Handling “no” while staying positive and proud

Handling “no” while staying positive and proud

Your worth as a person didn’t change when you got HIV.

Every guy has heard “no” when they ask another guy for sex, a date or a relationship. And each of us has probably said “no” to a guy. Sometimes guys say “no” to us when they find out we have HIV. That’s far from certain, but it happens. So you may need to get some skills to handle the “no” while staying positive and proud. It may help you to think about these things:

• Your worth as a person didn’t change when you got HIV. Some people say they are stronger and better people because of what they have gone through.
• It is not really about you. His “no” is about him – what he thinks and feels about HIV.
• He may be trying to lower his own risk of getting HIV. And that is his choice to make.
• He may be dealing with other issues and can’t handle thinking about HIV right now.
• Lots of HIV negative guys have sex with, date and love HIV positive guys. If this guy isn’t one of them, the next guy could be.
• You did what you felt you had to do. You told him you were HIV positive. It was probably not an easy thing to do. You respected yourself and you respected him. No one can take that from you.