some reason, you might not like what I have to say. Also, please if you're gonna comment, be gentle and polite, I'm always open to new (well-based) points of view and I promise I'm open to an honest conversation with anyone who is kind <3

Observation: I will use Domestic Violence (DV) as a broad term throughout this but know that I refer mostly to Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) here. The difference between the two is that DV can happen between members of the same nuclear family (between brothers, partners, or child and parents) while IPV happens only between romantic partners.

The reason I don't use DV especially is because abuse against boys (by parents, sisters, etc.) also falls under this category and then it's a whole other discussion about the socialization of children and teenagers, the social minority they represent and how that's a whole new discussion (that I'd be happy to extend in another post actually if there are any other people interested).

To begin with, we have to understand some things: we don't have exact data about male victims of domestic abuse, not only because it's severely under-reported but also because many reports are not even filed because the lines for escaping domestic violence (police, shelters, phone lines, etcetera.) attend only women and girls, or demonstrate a clear bias towards those victims. Plus, as it happens with women as well, abuse doesn't present just physically, but also emotionally and psychologically.

However, just to give you all an idea, in the UK, for example, it's estimated that almost 20% of domestic violence reports were from men in the last two years (2022-23), according to ManKind Initiative. In the US, according to The Tech Report, almost 45% of men believe they were victims of abusive relationships in their lives. In Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 38% of victims of violence in the country were men, 64% being DV-related.

Now, there is a reason for this, and this is called patriarchy. Patriarchy is the concept of one of the pillars of how our society is built, and it means the subjugation of one binary gender (female) by another binary gender (male) - although this definition is more for this essay's purpose than accurate for an academic study for example. It's important to note that gender violence presents itself against women institutionally (through proper institutions, such as the legal system, for example, or a company's hierarchy) and structurally (it's in the roots of our society culturally and thus, infecting everything else).

According to The Patriarchs, journalist Angela Saini's latest book, the Patriarchy is something tricky to explore even for our earlier academics, such as Engels, for example, because it presents itself in many different ways. For example, it changes its characterization according to culture, environmental needs, History, and other factors. Still, the important thing is that it has various different aspects in the areas it's present.

What I want to explore goes a little bit further: I want to understand how the oppression of women affects men because, unlike many other kinds of oppression, gender-related violence affects their enforcers (men) as well as their victims (women). Now, I am not saying this violence is equal to each other: violence against women permeates our societies' very core, it's ingrained in our institutions, in our culture. But on an interpersonal level, gender violence affects men and women both.

Men are pressured into "being a man" (a white person doesn't have to prove they're white in the same sense or with the same intensity as a man has to prove his man-ness), they're molded to become people in disconnection to their own emotions, they're encouraged to be violent or at least not to be "emotional", to the point of not even noticing when they're suffering some kind of violence or from a mental disorder, for example.

This plays a significant role in how we view abuse when perpetrated by women against men but it's not all we need to observe when talking about male DV victims.

Another matter I'd like to point out is the way we view feminine violence: in the Introduction of her best-seller, Lady Killers, Tori Telfer talks about how violence committed by women is often put under one of three categories: the mysticism, the sexualization, or the banalization. That is, socially, we have a habit of thinking about violence perpetrated by women as either mythological, sexy, or just plain silly, and therefore dumb and/or laughable.

Telfer's examples throughout the book are great and I recommend the book for more insight, but to me, three cases stick out to follow as examples:

How the first woman serial killer we have Historical records of, Elizabeth Ridgeway, was killed for being a witch (mysticism);

How Nannie Doss, an old lady who fit all the 50s housewife stereotypes and killed men with poison in her cakes, had her intelligence belittled by people trying to paint her as insane despite many psychiatrical reports of her being exceptionally clever, how she was labeled by the media as "Arsenic Nannie" (banalization)

And finally, how women who perpetrate violence are often sexualized, such as Raya and Sakina, from the beginning of 20th-century Egypt, who were tied closely to the criminal underworld of their neighborhood and who actually developed a method of killing four people with little blood and avoiding messes; or Lizzie Halliday, who was labeled "the worst woman on earth" with clear implications of her ugliness; or at last, Erzsébet Báthory, known more popularly as Countess Dracula despite having been a lot crueler than the name leads you to believe; they were all sexualized one way or another, their crimes fitting their appearances rather than their acts.

What I mean to point out by that is that feminine violence is something we as a society have a tendency to downplay to a dangerous level. Part of that is a result of downplaying violence as a whole, doesn't matter the perpetrator, but a big part of it is because we see violence as a men's trait. Culturally, violence is a characteristic we attribute to men while women are "even-tempered", motherly, nurturing, and delicate.

Those are the traits of femininity. Violence is not something we easily attribute to women, while men can be only violent, domineering, "warriors".

Now, intimate partner violence (IPV) against males and perpetrated by women is significantly overlooked and under-researched. Hell, there was a real and huge doubt whether men could be r*ped at the beginning of the 2000s, and even now there are people who still don't see how men can be sexually abused.

What we do know about IPV is that, according to this article, women and men have roughly the same rate of occurrences of physical abuse against their partners, and in most of the non-reciprocal violent relationships, women were mostly the perpetrators, although it is true that the more violent abuse occurrences are mostly perpetrated by men:

"Archer Reference Archer5 attempted to resolve two competing hypotheses about partner violence, either that it involves a considerable degree of mutual combat or that it generally involves male perpetrators and female victims. His meta-analysis of 82 studies of gender differences in physical aggression between heterosexual partners showed that men were more likely to inflict an injury; 62% of those injured by a partner were women, but men still accounted for a substantial minority of those injured. However, women were slightly more likely than men to use one or more act of physical aggression and to use such acts more frequently. Younger aged couples showed more female-perpetrated aggression."

Again, that's not to say that violence committed against women in our patriarchal society is in any way equivalent to what men suffer as victims of IPV because that's not true. Violence against women is in every corner of our culture, it's in the roots of our society, and violence against men is not as institutional or structural as acts of violence perpetrated against men.

But I have to criticize how we view (or maybe it's best to say how little we view, or even consider) male victims of DV when we're talking about the matter because not only we are then perpetrating patriarchal beliefs that continue to harm us, we're also portraying women as being inherently and perpetually victims of violence, always in a place of perceived inferiority (although I need to point out there is nothing inferior about suffering violence) while men fall under the category of always the perpetrators of that violence.

That's undeniably harmful because it generates a dangerous generalization in individual cases, such as Johnny Depp, for example. Many of the people I saw defending Heard seemed to not comprehend that only because Johnny Depp was in a place of societal power in relation to AH (because he was, as an older, richer man) that wasn't enough of a reason to believe he was guilty of what she accused him of. Just because generally we might rightly point out a systemic oppression of women by men, it doesn't mean that we should apply those principles to individual cases, especially when we don't have access to concrete evidence and in high-profile cases such as Depp v Heard.

Now, after all of that, I need to point out a personal opinion of mine and bear in mind I don't have anything to base myself here so feel free to criticize it if you disagree (just remember to be nice, please): all of these facts make me ask myself how many of those cases of IPV were labeled as "mutual" (because there's actually a pretty fierce discussion on the matter of whether or not mutual abuse exists from what I could find, and mostly of academic research seem to understand that mutual abuse does exist) are actually mutual and not - in case of heterosexual relationships - emotional manipulation on the perpetrator's side.

