'Let kids be kids': Army vet who detransitioned urges parents to speak up
"I was the kid that liked to hike, who liked to be in the mud, who was a total tomboy, and I just needed a parent to come alongside me and say like, 'Hey, that's okay.' But now we live in a world where there's no tomboys anymore. We live in a world now where if you like these things, then you're that," the Army veteran told Fox News Digital.
"That's a very scary place to be because children are so vulnerable and we need to protect our children," she continued.
Renick, recognized as the first transgender religious affairs specialist in the U.S. Army, reflected on her experience of being exposed to gender ideology at a young age, now labeling the endeavor as "dangerous."
"We need to take this ideology away from our children. I think that it's a very dangerous topic to expose our kids to," the mother of two said.
"If you actually do research, you can find curriculum of where they're teaching kids about masturbation at five years old, where they're teaching kids about the LGBTQ community," she added. "When I was five years old, I [just] wanted to play on a playground and eat ice cream. We need to let kids be kids. We need to protect our kids."
Currently, states like California, Renick's home state, mandate that K-12 schools have LGBT education in their curriculum under FAIR Education Act. According to California Health Education, parents cannot opt their children out of LGBT education, and all schools are "required to teach about sexual orientation and transgender, cisgender, and non-binary gender identities."
Renick wanted to "take a stand" against mandated curricula such as this by speaking in Nashville for the "Don't Mess with Our Kids" movement.
"We're talking about children right now. We're talking about protecting our children from all of this. Let's keep the sex, the gender, all of it out of our school system and focus on what they need to actually be learning to be good Americans," the content creator stated.
"I feel very strongly about this as a mom now, because if my child was exposed to something like this, it would really anger me," Renick added. "As a parent, my husband and I have realized that you need to be the one to start the conversation. Don't let the world start the conversation because the world is going to tell them [the] opposite of what the Word of God says… Ultimately, that's really scary."
Renick encouraged parents if they have the ability and resources to homeschool their kids because "the world is going to pollute our children with all this confusion."
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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
27 Eye-Opening Tips Therapists Gave To Their Patients That Might Change The Way You Live Your Life
Reddit user commander_boobs asked the community, "What's one thing a therapist has said to you that you will never forget?" People who've been to therapy didn't hold anything back and shared positive tips they've learned along the way. And because the subject is so popular, members of our BuzzFeed Community contributed their own stories, too. So, here are some of the most eye-opening things therapists have ever said to their patients: Warning: Some submissions include topics of domestic abuse and anti-LGBTQ+ harassment. Please proceed with caution. Note: There isn't one "typical" therapy experience. Everyone's stories are different, and if it hasn't worked for some, that doesn't mean it hasn't worked for others. 1."My therapist taught me the DREAM technique, which stands for 'detect, reward, escape, amend, and magnify.' I know this isn't some click-your-fingers technique that'll magically cure your problem overnight, and anyone who says that they have one is offering a distraction rather than dealing with the underlying issue. Detect is when you pay attention to what's going on in your head — no one thinks linearly. One minute you're thinking about one thing, the next minute you've gone on so many mental tangents you're as far from the original thought as you can be — the moment you notice that slip, stop what you're doing. Say it out loud to yourself if you have to. Reward is the detection itself, and not rewarding the negative thought — it's about positive reinforcement to make future detection easier." "Escape is when you remove yourself from the environment, either physically or mentally. One technique I use is to rumble my ears and hum because it's so loud, I can't hear anything else (but really, anything to break the pattern and take control of the situation). Amend is to rephrase the situation by inverting the language — for example, instead of saying 'bad,' say 'not good' because it doesn't matter if you're saying the word 'not' — you're still using 'good.' And finally, magnify is to, 'Magnify the newly-created positive suggestion/fantasy, and actually imagine the outcome happening. To magnify it, make the colors brighter, the sounds louder, the feelings stronger, and the sensations more specific. The stronger the emotions and feelings attached to the new thought/image, the more powerful it is.' It took me months to get the DREAM technique right, and to basically 'reprogram' my entire way of thinking, but now it's second nature. I would have anxiety attacks near-daily, but my last one was in 2013. As the quote goes, 'It gets easier, but you gotta do it, that's