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Oct 3Liked by Suzannah Alexander

Because you have some degree of education in psychology, will you do an substack article where you evaluate the diary of Nashville school shooter Audrey (Aiden) Hale {courtesy the Tennesee Star}?

I would love to know your thoughts about it as I'm still reading through it myself.

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Haven’t followed the case closely, but I can look into it. Identity confusion can be quite painful and what I have seen of the journal pages released, she experienced significant self-loathing. It’s quite sad. Some of the tendency for that kind of fragility has been linked to genetics, last I checked, but it is also linked with trauma.

Young women (and I will focus on that because that because that biology is tied up in aspects of this problem) can struggle with mood volatility as they go through puberty and start to develop an adult identity. Young women tend to be very sensitive to social pressures to conform to norms. If there are complicating factors, like a sexual orientation that falls outside what is accepted, or personality issues like a tendency toward BPD, it can be a combustible mix if there isn’t social support.

I think young women right now have it tough. Social media is establishing norms that maybe at odds with the norms of their local communities and local communities today often lack the structure to help them feel connected, valued and supported. This is terrible given that a woman’s fertility window is so brief, and women benefit from stable communities that help them make good choices in partners during this time. It’s no wonder so many are struggling to define healthy identities.

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