And that leads me to ask myself how many of the false reports made by women against their male partners (which are the minority of reported DV cases, let's be clear here) were labeled as mutual because the men "fought back"? How many men who were victims of emotional manipulation didn't stay in those relationships or settle cases because of the threat of their female partners reporting them back from abuse as well?

And amongst those people, how many men did actually something that could be considered violent against their partner (talking now about emotional and psychological abuse, excluding the physical aspect for now) in an act of self-defense or instinctual nastiness as a defense mechanism against something that hurt them?

Having been a reactive victim in an emotionally abusive relationship myself, I can say with some ease that I said things that I know for sure truly hurt my abuser, I know I said things in the last days of our relationship that I would never say to other people if I wasn't so defensive right out the beginning of our latest interactions. But I refuse to fall into the trap of believing myself to be an equally abusive part of that relationship because I also know I did the work to try and better our relationship, I know because my other relationships are healthy and close and emotionally vulnerable and the whole circus.

So what I do have to ask myself is that in those IPV cases in heterosexual relationships where our first reaction is to classify them as mutual abuse or something like that... what do we expect from our male victims of IPV? What does the perfect male victim of IPV look like? Is it reasonable for us to expect men not to defend themselves at all because they're generally stronger than women?

Of course, I'm not advocating here that any kind of violence against your partner is okay because they're abusing you to any gender - self-defense has explicit rules to be applied for that exact reason. I'm simply pointing out that maybe we're diving into dangerous territory, or being overly zealous, considering mutual abuse at the maximum, or not believing men at all on the other side of the spectrum, when we're presented with a heterosexual case of IPV where the female was clearly or almost undoubtedly violent throughout the relationship.

That's the many reasons I can think to question people when they are presented with a case of DV of a woman committing abuse against their male partner. Because as much as women are socially oppressed, our biases in regard to gender affect our views of both men and women and can be really dangerous when generally applied to individual cases.

So yeah, I'm not thrilled with our critical skills when it comes to male victims of abuse, loves.

Not at all.

(if you're gonna answer, remember to be nice!)

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Rachel Cooke

Published: Feb 19. 2023

Hannah Barnes’s book about the rise and calamitous fall of the Gender Identity Development Service for children (Gids), a nationally commissioned unit at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in north London, is the result of intensive work, carried out across several years. A journalist at the BBC’s Newsnight, Barnes has based her account on more than 100 hours of interviews with Gids’ clinicians, former patients, and other experts, many of whom are quoted by name. It comes with 59 pages of notes, plentiful well-scrutinised statistics, and it is scrupulous and fair-minded. Several of her interviewees say they are happy either with the treatment they received at Gids, or with its practices – and she, in turn, is content to let them speak.

Such a book cannot easily be dismissed. To do so, a person would not only have to be wilfully ignorant, they would also – to use the popular language of the day – need to be appallingly unkind. This is the story of the hurt caused to potentially hundreds of children since 2011, and perhaps before that. To shrug in the face of that story – to refuse to listen to the young transgender people whose treatment caused, among other things, severe depression, sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis and stunted growth, and whose many other problems were simply ignored – requires a callousness that would be far beyond my imagination were it not for the fact that, thanks to social media, I already know such stony-heartedness to be out there.

Gids, which opened in 1989, was established to provide talking therapies to young people who were questioning their gender identity (the Tavistock, under the aegis of which it operated from 1994, is a mental health trust). But the trigger for Barnes’s interest in the unit has its beginnings in 2005, when concerns were first raised by staff over the growing number of patient referrals to endocrinologists who would prescribe hormone blockers designed to delay puberty. Such medication was recommended only in the case of children aged 16 or over. By 2011, however, Barnes contends, it appeared to be the clinic’s raison d’etre. In that year, a child of 12 was on blockers. By 2016, a 10-year-old was taking them.

Clinicians at Gids insisted the effects of these drugs were reversible; that taking them would reduce the distress experienced by gender dysphoric children; and that there was no causality between starting hormone blockers and going on to take cross-sex hormones (the latter are taken by adults who want fully to transition). Unfortunately, none of these things were true. Such drugs do have severe side effects, and while the causality between blockers and cross-sex hormones cannot be proven – all the studies into them have been designed without a control group – 98% of children who take the first go on to take the latter. Most seriously of all, as Gids’ own research suggested, they do not appear to lead to any improvement in children’s psychological wellbeing.

So why did they continue to be prescribed? As referrals to Gids grew rapidly – in 2009, it had 97; by 2020, this figure was 2,500 – so did pressure on the service. Barnes found that the clinic – which employed an unusually high number of junior staff, to whom it offered no real training – no longer had much time for the psychological work (the talking therapies) of old. But something else was happening, too. Trans charities such as Mermaids were closely – too closely – involved with Gids. Such organisations vociferously encouraged the swift prescription of drugs. This now began to happen, on occasion, after only two consultations. Once a child was on blockers, they were rarely offered follow-up appointments. Gids did not keep in touch with its patients in the long term, or keep reliable data on outcomes.

A lot of this is already known, thanks largely to a number of whistleblowers. Last February, the paediatrician Dr Hilary Cass, commissioned by the NHS, issued a highly critical interim report into the service; in July, it was announced that Gids would close in 2023. But a lot of what Barnes tells us in Time to Think is far more disturbing than anything I’ve read before. Again and again, we watch as a child’s background, however disordered, and her mental health, however fragile, are ignored by teams now interested only in gender.

The statistics are horrifying. Less than 2% of children in the UK have an autism spectrum disorder; at Gids, more than a third of referrals presented with autistic traits. Clinicians also saw high numbers of children who had been sexually abused. But for the reader, it is the stories that Barnes recounts of individuals that speak loudest. The mother of one boy whose OCD was so severe he would leave his bedroom only to shower (he did this five times a day) suspected that his notions about gender had little to do with his distress. However, from the moment he was referred to the Tavistock, he was treated as if he were female and promised an endocrinology appointment. Her son, having finally rejected the treatment he was offered by Gids, now lives as a gay man.

As Barnes makes perfectly clear, this isn’t a culture war story. This is a medical scandal, the full consequences of which may only be understood in many years’ time. Among her interviewees is Dr Paul Moran, a consultant psychiatrist who now works in Ireland. A long career in gender medicine has taught Moran that, for some adults, transition can be a “fantastic thing”. Yet in 2019, he called for Gids’ assessments of Irish children (the country does not have its own clinic for young people) to be immediately terminated, so convinced was he that its processes were “unsafe”. The be-kind brigade might also like to consider the role money played in the rise of Gids. By 2020-21, the clinic accounted for a quarter of the trust’s income.

But this isn’t to say that ideology wasn’t also in the air. Another of Barnes’s interviewees is Dr Kirsty Entwistle, an experienced clinical psychologist. When she got a job at Gids’ Leeds outpost, she told her new colleagues she didn’t have a gender identity. “I’m just female,” she said. This, she was informed, was transphobic. Barnes is rightly reluctant to ascribe the Gids culture primarily to ideology, but nevertheless, many of the clinicians she interviewed used the same word to describe it: mad.