the hard part — but it does get easier.'" —u/neohylanmay 2."My therapist told me, 'Napoleon's greatest weakness was he could never stop trying to return to his former glory.' I had spent almost a decade trying to 'get back' to situations and feelings I had in my early twenties instead of focusing on different life goals and expectations. I never realized how unhappy I was because I was trying to rebuild a life that was gone instead of trying to build a new and more realistic life for myself." —u/PhoenixApok 3."I was in unrequited love with a guy who'd strung me along for years and years, and although I knew it was unhealthy and leading nowhere, I couldn't stop loving him and engaging with him whenever he contacted me. It seems overly simplistic, but my therapist reminded me of the five stages of grief and told me I was in denial. She said I was deciding to stay in denial because if i stayed in that stage, the relationship couldn't end, and I wouldn't have to accept the fact that we weren't going to end up together. Recognizing that I was in denial eventually led to my acceptance that we would never be together. I was able to move through the five stages and finally get over him after YEARS of agony — it seems so simple, but it changed my life." —u/nopenonotatall Related: 4."My therapist said, 'They'll get over it.' We were discussing setting boundaries and how hard it was for me to say no. I told her people would be mad if I said no. She responded with, 'So? They'll be mad.' When I just stared at her, not comprehending, she went on with that pearl of wisdom: 'They'll get over it.' I thought of all the times I'd been upset with people and had to get over it, but I realized she was right. Even the person whose anger I feared the most would get over it in time. The first time I said no was hard — I fretted about it and the other person's reaction for a while. It got easier, though, and now I have no trouble at all doing it." —u/Bookworm1254 5."One thing a therapist once said to me that I'll never forget is, 'You're allowed to feel how you feel, even if you don't have all the answers right now.' It stuck with me because I often felt the need to immediately fix or rationalize my emotions instead of just sitting with them. That statement made me realize it's okay not to have everything figured out and that emotions themselves are valid, even without clear explanations. It was freeing to understand that I didn't need to solve everything at once." —u/nontas1995 6."'Your self-confidence will fluctuate day to day, maybe even minute to minute. That's transient. But what doesn't fluctuate is your knowledge, your training, your intelligence, and your intellect. Those things stay consistent and improve with time. Don't put too much stock in your self-confidence as a measure of how competent you are. Trust in the other things that are consistent and concrete.'" —u/exile_zero 7."My therapist said to think of past me and future me as two completely different people. My decisions today don't affect me. Because the me that makes those decisions will be gone (past me). Future me, a different person, has to live with the consequences. So treat that person with love and respect, and don't put him in bad or awkward situations." —u/BizarroMax 8."My counselor told me you can forgive someone or accept a situation without invalidating the hurt that it caused you. That helped a lot, as throughout my life, I've been estranged or betrayed by most of my family, and went through a period of time where all of my close friends collectively abandoned me. At the time, everyone kept telling me to move on, and the idea of forgiveness was continually being brought up — it was tough because I always felt like what people wanted me to do was just forget everything that happened in the past. My counselor worked with me quite a bit on coming to terms with those things without acting like it never happened, or that it still didn't hurt." —u/kamron94 9."'That child who was never loved or acknowledged isn't waiting on your parents, but on you. You are her parent now. Will you ignore her, not love her, not value her, and not find her worthy as well? You decide if she thrives or survives. Your parents let her down. Will you do the same?'" —u/Dry-Willingness948 Related: 10."I used to see a trauma specialist who was really great at focusing on shame and shame spirals, and he educated me on the physical aspects of strong intrusive feelings. The best example is to focus on what your body is doing when you feel an overwhelming negative thought — shame, for example, tends to make our bodies tense in a way that brings our shoulders to our ears. So, when you realize that you're stuck in a shame spiral, focus instead on what your body is doing and work on relaxing those muscles — your mind eventually gets the picture, and you come out of the spiral." "I'm still using this advice years later, and it has helped me a lot with refocusing my mind away from the intrusive thoughts I get. It was nice to finally have a therapist who taught me useful coping mechanisms that weren't self-damaging." —u/emilybohbemily 11."I often struggle with feelings of guilt due to PTSD and anxiety, so I apologize excessively. My therapist told me to replace 'sorry' with 'thank you.' So instead of telling people, 'Sorry, I'm having a stressed-out day,' I say, 'Thank you for being supportive of