Peer Support

A peer is another word for a person who may have been through similar experiences to you and found themselves in similar situations to your own.

Many people find that ‘peer support’ with another positive person is a real help in coping with HIV. Peer support can be informal and happen amongst friends or organised more formally. It can be part of a clinic or of the work of a support charity close to you .

People have found peer support helpful for the following reasons:

Telling another positive person might be the first time you’ve met someone in a similar situation
You’re able to share your experience with an equal in a way that values their friendship
You will understand you’re not the only one with HIV
Find others who can be a role model in some aspect of their life, like taking treatment or work
You can learn self-confidence and self-awareness
You can have social time without having to worry about who knows if you’re HIV positive

Not everyone with HIV needs formal support of this kind, and many people prefer not to be part of a group. Individual peer support is also available. Many people move on from peer support or prefer to be part of mainstream social life. All of these choices are fine. The main thing is that if you become part of a group, it’s because you want to be. And if you feel it’s served its purpose for you, and you want to stop attending, then you can do so without pressure.

HIV news from aidsmap.com

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Researchers used selected molecules to make human cells less tolerant of damage, so that reactivating hidden HIV becomes a clear trigger for cell death. While making cells more vulnerable to dying may sound counterintuitive, the strategy ensures that cells harbouring HIV are eliminated, removing the hidden virus they contain. This in turn means there potentially will be no viable virus left to re-do the spreading all over again in the absence of treatment.
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Low-level but detectable HIV raises the risk of treatment failure, but not long-term harm
Persistent low-level detectable HIV appeared to significantly increase the risk of treatment failure but had no long-term impact on the occurrence of serious health problems in a recent study. Having integrase inhibitors as part of the therapy seemed to be protective against treatment failure in those with low-level detectable virus, Professor Enrique Bernal and colleagues report in the journal AIDS.
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Despite U=U, concerns about sharing HIV status persist among older people
Despite a decade of widespread ‘Undetectable equals Untransmissible’ (U=U) messaging and advances in HIV prevention, stigma has barely shifted for older people living with HIV in Amsterdam. ‘Disclosure concerns’ fell only marginally over ten years, while negative self-image did not change, report Dr Kevin Moody and colleagues in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
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Contact emma@positiveboltonpeople.org.uk for further information.

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