And who can blame them? After more than 370 pages, I began to feel half mad myself. At times, the world Barnes describes, with its genitalia fashioned from colons and its fierce culture of omertà, feels like some dystopian novel. But it isn’t, of course. It really happened, and she has worked bravely and unstintingly to expose it. This is what journalism is for.

==

When even the Guardian stops pretending it isn't real.

[rune-echos]

Having Undiagnosed Autism

There are many definitions of autism, and for me, it has always manifested as a difficulty in understanding the world in the same way others do. This is not an official description of autism, but it reflects my personal experience. Although I haven't been officially diagnosed, my therapist believes it's very likely, and the symptoms resonate with me. The more I learn about autism, the more I recognize these patterns in my life, seeing them not as results of immaturity but as aspects of autism. One of the most significant signs for me is stimming; I find myself constantly engaging in this behavior, whether it's with my fingers, heels, arms, or tongue, to increase sensory input or provide a sense of calm. As I write this, I am stimming and rocking back and forth, which brings me comfort.

During my childhood, autism wasn't commonly tested for. Being born in 1979, I grew up in a time when the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Third Edition (DSM-III) didn't have a clear category for autism as we understand it today. The 1980s saw the introduction of "infantile autism" as a category, differing from the previous DSM-II, which still included criteria for childhood schizophrenia. It's important to note the significant gaps in understanding autism during that era. Some might think that my family or my education failed to provide the support I needed, but the reality is that the awareness and resources simply weren't available. Born in 1979, by 1984, I was just a five-year-old in a world that had yet to fully recognize autism.

As a high school math teacher, I've seen how educational policies have evolved. The legislation that came into effect in the 1990s, specifically the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), significantly improved support for children with autism. However, by the time these changes were implemented, I was already 11 years old and past the early detection stage. Despite the advancements, I was never tested for autism, and it was a similar case for many of my peers. We share experiences of navigating school and life with undiagnosed ADHD or ASD, relying on our parents and communities to do their best in a world that often left us feeling overlooked.

For some context, I was raised in an upper-middle-class family, though financial difficulties around the dot-com crash adjusted our status to more of a lower-middle-class by the time I finished high school in 1997. Despite these challenges, my upbringing was far from harsh. I was never subjected to abuse, always felt loved by my parents, and never lacked for necessities like food. My mother, in particular, was incredibly patient, attentively listening to my endless chatter, an example of her saint-like patience, especially considering she had no resources for handling my unique needs as a child. Being gifted and likely on the autism spectrum presented its own set of challenges, ones we couldn't fully grasp, partly due to the lack of medical insurance in our household. A hurtful remark from my aunt suggested I needed psychological help, which, despite her probable intentions to provoke my mother rather than express genuine concern, highlighted a solitary voice of advocacy for professional intervention in my life.

This background underscores a relatively stable family life, with parents whose marriage remained intact and who continue to be my staunchest supporters well into my adulthood. However, this stability contrasts sharply with my internal experience of drifting through life, often perplexed by the world around me. While I mastered basic social interactions and professional etiquette, deeper understanding eluded me, especially regarding social nuances and forming meaningful friendships. This confusion persisted into adulthood, although I have since developed a more nuanced understanding of people, albeit in a somewhat abstract manner.

Reflecting on this journey, the most poignant aspect for me is not the social confusion but the experience of meltdowns. While I don't recall significant meltdowns from early childhood, and my mother doesn't mention any, the vagaries of memory mean I can't be certain they didn't occur. It's the meltdowns in adulthood, of which I have three vivid memories, that stand out as particularly impactful.

The first incident involved my best friend, Justin, and my mother. To this day, I can't recall what sparked the episode. I do remember feeling incredibly overwhelmed and angry, with an intense urge to throw things or slam my fists, which I resisted due to my upbringing. As the argument, whose subject eludes me, escalated, my anger surged until I stormed off. This may seem like typical teenage behavior, likely amplified by hormones, but reflecting on it as an adult, I recall wondering, especially as I began to calm down, "Why am I so scared?" My body reacted as if I were in mortal danger, an utterly irrational fear that left me confused. I later made amends with Justin and my mother, who graciously accepted my apologies, and I resolved to prevent such outbursts in the future.

The second episode occurred well into adulthood, during an outing with my then-wife, Jeanette, at a county fair. We were about to enter a building for something Jeanette wanted, possibly food, though my memory is unclear. The environment was noisy, which I found distressing, not yet understanding my aversion to crowds and loud sounds. The meltdown happened when I was tasked with purchasing something from a vendor, faced with a long queue and a high-stress situation. When the vendor refused my request, knowing I had to disappoint Jeanette, my stress escalated into a full-blown meltdown. I yelled at the vendor, embarrassing both Jeanette and myself, and expressed things I would never consider doing. Jeanette's prolonged anger towards me added to my own self-reproach and shame. I unfairly blamed her, perceiving her expectations as inflexible, when in reality, I was overwhelmed by sensory overload and perceived failure in not fulfilling the task. This incident, which Jeanette attributed to anger management issues, led me to introspect about controlling my behavior, though it also left me with a deep sense of shame related to my suspected autism.

The third meltdown occurred when I was alone, during my studies to become a teacher. After failing a state teaching exam, I had to retake it, which was a significant financial burden. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the test was administered online, which clashed with my dual-monitor setup, a detail I was unaware would be an issue. When the testing company refused to refund my fee, blaming the failure on my technical setup, my frustration boiled over. I ended my call with a forceful slam of my phone, a reaction that alarmed even my dog. Reflecting on this, I recall feeling as though I was facing an existential threat, a sensation that bewilderingly subsided as I regained emotional composure, leaving me questioning the rationale behind my actions.

These instances underscore a recurring theme: the numerous intense arguments between my late ex-wife, Jen, and me, often fueled by my emotional responses rather than logical reasoning. I don't imply that the fault was entirely mine; our marriage was fraught with stress, a topic for another discussion. However, these experiences do reflect a pattern of emotional dysregulation, exacerbated by chronic sleep deprivation. The pressures of work, school, and other unpredictable situations would heighten my anxiety and sense of being overwhelmed, leading to moments where rational thought seemed to shut down. In an attempt to manage what I perceived as an anger issue and preserve my marriage, I adopted the maladaptive strategy of silence, avoiding the expression of my concerns.

Access to effective therapy during those times would have been beneficial, but that's a subject for another time. The coping mechanisms I developed involved withdrawing from others, becoming increasingly introverted and isolated. This withdrawal was driven by my confusion over my inability to "think my way out" of emotional turmoil, a skill I was led to believe I possessed as a gifted child.

It's only in the past five to six years that I've begun to understand my autism not as a flaw but as an intrinsic part of who I am. While my family, including my parents and sister, have always supported me and never made me feel deficient, the realization that I don't interact with the world in conventional ways was a challenge to face on my own. The affirmation from my therapist about the likelihood of me being autistic, accompanied by resources to learn more about autism, was a turning point. However, it was my engagement with Educational Psychology during my university studies that truly illuminated the symptoms of autism in a way that resonated with my experiences.

Currently, my focus is on identifying my triggers to either avoid or manage them effectively. The challenge lies in doing this without feeling or appearing incapable of functioning as an adult. The sense of shame I carry has deep roots, stemming from a childhood and adolescence filled with expectations to navigate life as if my cognitive processes mirrored everyone else's, which they do not.

