Hiv/ Aids or Other Chronic Disease- (coping With a Life Threatening Diagnosis)
Posted: Monday, November 05, 2007
by Charles Magaiza
Purpose Clinic
Dealing with a diagnosis of chronic disease or condition
Our generation is faced with many chronic diseases that were never faced by the generations that have gone before us. In Africa , the nations have to content with any alarming rate of HIV and AIDS. The medical field keeps discovering new diseases. With all this around us, the question is how can we find our purpose in this world and pursue it.
When a diagnosis for any medical condition is given to you, it is important for you to identify someone to turn to for support. HIV is not an exception in this. With the stigma that is often associated with HIV, it is always more difficult for many people to share their state with someone else. There is always a fear of resentment and rejection. It is up to the person to share this information or not but you must understand that at that stage, there is a great need of moral support from someone who will stand with you as you go through the situation. Trying to go it alone is always a great challenge.
Talking to a caring person about your HIV status can be a stressful experience. You must do it in such a way that you do not suddenly overload them with all the information. By not sharing your status, you might deprive yourself of support that you desperately need.
Get Peer and/or Professional Support
Consider joining a support group or talking with a counselor individually. You must decide what form of support will be most helpful. When you join a support group, it allows for information about coping with HIV to be freely shared in a supportive environment. Counsellors are available at your local office of the Department of Social Services or church. You must make sure you find someone you are able to share your exact feelings with so that they will know exactly how to help you.
Research and get more information
Endevour to get more information about your condition! Look for inspirational stories of people who have been through the same condition and they lived through it. You degree of motivation is key to your overcoming that condition or sickness. If you grow discouraged and give up, you give the condition the go ahead signal. If this happens, you may reduce the period that you can survive. Find someone who is knowledgeable on the condition that you can work with, ask questions, and address your concerns. This can be a medical doctor. Associate with other people with the same condition that are surviving it and leading normal lives irregardless.
Substance Abuse and HIV
Coping with HIV can be a struggle coupled with drug or alcohol use. Some people turn to drugs or alcohol as a method of escaping the difficult feelings of an HIV diagnosis. This behaviour is definitively self-destructive behavior. Using drugs and alcohol places an additional strain on someones immune system and makes it difficult for them to carry activities they need to in order to fight HIV. If you have landed in a problem with drugs or alcohol, ask for help fast. If you continue deferring dealing with a substance abuse problem, the more you put your body under strain. The result of which will be an extreme demand on your immunity system.
Lead a healthy lifestyle
Many people living with HIV continue to lead active lives after they are diagnosed. By working closely with your doctor and leading a healthy lifestyle, you can continue to lead a happy and productive life.
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