"Furry" phenomenon & 72 other genders besides male and female.

As I write this post, the news reports another #school shooting in Nashville, TN. They have just released the details, but for someone to do this, they were probably experiencing a Mental Health crisis. In the aftermath of all this, everyone involved will struggle with many difficult emotions. The President pleads one more time for more people to get involved in helping to solve this problem. There have been 129 mass shootings in 2023. This is a complex problem, an explosive issue, and solutions will be difficult to implement.

Many experts believe that the breakdown of the family is a strong contributing factor in mass shootings. Children today are growing up in a totally different environment from the one that I did 60 years ago. It's estimated that 40% of homes have no dad. Much of the responsibility of caring for children in these homes falls on the mother. 57% of women work and of these 70% have children. What can you do to help the single mothers that you know?

43.5 million women are working as unpaid caregivers. 34.2 million are caring for adults over age 50. 75% of all caretakers are women. How many older adults do you know who are raising their grandchildren?

Children who are abused at home, bullied at school, and feel that they do not fit in are more likely to mistreat others, commit crimes and join gangs. The numbers on abuse are staggering. Child abuse is a difficult problem to tackle. When I was growing up if I misbehaved I was spanked at school. When I got home I was spanked again by my father. I'm not saying that we should bring spanking back but I think some parents today are too busy to know what is happening with their children. For example, besides male and female, today there are 72 other genders plus the "Furry" Phenomenon.

Studies show that 25% to 30% of children experience physical abuse. 70% of assaults occur against children aged 17 years and younger. 33% or 1 in 3 of all girls are sexually abused. 20% or 1 in 5 of all boys are sexually abused. (Some people don't believe this because they can't envision how it could happen. I've had several male clients tell me in great detail how it happened to them). In the USA 80,000 cases of child abuse are reported annually. This should make us all stop and ask, how many go unreported?

There are 700,000 sexual abuses per year or 1 per minute. 100,000 of these are against men. 50% to 85% of women experience sexual harassment at school or work. There are a lot of discussions around this issue and assault victims often experience more abuse when they make a report. Even with all the recent sexual assault cases resulting in the perpetrators being charged and receiving long prison sentences, there are still men who feel that are entitled and continue to force themselves on women. 2/3 of rape victims had a prior relationship with the offender.

Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a Mental Health Expert. I am a certified counselor, not licensed. I have a lifetime of volunteer experience working with various types of MH disorders and addictions. I'm a lifelong learner and continually take classes to improve my knowledge. I'm direct & outspoken, sometimes this makes others uncomfortable. I write based on my experiences and my training. If others disagree, that's okay. My intent is to increase awareness of Mental Health problems and encourage others to think about how they can help.