To encapsulate my experiences, being a Gen X-er has provided me with a unique perspective on school and mental health, distinct from what newer generations might encounter. In my schooling years, "special ed" was reserved for those with significant disabilities, clearly segregated from "normal" classes. This binary classification meant that many of us, unaware of our own neurodivergences like depression or emotional dysregulation, remained undiagnosed and misunderstood. This isn't to suggest our challenges were more severe than those faced by students today, such as the fear of school shootings, but rather to highlight the stark differences in awareness and resources available.

In an era overwhelmed by information and, at times, misinformation, the call to "do your own research" has taken on various connotations, often muddled by conspiracy theories and political polarization. However, when it comes to understanding ourselves and our conditions, the abundance of resources at our disposal can be invaluable. We have the tools to learn about ourselves, beyond waiting for external validations or diagnoses. This autonomy in self-discovery and advocacy is what I believe is crucial. In the information age, it's imperative we harness these resources for personal growth and understanding. This is the message I hope to impart: advocate for yourself, delve into research for your own well-being, and make the most of the information age.

[ntaylor1208]

Literacy Post #6

Nov 13th, 2022

Word Study Instruction in the K–2 Classroom

Big Takeaway: Word study is a great practice to implement into the classrooms that just doesn't practice memorization, but rather it is a teacher-directed and student-centered approach to literacy that can help children develop their literacy long term.

Nugget: I enjoyed that the article included the proper steps of how this practice should be implemented into this classroom. This is a good way for the teacher to see themselves if this practice is good for their own classroom.

Vocabulary Practices in Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Classrooms

Big Takeaway: We need to fine tune the instructional strategies schools have been using for many years, because vocabulary is always changing and some practices are more effective than others are.

Nugget: The statistic that only 20-40% of read aloud interventions have yielded results with learning target words is crazy to me! This means that children learn a lot more vocabulary at home rather than in school.

Choose an excerpt from your assigned course reading(s) and share with a friend in another major to get his or her insight and perspective on it.

I decided to talk to my sister, who is a psychology and environmental studies major about the statistic that only 20-40% of the words students learn are at school, so we need to change the way we teach vocabulary to students. However, she has a different approach to why that statistic is true. "Kids always are seeing their parents/whoever is their caretaker everyday, so they are going to learn most of their vocabulary from them. Teachers can try to teach them many words, but they will only pick up what is in their man surroundings." I think this actually is a cool perspective, and we did learn about it a little bit in child development and educational psychology. This relates to something called "Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory", and family would be considered the individuals "microsystem", and teachers would be in the "mesosystem", because the relationship between the teacher and the parents can also affect how the child can learn in school and at home. "Relationships between the micro and meso system are SO IMPORTANT for a child, especially for parents and a teacher. Students learning only 20-40% of their vocabulary at school must majorly depend of that as well as the techniques you're teaching them in the school."

[pekkhum]

TW: Transphobia, Suicide

John Money also, accidentally, provided the only evidence that we have (because a proper experiment would be horrifically unethical [despite Dr Cass recommending forcing every trans child in the UK into such an experiment], just like Money's actions) that you can't "turn a kid trans." David Reimer was given hormones and operations to appear and develop as a girl and not told about his initial birth as a boy. Can you guess what happened?... Anyone?

The poor boy exhibited symptoms of gender dysphoria, with him reporting that he always felt he should have been a boy to his father by age 14. He had to undergo transition at this point, just like any trans man, except that he wouldn't have needed to without the prior medical intervention.

Given that doctors at the time still were not sure if gender is learned or innate, you might wonder why I called this experiment unethical: the psychologist who oversaw this not only didn't tell the parents that theory of learned gender was unproven, but he allowed his desire for the theory to be proven correct to impact his handling of the case and ultimately went on to lie about the results.

David's identical twin brother did not undergo any of this and at no point expressed symptoms of gender dysphoria (though there are cases of this differing between identical twins). In case you think this spared the brother from harm, you can go read about Money having the children rehearse sexual acts at age 6 on each other under his supervision, with the hope that such acts would allow the reinforcement of the learned gender. If you are interested in what other horrifying things are done to children to force them into a certain gender, look up what kind of processes are used in conversion therapy. Reading accounts from survivors (most deaths are by suicide) is preferable, if you are worried about biased researchers, but most reputable research has concluded that it results in PTSD, depression, and suicidal tendencies, much like other psychological torture practices. David made it two years past his brother's death, by overdose of antidepressants, before he finally died by suicide.

David is just one experimental data point, but in this case it seems that trying to "trans" a cis kid will result in the same symptoms as forcing a trans kid to be cis. A proper double blind study would be needed to fully confirm, but it would be ethically inappropriate to forcibly transition or to forcibly enroll children in what has been proven to torture and kill them (conversion therapy), so we settle for statistical population studies that show us better mental health and reduced negative outcomes (suicide, depression, drug addiction, homelessness, anxiety, etc.) from gender confirmation (social and/or medical transition).

It is almost as if a lot of thought and research, as well as trying MANY forms of conversion therapy on generations of trans kids and watching them kill themselves went into the decision of nearly the entire medical and psychological community to reject conversion therapy. It is almost like the new "medical organizations" founded to write papers that claim the opposite (and are generally neither peer reviewed nor published in reputable journals) are created for some purpose OTHER than sharing factual information.

And ALL of that is just within binary sex and gender thinking and before you consider parents and doctors "choosing" the sex of intersex infants, without even letting them grow old enough to understand the question or share their opinion, or non-binary folk, just existing.

To disclose my own bias: this environment of information hiding and outright lying lead me to 37 years of pain and confusion. It took many years for the facts about myself and medical research to convince me to stop hating trans people and accept the parts of my self that these liars taught me to hate. These lies that they are pushing, just to justify their own confusion over someone being different from themselves, are hurting and killing people (including the harm that they did to me) and I want kids to stop dying because a group of adults can't grow up and accept that the way they feel doesn't match the facts.

[agentroz]

The Variable of Love | February Task

How did your muse’s parents meet? Was it a blind date? The shadowy corner of a bar? An elaborate arrangement by the fae king? Write a oneshot that tells the story (800 words)

Featuring: Richard Peterson, Joan (Baxter) Peterson

Warnings: vague reference to birth complications and to ~secret agent typical violence~

Private Log, Agent 100 (Confidential, Top Secret)

The Rescue Aid Society is aware of the statistical probability of agents developing feelings of romantic and/or sexual desire for one another and has accounted for these scenarios. In fact, we are often able to predict this turn of events before even the relevant agents are aware of their own feelings, which gives us a crucial advantage. Psychologically speaking, moments of high stress and prolonged proximity frequently lead individuals to forming a variety of bonds with one another, platonic or not. We must monitor these scenarios carefully.

 After all, love is a complex and fickle thing. It can inspire irrationality and carelessness in otherwise well-rounded agents, and we cannot afford to leave any variable to chance.

~~

Joan Baxter was a striking woman, towering above her colleagues in high heels with a jawline that could cut glass. So could her stare, people said. And while she consistently produced top-tier work, subtlety was her only weakness, which was not entirely her fault. A tall, striking woman with piercing blue eyes, traveling alone and using her own money certainly attracted attention in that era. The decision was made to assign her a cover husband.

