Okay, so you have learned that you are HIV/AIDS positive. How do you move from knowledge to acceptance? How do you get past what others will think? Much less what you are thinking yourself? How do you get past the pity and the shame of having this virus? How do you move from this disease having a complete and total grip on you to learning that this virus is just something that resides inside of your body? How do you learn not to allow this virus to define who you are?

The first step is to realize that this virus could have happened to anybody. It is not a respecter of person's. The fact that it happened to you was just a roll of the dice. You have to wrap your mind around the fact that the disease does not personalize who it infects. It was your actions that made you attractive to the disease; not your personality traits. The disease doesn't know you personally and therefore could care less about you as a individual.

The second step is to understand that this virus can be controlled. This is not the 1980's where we only had one medication for fighting this virus. This is 2011 and we have a whole army of medications that not only fight the virus off but help build your immune system back. We have specialist who understand the virus and know what road to take you down to get the virus under control.

The third step is to allow yourself to get back to a place of normalcy. Having the virus is not as odd as you thought. Three out of every five person's have the virus and out of those three only one of them know they have it. It is a huge and frightening world out there. However, it is possible to have a normal life while having this virus. It is not necessary to broadcast your status to the whole world. My articles on disclosure covers who to tell and when. People who don't need to know don't get told. This keeps the ground even and keeps your from having to deal with people's personal biases and stereotypes.

The fourth step is creating a support system. As I stated in my last article, having support is a key factor in survival. Having people who understand where you are at and what you are going through is important as you transition through your journey. It can be very helpful to be able to listen to solutions from people who have endured what you are going through. Whether they went through it successfully or unsuccessfully. Their mistakes can keep you from going down the same path.

One of the last things that you need to do is understand that the virus lives with you. You don't live with it. It is a guest, however unwanted, in YOUR body. It does not define who or what you are. It doesn't redefine who you are as a person. It doesn't change anything about your personally except your health. The only difference in you know is that you have to be more aware of how you take care of yourself. Believe it or not, this is a good thing.


Get Educated.... Be Protected.... Stay ALIVE!!!