There are a lot of sensitive issues surrounding being HIV positive. How does one deal with disclosing ones status? HIV is more of a mind game than any other disease. When your mind is right you can live for a long time.
Disclosing one's status is part of healing and accepting ones status. It's all good in an ideal society but unfortunately the reality is the society we live in makes it difficult to do so. Is one really obliged to disclose? How does one know when the time is right to disclose and to who? One cannot disclose to everybody they know so discretion plays a big role.
Family would have to be the first ones a person discloses to. They would be the ones taking care of you when you start getting sick. It's only fair for them to know and learn more about the disease as they will be affected and they can help you mourn. Yes mourn your HIV negative self. Your HIV negative self is no more and you need to mourn in order to be able to move forward and accept your HIV positive self. Who better to help you in your mourning process than your family?
When one gets into a relationship, when is it the right time to disclose? Is it on the 1st date so the other person can know what they're getting themselves into. What if by doing so the person rejects you? What if the person doesn't reject you? How many people will one have to disclose to? I mean not every date will end up in a relationship. Does one disclose when things start to get serious? Before or after the first kiss? Does one open up before getting intimate with the other person? It's only fair that you give your partner a choice, after all condoms are not 100% safe, accidents do happen. The condom can tear, it can slip off. This might sound far fetched but it does happen. What happens if someone infects you and after finding out they claim they didn't know their status or didn't know they were infected? Does one go to the police? What's the charge? Is it attempted murder? Disclosing is a chance one has to take, it's almost like a gamble.
What about at work? Is one obliged to disclose to colleagues? Doing so might put one in a rather awkward position. You might find yourself sitting alone at lunch time or colleagues being too scared to be seated next to you or to touch you. They might not even want to share utensils with you. Is it just management that needs to know? I believe if there's no chance of one putting colleagues at risk then there's no need. The law says one can't be fired or discriminated against just for being HIV positive. Being infected doesn't mean you're sick. As long as the virus doesn't affect your ability to work then why disclose?
One thing I've learned is people would much rather disclose to strangers than to people they know. We all need someone to talk to at some point, just to vent. A stranger will not judge you. A person who knows you on the other hand might reject you, gossip about you. It's not everybody that's part of a support group.
What about doctors? I suppose it would be mandatory to disclose to doctors. A dentist would have to know as they use sharp utensils and risk infection. Psychiatrists and psychologist also need to know as this does affect ones mental state. The good thing is whatever one shares with the doctor is strictly confidential.
Disclosing ones status is not as easy as it seems. One should think hard and be sure before disclosing their status because once its done it cannot be taken back.
Disclosing one's status is part of healing and accepting ones status. It's all good in an ideal society but unfortunately the reality is the society we live in makes it difficult to do so. Is one really obliged to disclose? How does one know when the time is right to disclose and to who? One cannot disclose to everybody they know so discretion plays a big role.
Family would have to be the first ones a person discloses to. They would be the ones taking care of you when you start getting sick. It's only fair for them to know and learn more about the disease as they will be affected and they can help you mourn. Yes mourn your HIV negative self. Your HIV negative self is no more and you need to mourn in order to be able to move forward and accept your HIV positive self. Who better to help you in your mourning process than your family?
When one gets into a relationship, when is it the right time to disclose? Is it on the 1st date so the other person can know what they're getting themselves into. What if by doing so the person rejects you? What if the person doesn't reject you? How many people will one have to disclose to? I mean not every date will end up in a relationship. Does one disclose when things start to get serious? Before or after the first kiss? Does one open up before getting intimate with the other person? It's only fair that you give your partner a choice, after all condoms are not 100% safe, accidents do happen. The condom can tear, it can slip off. This might sound far fetched but it does happen. What happens if someone infects you and after finding out they claim they didn't know their status or didn't know they were infected? Does one go to the police? What's the charge? Is it attempted murder? Disclosing is a chance one has to take, it's almost like a gamble.
What about at work? Is one obliged to disclose to colleagues? Doing so might put one in a rather awkward position. You might find yourself sitting alone at lunch time or colleagues being too scared to be seated next to you or to touch you. They might not even want to share utensils with you. Is it just management that needs to know? I believe if there's no chance of one putting colleagues at risk then there's no need. The law says one can't be fired or discriminated against just for being HIV positive. Being infected doesn't mean you're sick. As long as the virus doesn't affect your ability to work then why disclose?
One thing I've learned is people would much rather disclose to strangers than to people they know. We all need someone to talk to at some point, just to vent. A stranger will not judge you. A person who knows you on the other hand might reject you, gossip about you. It's not everybody that's part of a support group.
What about doctors? I suppose it would be mandatory to disclose to doctors. A dentist would have to know as they use sharp utensils and risk infection. Psychiatrists and psychologist also need to know as this does affect ones mental state. The good thing is whatever one shares with the doctor is strictly confidential.
Disclosing ones status is not as easy as it seems. One should think hard and be sure before disclosing their status because once its done it cannot be taken back.