“I’ve never had any trouble on my own, you know I am very capable of defending myself,” Baxter argued, but there was no arguing with HQ. After all, everyone already knew this, including Baxter herself. It was the right choice, to give her a husband to help her to camouflage. And yet, she resented this notion, that a woman should need a man around to be seen as “normal.”

Still, she followed the mission instructions like any other.

They held an inconspicuous ceremony at a small church, where photos were taken for evidence and rings with hidden compartments exchanged. Evans met her mission companion— sorry, husband— right there at the altar, a small and nervous HQ drone with small eyes and small glasses.

Till death do us part, Baxter thought, as they stepped outside into a cloud of rice raining down on them.

They nearly did part, many times. Baxter’s fault more often than Peterson’s. Once, to Peterson’s panic, she dove headfirst from a cliff into the dark and murky water below, pursuing a target. He had no choice but to follow after, lest they be separated. Another time, Baxter tailed a dangerous poacher for three days, abandoning HQ’s instructions to follow one of his less-competent henchmen. She escaped missing one of her signature high heels but with her life.

There was the time they leapt out of a plane together and Baxter accidentally delayed their parachute deployment a near-deadly several seconds by making terrible puns the whole way. Peterson refused to speak to her for hours after that, but he couldn’t help thinking that there were worse ways to die than hearing the most beautiful voice you’ve ever heard (which just so happened to belong to your wife) say that “The hardest part about skydiving is the ground.” 

There was the time Rosalind was born. That turned out to be far riskier than anyone, even the doctors, had anticipated. 

One night, exhausted from another 3 AM feeding wake-up call, Baxter returned to bed and crawled into Peterson’s arms, exhausted. She had never done that before, not even the evening that Rosalind was conceived (that was a businesslike affair, Baxter proposing a child may be necessary to their cover and Peterson agreeing enthusiastically (but not too enthusiastically, they were keeping things professional, obviously)). Peterson blinked at his wife in disbelief, who looked so much smaller in her slippers and her robe, softer with her hair in foam rollers. He had long suspected that she intentionally went to sleep after him, to avoid being seen in this way.

“This is so hard,” she whispered, in a 3 AM voice that Peterson had never heard before.

“Harder than Petersburg?” he whispered back, hoping that a reminder of one of her most harrowing missions might cheer her up. 

“Yes,” Baxter replied, though in the moonlight, he could see the hint of a smile tugging at her lips. 

It tugged at something in his heart, too. Something that terrified him, because he was always certain that he felt it when she didn’t, and the last thing he wanted to do was compromise professionalism.

“Harder than… Auckland?” He couldn’t help smiling anyway, almost teasingly.

“Yes.”

“Blimey… harder than Istanbul?”

Now she laughed, nestling her head against his chest. “Yes.”

“You’re telling me that our two-week-old daughter is more difficult to deal with than a chimera,” Peterson replied, letting out his own rare laugh of disbelief. “This, I’ve got to see.”

“You will,” she promised. “Then stay up with me.”

“Alright,” he agreed. “I will.”

And so it was not the rainstorm of bullets in Petersburg or the helicopter ambush in Auckland or the chimera attack in Istanbul that made Joan Baxter realize that she loved Richard Peterson, that she had loved him ever since she’d slid that secret ring onto his finger in the chapel that day (but had pushed that terrifying thought deep, deep down). It was midnight and moonlight and a promise, and then a kiss, and then another—

And then a wailing child, again.

“I’ll go get her,” Richard offered. “Our little chimera.”

~~

Private Log, Agent 100 (Confidential, Top Secret)

Love is a complex and fickle thing. It is also a powerful thing, inspiring truly remarkable acts of courage and moments of resilience in RAS agents for decades. Sometimes, this is a love of cause, a love of mission. Other times, it is something more private, shared between a squad of friends or a pair of lovers. I do not know for certain under which category the relationship between agent 401 and agent 402 falls. We must continue to monitor. But if I may make a recommendation that allows this relation to flourish, that will benefit the team in other ways, I see no reason not to.

Contrary to what some may assume, I do believe in the importance of love. It inspires me to protect my family and honor my parents. It gives me hope in this broken world. It is a liability, yes, but also an asset.

I shall make my recommendation to HQ.

[georgiafitzsimons]

JOYBRINGER - RESEARCH - STATS - LO1

My goal is to look into articles, charities, government statistics and blogs to see how nature affects everyone and everything.

Why it's important that we value nature | WWF

Appreciating nature - The Journey to 2030

Is nature underapprecaited?

Statistics on nature?

Benefits of being around nature?

The Role of Interaction with Nature in Childhood Development: An Under-Appreciated Ecosystem Service - PMC (nih.gov)

'Some individuals believe these ecosystem services are free; and therefore, have no value.'

'Environmental psychological theory suggests that contact with nature is important because it promotes a child’s creativity and imagination, intellectual and cognitive development and boosts social relationships (Heerwagen and Orians 2002, Kellert 2002, 2005).'

'Children’s general access to nature appears to be diminishing (Kahn 2002, Kellert 2002). Not only has the quantity of natural environments for children to utilize been reduced, but some parents seem to be limiting their children’s access to natural environments for fear of accident or violence (Spencer and Wooley 2000, Louv 2008).'

Affects of nature during covid

The People and Nature Survey for England: Children’s survey (Experimental Statistics) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The People and Nature Survey for England: Monthly interim indicators for August 2020 (Experimental Statistics) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The People and Nature Survey for England: Monthly indicators for July 2021 (Official Statistics) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Environmental Disconnect

The Environment/Society Disconnect: An Overview of a Concept Tetrad of Environment: The Journal of Environmental Education: Vol 41, No 2 (tandfonline.com)

Decline in Outdoor Activities

Nature Deficit Disorder

Urbanization and Nature Appreciation

Attention restoration theory

Full article: Attention Restoration Theory: A systematic review of the attention restoration potential of exposure to natural environments (tandfonline.com)

[representingot-neha]

The domino effect of maternal health, child care and the community, can we prevent this collapse?

Why do we refer to or assume the man as the head of the household when obtaining collateral information from patients, or in topic of conversation in general? Why is the question, “And is baby’s dad helping out with the money, the clothes the shopping?” such a set predominantly asked one? This stereotype is central mostly to the man himself, as in reality 29.8% of households are women headed, with 43.1% of children in South Africa living only with their mothers. It is because of this, communities need to come together and recognize the importance of a mother and the effect that their presentation has on the children of today. (Statistics South Africa, 2019)

Women are entering roles of a mother at an earlier age as we move through generations, which is why in my opinion, generational trends need to be broken to shelter our women from harsh circumstances, and equip them with the strength to nourish and nurture the youth of today.

According to Rose M (2016), poverty, malnutrition and neglect are of the biggest factors that contribute to maternal ill health and neonatal mortality. This is seen in the Cato Crest community area where mothers are single and unemployed taking care of 2 children, struggling to come up with ways to feed them due to scarce high-in-protein meals, and substituting this with inadequate meals, high in fat, sugar and oils. Women have expressed the reason behind this approach to nutrition is the ease in accessibility and the familiarity or association to their childhood and how they preferred to eat growing up. From the physical and mental exhaustion mothers are experiencing with workload and shame from the community, a quick ready to eat fixed meal is the preferred solution, as preparing warm cooked meals is not how women perceive their role or agency as a mother.

