Welcome back to Wellness on NASS. I'm Dr. Nicole Sapphire, and this is your weekly rundown.

This week, tragedy has struck yet again. This time in Minneapolis, where another school shooting has left families shattered and the community and nation in mourning.

Every one of these senseless acts forces us to confront a very painful reality.

We are failing to address the root causes of violence amongst our youth.

Guns are always at the center of the conversation, but if we're truly going to prevent the

next tragedy, we have to look deeper.

What is driving so many young people to this breaking point?

Mental illness, isolation, social disconnection. And yes, the powerful medications that so many of people to this breaking point. Mental illness, isolation, social disconnection.

And yes, the powerful medications that so many of these kids are being prescribed. These are rarely

part of the discussion, yet they must be. And we also cannot ignore the growing medical crisis

surrounding the trans movement. Let me be clear. Every individual deserves compassion and dignity. But as a

physician, as a mother, I cannot turn away from the undeniable truth that many adolescents swept into

this movement are struggling with profound mental illness. Instead of addressing underlying depression,

anxiety, the broken homes, or trauma, we are placing vulnerable kids on a conveyor belt of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, antidepressants, and surgeries, all interventions with lifelong consequences.

These are powerful drugs with known risks, and yet they're being handed up to minors

who can't legally buy alcohol or even vote. We are sacrificing thoughtful medical care at the

altar of ideology, and when tragedies like school shootings occur, no one dares to ask whether

these medications or untreated psychiatric

disorders are actually part of the picture. And while this crisis is unfolding, the public's

trust in our health institutions continue to crumble. Just this week, more senior officials

at the CDC have resigned. Their departures highlight what so many Americans already feel.

The agency is fractured, politicized, and out of touch. During COVID, the CDC became less of a

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