Dealing With Your Diagnosis
If you have just found out you're HIV positive, you're probably experiencing a range of different emotions and our experience tells us that they're not likely to be positive: at least in the first instance.
However, thanks to new treatments, many people living with HIV lead a relatively normal life.
Don't Go It Alone
Don't try to deal with things on your own. Finding the right support is essential. Professional and confidential advice is always available from your clinic or doctor and they are there to help you.
Do think carefully about how, when or if to tell your friends, family and colleagues. Their reactions can be unpredictable. See telling others for more advice.
It will take time for you to learn to cope, but the difficult times you experience now are just one part of what will be a lifelong journey. And it will get better. HIV will not always be the first thing on your mind.
Things To Consider
Get clued-up with the latest information from a reliable source; especially if you’re using the internet. Your Doctor, or the Sexual Health Clinic is an excellent source of up to date and accurate information.
- For treatments information try www.aidsmap.com
- For HIV facts and people’s stories try www.namlife.org
- To get in touch with the online community try www.myhiv.org.uk
Don't go it alone. A trusted friend, family member or partner can provide you with the support you need.
Keep records of the information that your doctor gives you, whether it's practical information, or just the date of your next appointment. Change causes anxiety, not the best circumstances for taking in important information. Being organised will help you to cope better with all the information that's being thrown at you. Remember that you can always contact your doctor and ask for further details if you need to.
Remember that you’re not a different person just because you have found out that you have HIV, respect yourself and respect others.
Bad Ideas...
- Immediately telling everyone. Not everyone needs to know. There is a time and a place which will be best for you and, most importantly, them.
- Becoming a recluse. Maintain your usual social and work contacts is an important way of keeping your life as normal as possible. Cutting yourself off from the people who are best placed to help isn't recommended.
- Taking sole responsibility for someone else's care. Ask for help. Share the responsibility and enjoy maintaining your relationships. Maintain your day-to-day routine.
- Hiding behind alcohol and drugs. These are very temporary helps at best. If you come to depend upon them, it could make coping more difficult in the longer term.
- Panic. Many other people are HIV positive. You're not alone and you aren't the first person to receive a diagnosis. There's plenty of help available.
HIV news from aidsmap.com
Gender-focused training for HIV providers reduces stigma but implementation proves challenging“You have to take time with the patient, listen to them, all their stories and baggage…I don’t think we have that environment here. When you have a long line of clients, you aren’t going to give everyone 30 minutes [to] 1 hour listening to all their problems and challenges.” A gender-sensitivity training programme for HIV healthcare providers in Uganda reduced stigma among clients but failed to improve treatment adherence or satisfaction with care, according to a pilot study published in PLOS Global Public Health.
>> Read more
Higher education increased HIV risk in Africa then became protective
Early research studies in Africa that found higher education was associated with a greater risk of HIV have often been dismissed as errors or anomalies, especially once later research suggested the opposite pattern. But a recently published analysis in Social Science & Medicine suggests those early findings weren't wrong, but reflected a real change in the education-HIV relationship over time.
>> Read more
How Europe's busiest PrEP clinics are simplifying care and reaching new populations
Leading community-led PrEP services are rethinking how they deliver services while reaching beyond their traditional user base. Facing waiting lists of thousands, the clinics are streamlining care and developing new strategies to engage trans people and migrant men who have sex with men. These were among the approaches shared at the 2nd European Workshop on Breaking PrEP Barriers, held in Barcelona last week.
>> Read more
Contact emma@positiveboltonpeople.org.uk for further information.
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