This speaks to the transition in gender norms felt by our young mothers in the community from the grandmothers who till today play a big role in care of the child and overseeing nutritional food being cooked for the children. Grandmothers are found to feel a sense of role fulfillment from feeding their families with traditionally cooked meals, unlike the young mothers of today, and although this help is usually welcome from mothers, it does also come with feelings of a change in role provision and disempowerment for them when they are attempting to move away from traditional standards to cope with other burning responsibilities they may have, but are being shamed for this change in provision of care for their child. (Erzse et al., 2021)

This is a huge risk factor in the topic as stigmas and perceptions of the mothers in the community can lead to a lot of shame and guilt, which can stem to maternal depression. This is one of the leading causes of child maltreatment which has socio-economic effects on the youth due to poor academic performance and changes in behavioral patterns associated with this. In worse scenarios, which sadly can be assumed in our despaired communities, maternal depression may lead to physical and psychological abuse or trauma inflicted onto the child. This just speaks on one aspect of a factor that affects maternal and child health, amongst others such as gender-based violence, socio-economic barriers.

Maternal depression can be a risk factor for pathology in children due to the effect it can have on brain and cognitive development. Research has shown maternal mental health issues directly have a declination effect on children’s academic abilities in foundation stages of reading and arithmetic function. These poor cognitive abilities along with lack of emotional connection have a domino effect on mental health of the child, which sets them up for unhealthy coping mechanisms and a decline in language and social skills, readiness for school and overall health of the child.  This being the developmental and scholastic delay in the schools in Cato Crest community observed may be an attributed hypothesis to inadequate child care being provided at home due to the load mothers are carrying.

This will have a paradigm effect on children as they would have solid interpersonal relationships through a strong mother figure who sees to their medical and developmental requirements as they grow up in comparison to the already existing lack of emotional attachment seen between mother and child.  Mothers are seen interacting less with their children and showing less sense of nurturing and affection in the community of Cato Crest generally. As they are dealing with the overbearing feelings of depression, they may miss gaps in development and wellbeing of their children.

Ensuring service provision to promote maternal health care such as health promotion campaigns on pregnancy, nutrition and management at accessible campaigns such as immunizations, regular check up intervals with doctor and wellness groups, will help women will feel more equipped to face the realities of a mother in the community. Carryover can be through continuation of wellness groups and support groups with mothers in the community to promote mental health and occupational balance for a sense of self-efficacy and enjoyment in their role of being a mother. (Tome et al., 2020)

Screening tools such as the Self-Reporting Questionnaire, the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale, the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, are widely available and accessible for use at a general informal level. (Kebogile Mokwena, 2021) These are all quick and easy to administer tools which can largely point to whether maternal depression is a concern or not. With initiative and political will, screening is to be carried out to gauge the level of how large the problem is in a particular community, such as it is being done in the Cato Crest community setting of the hall and at the Cato Manor clinic carried out by the students. This provides us with the opportunity to screen for potential OT relevant clients, prevent maternal burnout by providing coping strategies and also reducing stigma on maternal health trends.

Inadequacies and social injustice come through in the failure to carry out this screening at primary health care level, failure to recognize and intervene in maternal mental health care and general maternal health results in a long-term effect that impact the relationships between mothers and children, and the future of the children themselves, preventing their growth, success and thriving in the community as they go through their developmental process. Since mothers are leading our houses and our future in the community by nurturing these children, it is absolutely essential that social support is provided where needed with regards to education, coping and loving their child.

ZUNG SELF-RATING DEPRESSION SCALE- https://sadag.org/images/stories/zungselfrateddepressionscale.pdf

Erzse, A., Goldstein, S., Aviva Tugendhaft, Norris, S. A., Barker, M., & Hofman, K. (2021). The roles of men and women in maternal and child nutrition in urban South Africa: A qualitative secondary analysis. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13161

Tome, J., Mduduzi Mbuya, Makasi, R., Ntozini, R., Prendergast, A. J., Dickin, K., Pelto Gh, Constas, M. A., Moulton, L. H., Stoltzfus, R. J., Humphrey, J. H., & Matare, C. R. (2020). Maternal caregiving capabilities are associated with child linear growth in rural Zimbabwe. Maternal and Child Nutrition, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13122

Statistics South Africa. (2019). National Poverty Lines 2019. Pretoria. http://www.statssa.gov.za/publications/P03101/P031012019.pdf

Kebogile Mokwena. (2021). Neglecting Maternal Depression Compromises Child Health and Development Outcomes, and Violates Children’s Rights in South Africa. Children (Basel), 8(7), 609–609. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8070609

Rose M., Mmusi-Phetoe. (2016). Social factors determining maternal and neonatal mortality in South Africa: A qualitative study. Curationis, 39(1), 8. https://curationis.org.za/index.php/curationis/article/view/1571/1966

[fostering-the-inner-child]

How Trauma Affects Children's Development

Trauma is unfortunately a common experience for many children, whether from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, neglect, natural disasters, or other events beyond their control. Sadly, the effects of trauma can last a lifetime if not addressed properly, affecting their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development in profound ways. As parents, guardians, or foster care parents, it's crucial to recognize the signs of trauma in children and seek professional help if needed. In this blog, we will explore the statistics on how trauma affects children's development, as well as some scriptures that offer hope and healing.

The Physical Impact of Trauma on Children:

The effects of trauma on the body can be severe and long-lasting, even affecting the brain's development. According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, "trauma can lead to changes in the brain's structure and function… creating long-lasting physical and emotional conditions." These conditions may include sleep disturbances, chronic pain, headaches, digestive problems, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Studies indicate that children who experience trauma are at higher risk of developing chronic physical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Scriptures that can relate to this include Psalm 147:3, which says, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

The Cognitive Impact of Trauma on Children:

Trauma can impair children's ability to think, learn, and process information, affecting their academic performance and future prospects. According to the American Psychological Association, "trauma can interfere with cognitive development, intellectual functioning, and academic achievement." Children who experience trauma may have difficulty with attention, memory, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. They may also struggle with executive functioning, such as planning, organizing, and regulating emotions and behaviors. Studies indicate that trauma can reduce the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory and learning. Scriptures that can relate to this include Isaiah 26:3, which says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you."

The Emotional Impact of Trauma on Children:

Trauma can leave lasting emotional scars that affect the way children interact with others and themselves. Children who experience trauma may struggle with trust, self-worth, and relationships. They may feel isolated, lonely, angry, or sad, and have trouble regulating their emotions and expressing their feelings. Children who experience trauma are at higher risk of developing mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder. Studies indicate that trauma can affect the production and regulation of hormones such as cortisol and oxytocin, which play a crucial role in emotional functioning. Scriptures that can relate to this include Psalm 34:18, which says, "The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

The Social Impact of Trauma on Children:

Trauma can also affect children's abilities to form healthy relationships and succeed in social contexts. Children who experience trauma may struggle with social skills such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving. They may also exhibit avoidant or aggressive behaviors, and have difficulty creating and maintaining friendships. Children who experience trauma are at higher risk of dropping out of school, engaging in substance abuse, and becoming involved in the criminal justice system. Studies indicate that trauma can affect the development of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for social cognition and empathy. Scriptures that can relate to this include John 14:27, which says, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Trauma is a significant concern for children's development, and it can have long-lasting effects on their physical, cognitive, emotional, and social well-being. However, it's essential to remember that healing is possible with early intervention, professional help, and a supportive community. As we have seen, there are many scriptures that offer hope and comfort to those who have experienced trauma. As parents, guardians, or foster care parents, it's crucial to recognize the signs of trauma in children and provide a safe and loving environment for them to grow and heal. Let's work together to break the cycle of trauma and create a brighter future for our children.

