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Managing Your Health, 1999 edition

Emotional and Spiritual Support


HIV and your emotions
There is no “correct” way to respond emotionally to living with HIV and AIDS. And it’s not simply a matter of dealing with your emotions and then having things go back to normal. Dealing with your emotions is always an ongoing process of adjusting and readjusting. You may want to resist changes in your life and hold onto the way things were before you knew you were HIV positive. You may find yourself feeling angry and frustrated. Anger can take many forms. You may feel anger as well as sadness when friends or loved ones with HIV get sick or die. Anger can be a positive force, and it often drives people to become involved with AIDS activism. For some people, discovering that they’re HIV positive can actually bring relief from uncertainty. Or you may have been bothered by health problems without understanding why you had them. Finally knowing can bring some relief and allow you to take action.

 

Decisions about particular medical treatments should always be made in consultation with a qualified medical practitioner who is knowledgeable about HIV-related illness and the treatments in question. MORE