Girl Behind the Fence: Love

Per Mental Health America, humans are social beings who crave support, value, connection, acceptance, and love. Therapists often tout the human-animal bond. In fact, 98% of pet owners consider their pet a member of the family, 74% report improved mental health symptoms such as stress, fear, anxiety, depression, and loneliness due to a boost of feel-good serotonin and oxytocin levels in the brain. Dove Cosmetics conducted a study of 11,000 women across the globe who were forced to choose between walking through doors marked 'average' or 'beautiful'. 96% rated themselves as 'average' in appearance. This proves how low the international self-esteem, self-acceptance, and self-love rate is for females. Although the authors write about various forms of love, a Gallup poll found that 93% of people in the Philippines feel the most loved on a daily basis. Next is Rwanda with 92% and Puerto Rico at 90%. The United States ranked lower at 81%. Among the countries that felt the least amounts of love were Armenia, Mongolia, Morocco, and Moldova. Other love statistics include 60% of long-distance relationships will work out, 45% of online daters seek a boost in self-confidence, 63% of college students desire a traditional relationship, 40% of Millennials are not willing to settle for the wrong individual just to be in a relationship, 20% of men and 13% of women cheat, with cybersex and online flirting being the most common causes. Studies also found that those who do not practice self-love are most likely to become involved with narcissistic, abusive, codependent, or otherwise unhealthy relationships they soon regret. Avoid becoming a statistic. Learn to love yourself first - including your perceived flaws. In fact, this book exists to help you do just that.