[soupiyamashuu]

oc majors + minors

elena: Childhood education + English double major

akihito: International Studies + Linguistics double major

dimitri: Biology + Botany double major; history minor

cecil: Game design major; digital/fine arts minor

toby: Architecture major; E. Asian studies + Game design double major (idk how it'd work either)

marina: Business and Accounting major; French minor

carmen: Medieval Studies major; Gender studies minor

nikolai: Fashion Design + General Arts double major; politics/govt minor.

luna: Comparative Literature major; English minor

ha-yun: Media Culture + Communications double major -- considered an astronomy minor

chun: Art History + Visual Arts (photography) double major -- considered an oceanography minor

markus: Forensic Science + International Studies major; Political Science minor

makoto: Pre-Med + Biology double major (godspeed..)

seiji: Religious Studies + Medieval History double major

gianni: International studies major (with a focus on American Studies + History); Exercise science minor

sayuri: Zoology and Anthropology double major; philosophy minor

shizumi: Oceanography + Environmental Science double major

sofie: Environmental Science + Comparative Literature major; European studies minor (for a laff)

bliss: Psychology + Child Development double major; digital art minor

melati: Chemistry major; geography + geology double minor

rin: Biology major; forensic science minor -- interested in 'firearms engineering' as a concept but went with something more normal

mikiko: Botany and Agricultural Studies double major

shin: Pre-med major (with a focus on blood diseases + general pathology)

haruka: Biology + Anthropology double major; religious studies minor -- was interested in history but decided against it

maika: Medieval Studies major; religious studies minor ========================

NUMERICAL/STATISTICAL BREAKDOWNS: --- MAJORS ---

Humanities Majors: Elena, Akihito, Marina (?), Carmen, Nikolai, Luna, Ha-Yun, Chun, Seiji, Gianni, Maika (11/25)

STEM Majors: Dimitri, Cecil, Toby, Makoto, Shizumi, Bliss, Melati, Rin, Mikiko, Shin (10/25)

In both Humanities + STEM (majors): Markus, Sayuri, Sofie, Haruka (4/25) --- MINORS ---

Humanities Minors: Dimitri, Cecil, Marina, Carmen, Nikolai, Luna, Markus, Sayuri, Sofie, Bliss, Rin, Haruka, Maika (13/25)

STEM Minors: Gianni, Melati (2/25)

In both Humanities + STEM (minors): Toby (1/25)

[no minors]: Elena, Akihito, Ha-Yun, Chun, Makoto, Seiji, Shizumi, Mikiko, Shin (9/25) --- MAJOR + MINOR OVERLAP DATA ---

humanities majors + humanities minors: marina, carmen, nikolai, luna, maika (5/25)

humanities majors + STEM minors: gianni (1/25)

humanities majors + no minors: elena, akihito, ha-yun, chun, seiji (5/25) ~~~

STEM majors + STEM minors: melati (1/25)

STEM majors + humanities minors: dimitri, cecil, rin (3/25)

STEM majors + no minors: shizumi, mikiko, shin, makoto (4/25)

in both fields (either minor or major): Markus, Sayuri, Sofie, Haruka, Toby, bliss (6/25)

most popular programs/topics amongst my ocs: cultural studies, art, politics, history, and biology --- just for fun data :) ---

ocs with the same/similar programs (majors/minors both taken into account)

= elena + bliss - child education/dev. = akihito, gianni, markus - international studies = dimitri, makoto, rin, haruka - biology = cecil + toby - game design = carmen, seiji, maika - medieval studies = cecil, nikolai, chun, bliss - fine arts or digital arts = akihito, nikolai, markus - politics/govt (Intl studies counts) = elena + luna - english = luna + sofie - comp. lit. = akihito + ha-yun - communications/linguistics (similar IG) = markus + rin - forensic science = makoto + shin - pre-med = seiji, haruka, maika - religious studies = sayuri + haruka - anthropology = shizumi + sofie = environmental science = dimitri, carmen, seiji, maika = history (incl. medieval studies) = akihito, toby, marina, carmen, luna, ha-yun, markus, gianni, sayuri, sofie, melati, haruka, maika - cultural studies (anthropology, religious studies, international studies, MFL, etc...)

ocs with unique majors OR minors: elena, (childhood edu.), akihito (linguistics), toby (architecture AND EAS), marina (business/accounting/french), carmen (GS), nikolai (fashion design), ha-yun (media culture and comm.), chun (art HISTORY), gianni (exercise science), sayuri (zoology, philosophy), shizumi (oceanography), sofie (euro. studies), bliss (psych + child dev.), melati (chem, geography, geol...), mikiko (agr. studies) [15/25]

[tallmantall]

#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth - 10 Things To Know About How #SocialMedia Affects #Teens' Brains