me.'" —Femmefoxx 12."A therapist asked me what I wanted to get out of therapy, and I replied, 'I finally want to be happy and stay happy.' She told me, 'Happiness is like putting clean sheets on your bed. The only way to enjoy it is to be in it, but that also means you need to rewash them. Achieving happiness isn't about staying happy — it's understanding how to get there again and again after everything gets dirty.' My mind was blown." —fishola13 13."My therapist and I were discussing how I felt about a pretty deep betrayal from my ex-wife. I was beating myself up for not seeing how bad she really was when there was plenty of evidence. He wrote down something on his yellow notepad and then held it up to my face, practically touching my nose. He said, 'What does that say?' I couldn't read it — it was too close to my face. Stepping back from it a bit, I could read it. It said, 'You're too close to see it.' He was right. I was too close to the problems and the situation to have been able to see it where, in retrospect, it was so obvious. I stopped beating myself up over it and was able to let it go." —u/flutter_quirkzz 14."I had talked recently about my inability to find a partner because I'm looking for X, Y, and Z, and 'not a lot of women fit what I'm looking for.' She paused for a minute and asked me, 'Well…what kind of partner do YOU want to be?' This blew my mind. It completely changed my approach to dating." —u/VikingRodeo9 Related: 15."She asked if there was anything I wanted to do in my life that I no longer thought I could do. I told her that I wanted to go to law school, but that was no longer in the cards for me. She said, 'You know that you can still go to law school, right? No one has to give you permission.' I'll be graduating with my JD degree in May of next year. I don't think she knows the true impact of her simple statement that day." —u/sethscoolwife 16."Hearing negative messages from my family about my sexual orientation and religious views messed me up badly. My therapist said that they won't correct the wrong, but I can change the way it impacts me by learning radical acceptance, unconditional love for myself, and healthy boundaries. She also said, 'You are fucking precious — period. No matter what they say or do to you, you are wonderful, and you have the right to exist.'" —a445b471ee 17."That each of us is our own library — we're all a collection of different books. Some of our stories may be sad, and some of them may be happy — some may be very painful, and some may give us lots of joy. There are some we won't share, and there are some that we will gladly read aloud. As we move forward in our lives, we should give value to each of our stories — this is especially true for the unwritten ones, and if we're struggling to let go of an old story." —u/starrylv 18."I'm someone who always puts what makes me happy on the back burner. My therapist looked at me and literally said, 'Fuck shit up.' She told me to do whatever I wanted because no matter what the reactions would be, it'd be MY mess I created with my own free will." —8675309eeine 19."I actually had the 'It's not your fault' scene from Good Will Hunting happen to me — for real (I have a different background than Will's, though). I fell into a depression during high school as a result of my parents trying to force me to be more disciplined in school and removing all distractions/leisure at home. It was literally eat, sleep, and study — no entertainment was allowed. No friends, movies, TV shows, books, magazines, or anything else that wasn't related to school. Obviously, I became unhappy and focused less on school, and ultimately, I did worse. My parents doubled dow,n and I deteriorated, and I spiraled downward." "Going to therapy in my mid-twenties, all of this came out during sessions and it was rough — she told me that all of this wasn't my fault. Like Will in the movie, I didn't really accept it, and I kind of brushed it off. She repeated herself, and I said, 'Yeah, I know, but I could have been better.' She said, 'No, you were still a kid, and too young to understand what was happening. Your parents knew. It wasn't your fault.' Then I went all blubbery, pretty much like Will in the movie — a floodgate had opened." —u/RyzenRaider 20."'Depression doesn't have to be sadness or the lack of happiness. It could come in the form of unresolved anger.' This helped me reframe a lot of what I was trying to fix." —u/usbman 21."The one thing a therapist told me, which has stuck with me for years, is that the mind and the body are one thing — they're connected. The physical work we do has a huge impact on our thought process (as much as diet, meditation, and, in my case, taking medication). I am in a fun cohort of people who need to work on our bodies for our minds to be solid, happy, and functioning — if I don't go get my heart rate burning at maximum capacity for at least an hour four to five times a week, I am miserable. My short-term memory gets worse, my inner monologue gets negative, and little stresses turn into huge problems. But, if I work out and do something physical, I'm super happy, everything feels easy, and there are a few situations in my reasonably high-stress programming and management job that are an issue to deal with." —u/williamf03 Related: 22.''If you make an intentional, well thought-out decision, how someone else responds to it is