Living with HIV

Living with HIV

Even though there are now more effective anti-HIV treatments, living with the knowledge of a serious and potentially life-threatening infection is likely to be stressful and difficult. Someone with HIV may remain in good physical health for several years but misunderstanding and fear about HIV and AIDS is still widespread in society. People living with the virus may encounter hostility or rejection even from friends and family and some people have lost jobs and homes due to their employers' or landlords' attitudes, and children with HIV have been banned from schools.

Many people with HIV have seen friends and partners become ill before them, and may have seen friends die. Some communities have been more affected by HIV than others: for example, gay men, people from sub-Saharan African communities and injecting drug-users. In some parts of the world, and among African families in the UK, it is not unusual for whole families to die with AIDS.

Many people with HIV choose to tell no one about their diagnosis except for a few trusted friends, and this burden of secrecy can be very hard to bear. Living with the knowledge that you could pass a serious infection to a someone else can also be very hard. A number of support groups have been set up round the country to help counter the isolation which HIV can cause.

Many people with HIV make changes in their lives to help them cope with their diagnosis. Some choose to work at keeping fit and healthy with good food and exercise; others may read up about HIV and become their own experts in drug treatments or complementary therapies. Some people with HIV have said that focusing on living and enjoying life to the full has helped them to cope with living with HIV.