Cory Turner Tracy J. Lee for NPR If you or someone you know may be considering #suicide, contact the #988Suicide&CrisisLifeline by dialing or texting 9-8-8. The statistics are sobering. Nearly 1 in 3 #teen #girls report having seriously considered #suicide in the past year. One in 5 #teens identifying as #LGBTQ+ say they attempted #suicide in that time. Between 2009 and 2019, #depression rates doubled for all #teens. And that was before the #COVID-19 #pandemic. The question is: Why now? "Our brains, our bodies, and our society have been evolving together to shape human development for millennia. ... Within the last 20 years, the advent of portable technology and #socialmedia platforms changing what took 60,000 years to evolve," Mitch Prinstein, the chief science officer at the #AmericanPsychologicalAssociation (#APA), told the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. "We are just beginning to understand how this may impact youth development." #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleFind out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundationwebsite www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com Prinstein's 22-page testimony, along with dozens of useful footnotes, offers some much-needed clarity about the role #socialmedia may play in contributing to this teen #mentalhealthcrisis. For you busy #parents, #caregivers and educators out there, we've distilled it down to 10 useful takeaways: 1. Social interaction is key to every child's growth and development. Humans are social creatures, and we learn through social interaction. In fact, said Prinstein, "numerous studies have revealed that children's interactions with peers have enduring effects on their occupational status, salary, relationship success, emotional development, #mentalhealth, and even on physical health and mortality over 40 years later. These effects are stronger than the effects of children's IQ, socioeconomic status and educational attainment." This helps explain why #socialmedia platforms have grown so big in a relatively short period of time. But is the kind of social interaction they offer healthy? 2. #Socialmedia platforms often traffic in the wrong kind of social interaction. What's the right kind, you ask? According to Prinstein, it's interactions and relationship-building "characterized by support, emotional intimacy, disclosure, positive regard, reliable alliance (e.g., 'having each other's backs') and trust." The problem is, #socialmedia platforms often (though not always) emphasize metrics over the humans behind the "likes" and "followers," which can lead #teens to simply post things about themselves, true or not, that they hope will draw the most attention. And these cycles, Prinstein warned, "create the exact opposite qualities needed for successful and adaptive relationships (i.e., disingenuous, anonymous, depersonalized). In other words, #socialmedia offers the 'empty calories of social interaction,' that appear to help satiate our biological and psychological needs, but do not contain any of the healthy ingredients necessary to reap benefits." In fact, research has found that #socialmedia can actually make some #teens feel lonelier 3. It's not all bad. The APA's chief science officer also made clear that #socialmedia and the study of it are both too young to arrive at many conclusions with absolute certainty. In fact, when used properly, #socialmedia can feed teens' need for social connection in healthy ways. "Research suggests that young people form and maintain friendships online. These relationships often afford opportunities to interact with a more diverse peer group than offline, and the relationships are close and meaningful and provide important support to youth in times of #stress." What's more, Prinstein pointed out, for many marginalized #teens, "digital platforms provide an important space for self-discovery and expression" and can help them forge meaningful relationships that may buffer and protect them from the effects of #stress. 4. #Adolescence is a "developmentally vulnerable period" when #teens crave social rewards, but don't have the ability to restrain themselves. That's because, as #children enter puberty, the areas of the brain "associated with our craving for 'social rewards,' such as visibility, attention and positive feedback from peers" tend to develop well before the bits of the brain "involved in our ability to inhibit our #behavior, and resist temptations," Prinstein said. #Socialmedia platforms that reward #teens with "likes" and new "followers" can trigger and feed that craving. 5. "Likes" can make bad #behavior look good. Hollywood has long grappled with groups of #parents who worry that violent or overly sexualized movies can have a negative effect on #teen #behavior. Well, similar fears about #teens witnessing bad #behavior on #socialmedia might be well-founded. But it's complicated. Check this out: How to talk — and listen — to a #teen with #mentalhealthstruggles "Research examining #adolescents' brains while on a simulated #socialmedia site, for example, revealed that when exposed to illegal, dangerous imagery, activation of the prefrontal cortex was observed suggesting healthy inhibition towards maladaptive #behaviors," Prinstein told lawmakers. So, that's good. The prefrontal cortex helps us make smart (and safe) decisions. Hooray for the prefrontal cortex! Here's the problem. When teens viewed these same illegal and/or dangerous #behaviors on #socialmedia alongside icons suggesting the negative content had been "liked" by others, the part of the brain that keeps us safe stopped working as well, Prinstein said, "suggesting that the 'likes' may reduce youths' inhibition (i.e., perhaps increasing their proclivity) toward dangerous and illegal #behavior." In other words, bad #behavior feels bad — until other people start liking it. 6. #Socialmedia can also make "psychologically disordered #behavior" look good. Prinstein spoke specifically about websites or online accounts that promote disordered-eating #behaviors and nonsuicidal #self-injury, like #self-cutting. "Research indicates that this content has proliferated on #socialmedia sites, not only depicting these #behaviors, but teaching young people how to engage in , how to conceal these #behaviors from #adults, actively encouraging users to engage in these #behaviors, and socially sanctioning those who express a desire for less risky #behavior." 7. Extreme #socialmedia use can look a lot like addiction. "Regions of the brain activated by #socialmedia-use overlap considerably with the regions involved in addictions to illegal and dangerous substances," Prinstein told lawmakers. He cited a litany of research that says excessive #socialmedia use in #teens often manifests some of the same symptoms of more traditional addictions, in part because teen brains just don't have the kind of self-control toolbox that #adults do. 8. The threat of online #bullying is real. Prinstein warned lawmakers that "victimization, harassment, and discrimination against #racial, #ethnic, #gender and #sexualminorities is frequent online and often targeted at young people. #LGBTQ+ #youth experience a heightened level of #bullying, threats and #self-harm on #socialmedia." More LOLs, Fewer Zzzs: Teens May Be Losing #Sleep Over #SocialMedia And online #bullying can take a terrible physical toll, Prinstein said: "Brain scans of #adults and #youths reveal that online harassment activates the same regions of the brain that respond to physical pain and trigger a cascade of reactions that replicate physical assault and create physical and #mentalhealth damage." According to the #CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention, "#youth who report any involvement with #bullying #behavior are more likely to report high levels of #suicide-related #behavior than #youth who do not report any involvement with #bullying #behavior." Earlier this month, a 14-year-old New Jersey #girl took her own life after she was attacked by fellow #students at #school and a video of the assault was posted on #socialmedia. 9. It's hard not to compare yourself to what you see in #socialmedia. Even #adults feel it. We go onto #socialmedia sites and compare ourselves to everyone else out there, from the sunsets in our vacation pics to our waistlines – but especially our waistlines and how we look, or feel we should look, based on who's getting "likes" and who's not. For #teens, the impacts of such comparisons can be amplified. "Psychological science demonstrates that exposure to this online content is associated with lower #self-image and distorted body perceptions among young people. This exposure creates strong risk factors for #eatingdisorders, unhealthy weight-management #behaviors, and #depression," Prinstein testified. 10. #Sleep is more important than those "likes." Research suggests more than half of #adolescents are on screens right before bedtime, and that can keep them from getting the sleep they need. Not only is poor sleep linked to all sorts of downsides, including poor #mentalhealth symptoms, poor performance in #school and trouble regulating #stress, Prinstein said, but "inconsistent sleep schedules are associated with changes in structural brain development in #adolescent years. In other words, youths' preoccupation with technology and #socialmedia may deleteriously affect the size of their brains." Read the full article

[sttoru]

Anya, I hope I'm not being nosy but is it alright if I ask what is your major? I'm having a hard time figuring out what I should take djjdjdkd

emiii! u r not being nosy bb dw! my major is basically a mix of psychology and child studies? we call it smth v specific over here where i live so i don’t really think theres a proper english word for it 😖

but i can explain both since i take a mix of courses that come from the separate majors in one !

i have almost all the courses that psychology majors have so if you have any questions about what they are lmk!

i personally rlly loved my developmental / social psychology class as it was mostly talking about how environmental factors can have huge or minor influences on someone’s chara / how they develop to become a fully grown adult, depending on their personality. super fun to see the stages the brain goes through, why people think the way they think, the influence of society on our behaviour etc! its rlly actual and relevant. also answered a lot of questions i had abt myself >:]

only thing is be aware of the amount of statistics u have to do if u take a psych major…. heard from a friend that actually takes the full psych major that it includes some heavy maths too.. 🧍🏽‍♀️

as for child/childhood studies, its basically what the name says, its a major where you focus on the development of children and what the best way is to take care of the problems children face in their daily life (can range from simple behavioural problems to domestic abuse and serious cases that include deaths from parents etc). u can choose maaany specialisations later on in this study so its rlly broad!! like u can either focus on the forensic stuff, neuroscience, family oriented stuff etc etc

i personally wanna become like a child psychologist or therapist later :3 thats why this combined study is def best for me! if u have any more questions dm me so we can see what your interests are ! 🤍 will def be open to help as i have been through the same stuff as you (was rlly tough choosing majors hsksndk)