none of your business.' I didn't believe him for years." —u/Alternative-Bad-6403 23."My ex-husband broke his hand throwing his fist through a wall and told me to 'be grateful it wasn't my face.' My therapist, who was an absolute gem and truly saved me in getting out of the marriage, told me, 'You do not owe anyone the story unless you want to share it. But you will *not* lie for him. When people see him in a cast and ask what happened, you look them in the eye and say, 'You can ask him about that.' It helped me keep my dignity without feeling the need to tell anyone about my abuse unless I trusted them. I don't know if I could've forgiven myself as quickly if I'd helped him hide his abuse with outright lies. She was truly incredible." —malloryrosie 24."Using the word 'always' can be dangerous. Telling someone that you'll 'ALWAYS be there for them' can interfere with your well-being and can unintentionally open you up to emotional issues you don't necessarily need or want to deal with. Setting boundaries is key, and true friends will understand when you mentally cannot be there for them all the time." —lilpic 25."We were having a conversation about my depression and anxiety, and in the course of this conversation about changing my meds, she said, 'You have to do the work.' What I took from that conversation was there isn't one pill, one therapy session, or one singular thing that's going to magically fix me instantly — I have to do all of these things, and I have to do them every single day. I have to put in the work. I have to exercise, I have to police my own negative thoughts, and I have to watch what I eat and drink (because I use food to self-soothe)." —u/Maxwyfe 26."Even if someone close to you treated you horribly, the reasons why they acted that way can have absolutely nothing to do with you. I think the general statement from my therapist was how people's actions towards you can often be about something completely out of your control and awareness. It might seem obvious when stated that way (especially if you think about interactions you have with strangers who are having a bad day), but it really changes how you interpret your experiences and cope with them. So, just a reminder to everyone: It's not always about you, what you did or didn't do, and it's not your fault — let go of it all knowing that, and try your best to move on." —u/parad0xchild finally, "After being in therapy from the age of seven years old until about 40 years old, the therapist I had been seeing for 13 years said to me, 'You know, you have accomplished so much so far that I think I'm done with working with you. You have all of the tools to deal with your mood disorder, and you know how to do it now. You will never be cured, but you are amazing the way you are — so be you. Be the best you there is because I respect and like the you that you are, and no matter where you are in the world, you have my number and your psychiatrist's number — we will always pick up if you need us.'" "Then, she started crying and got up and gave me the warmest hug. Nine years later, we still exchange an email every year just to say hello — she was awesome. She essentially told me I have all of the tools in my mental kit to solve my own problems now, and it felt empowering to hear because she was right." —u/kapsalonmet Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-800-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy. Also in Goodful: Also in Goodful: Also in Goodful: Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Fox News
Skin cancer risk can increase with dangerous new trend, doctors warn
Dermatologists are warning about the dangers of a TikTok trend where teens create "sunburn tattoos." This entails allowing the skin to get sunburned while wearing stickers, tape or sunscreen in order to create artistic designs. Although some young adults told Fox News Digital that they use their skin as a canvas to create these sunburn displays for social media attention and because it "looks cool," skin care experts say this could be harmful to skin health. "Regardless of how creative or harmless it appears, any sunburn is skin injury," Dr. Anthony Rossi, a double board-certified dermatologic surgeon in New York City, told Fox News Digital. "This 'sunburn tattoo' trend still involves deliberate UV damage to the skin, which — over time — can increase the risk of both immediate and long-term consequences." Sunburn accelerates the skin's aging process and elevates the risk of skin cancers, including melanoma, the deadliest form. "A pattern that produces shapes might look cool in a photo, but it can create dangerous UV hotspots — and the damage is cumulative," cautioned the doctor, who is also the founder of the Dr. Rossi skincare line. Rossi shared how many of his older patients recall the days of using iodine, baby oil and sun reflectors to tan — and now they are dealing with the consequences. "I regularly see patients who had frequent tanning — whether via booths or exposure — during adolescence," he said. "By their 30s and 40s, many of them already presented with pre-cancerous lesions or actual skin cancers." "These can lead to multiple surgeries, scars and melanoma, which can metastasize and be fatal." Dr. Sara Moghaddam, a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon who practices at Delmarva Skin Specialists in Selbyville, Delaware, noted that the sunburn tattoo trend is concerning and significantly increases the risk of future skin cancer in teenagers. "Experiencing five or more blistering sunburns between the ages of 15 and 20 can increase an individual's melanoma risk by 80%," Moghaddam told Fox News Digital. When a sunburn occurs, the UV radiation damages the DNA within skin cells, which leads to mutations that can cause cells to grow uncontrollably, potentially leading to skin cancer, she said. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) confirms that every time the skin tans, it sustains some degree of damage. "As this damage builds, you speed up the aging of your skin and increase your risk for all types of skin cancer, including melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer," the AAD's website states. Both dermatologists said a spray tan may be a safer alternative to achieving a temporary "tan tattoo" look. "Spray tans utilize dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a sugar that reacts with amino acids in the skin's top layer, to create a temporary brown color," Moghaddam said. "There's no evidence that DHA from spray tans is harmful; the color simply fades as the skin naturally exfoliates." Rossi cautioned, however, that spray tans come with some risk if inhaled improperly. He also warned that they don't protect against future burns. To protect the skin from sun damage and reduce skin cancer risk, the AAD recommends seeking shade when possible, especially if "your shadow is shorter than you," and to be mindful that the sun's peak hours are between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. A sun protection routine should include using broad-spectrum sunscreen and wearing UV-protective clothing, including wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses, when outdoors, experts advise. For more Health articles, visit Rossi added, "UV damage is insidious — it's not just about the short-lived image, but the lifelong consequence."
CNN
3 days ago
- CNN
NIH director lays out agency's research and funding priorities in new strategy statement
LGBTQ issuesFacebookTweetLink Follow The director of the US National Institutes of Health outlined on Friday a 'unified strategy' to align the agency's priorities and funding, a move he said was meant to offer clarification following sweeping changes at the agency, including massive budget cuts, grant cancellations and plans for reorganization. In Friday's statement, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya emphasized the need for transparency with the taxpaying American public and an intent to 'honor their trust.' He identified key priorities for the NIH, including chronic disease and nutrition – as per an executive order 'on Gold-Standard Science and the Make America Healthy Again Commission Report' – as well as artificial intelligence, alternative testing models and real-world data platforms. He also noted that the agency is dedicated to supporting research that pursues 'innovative, and sometimes controversial, questions.' NIH funding decisions will reflect these priorities and other 'core principles,' the statement said. 'As stewards of taxpayer funds, NIH must deliver results that matter to the public,' Bhattacharya wrote. 'Through this strategy, we will better leverage the synergistic missions of each NIH Institute and Center to fund the most meritorious science, address urgent health needs, and sustain a robust biomedical research workforce.' More details were shared on certain agency priorities with an intent to 'clarify specific issues that currently require additional guidance,' the statement said, including autism, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, research on racial disparities, transgender care and more. In April, a policy note from the NIH said the agency can pull medical research funding from universities with diversity and inclusion programs. Friday's statement noted that the NIH was 'shifting to solution-oriented approaches in health disparities research.' 'In contrast to research that considers race or ethnicity when scientifically justified […] research based on ideologies that promote differential treatment of people based on race or ethnicity, rely on poorly defined concepts or on unfalsifiable theories, does not follow the principles of gold-standard science,' the statement read. NIH also intends to prioritize research focused on what it called 'more promising avenues of research' for the the health of transgender youth than studies involving treatments such as puberty suppression, hormone therapy or surgery. 'Research that aims to identify and treat the harms these therapies and procedures have potentially caused to minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria, gender identity disorder, or gender incongruence, and how to best address the needs of these individuals so that they may live long, healthy lives is more promising,' the statement said. Multiple priorities emphasize a preference for domestic research, including a new system to manage projects with funding for foreign research institutions and a blueprint for domestic training programs. NIH will also prioritize research that can be replicated or reproduced. 'We are exploring various mechanisms to support scientists focused on replication work, to publish negative findings, and to elevate replication research,' the statement read.
