Wednesday, December 12, 2012

How to Have Peace of Mind

I have received a lot of emails for the past year and few months. A lot are troubled by their health status, by their doctors, by their ARV's, by their infections, by PhilHealth, by treatment hubs. I know it is hard for everyone but how can you really have peace of mind when something is troubling you?



1. Get Tested. 

You had unprotected sex and there is no denying it. You know that there is a virus looming around, and that the Philippines is one of the 10 countries with incidence of HIV cases still on the rise. You know that you can easily get it by having unprotected sex with ANYBODY who has not disclosed to you his or her HIV status. You are now confused and restless.

Get tested fast! You can't turn back the time. What you can do now is to take the step and be responsible with your health. Take the HIV Test and follow what the counsellors in the testing site will tell you to do. Trust me, it is a win-win scenario. If the result turns out negative, then great! If the result turns out positive then at least 1, you will know what you will do next to protect and take care of yourself and 2, you will know how you will protect others.

2. Educate Others

So you found out that you are HIV positive. Now you feel worried that you might have infected others. especially your partner and your previous partners.

How to have peace of mind? Start sending text messages or email to each one that you had unprotected sex before and tell them to get an HIV Test. You can be open about it or be discreet (anonymous about it). Tell them about the increase of HIV cases in the country. Direct them to all the tested sites. Tell them why there is an urgency to do it.

 3. Talking Helps

You got scared. You were shocked. Who wouldn't be? When somebody finds out that he or she is HIV positive, it feels like the world just came down crushing on him or her. The future becomes clouded. Your dream feels shattered.

How to have peace of mind? Start talking about it to your loved ones and your family and friends. No pressure though. Do it when you are ready. The first step is usually self acceptance. Once you are confident about it, then you can tell others. Trust me, you will sleep good at night knowing that people around you knows about your condition and you don't have pretentions anymore when you are with them. Be open about your next steps and tell them your medical progress. Show them that you are being responsible now and their love and support are important to you.

 4. Have A Strong Belief

After you got diagnosed, of course, you don't know what to do. You are new to this situation and you tend to listen to everyone around you.

How to have peace of mind? Belief!

Just believe in your HIV doctors and listen to their advices. You can question everything but the partnership between you and your doctor is very important to treatment.  Have a strong faith in his or her wisdom.

Have a strong belief in your ARV's. The medicines that were prescribed to us can "tame" the virus within us. It takes time to see the effects of it so all we have to do is to believe that they are actually working for us. Never fear the ARV's, instead, believe that they are "wonder drugs" that will fight the HIV. Don't ever doubt their potency. Don't ever think that they are not working.

Belief that you can recover and rebounce back. A lot of PLHIV's have done what you are about to do. You are just new to treatment but others have been living with HIV and religiously taking ARV's for decades now. They are living proof that one can live a normal and productive life even with HIV.

5. Empower Yourself

Reading, researching and asking your doctors for any concerns is one of the best ways to have peace of mind. Most get scared about what they hear or read but it is through researching and getting the wisdom from our experienced doctors that we can be empowered to get a hold of our health and our lives. Knowledge is power and we should cultivate that power so that we can have control over our selves.

6. ACT!

The best way to have peace of mind is to act on what s stressing you out. Aside from those that I have mentioned above, you can also try these tips:

a. Exercise is one great way to have peace of mind. It calms our mind from all the stress. Exercise can be in the form of aerobic or strength training or doing mind body exercises such as yoga or tai-chi.

b. Rest and Recreation. Have enough, 8 hours or more of sleep. Take vacations on weekends. Get on a hobby like reading, etc. Watch movies or play a sport.

c. Writing in a journal is a stress reliever. You can also start blogging.

d. Help other people who are also having problems with their HIV status. By helping others, by giving oneself to those who are in need, you are allowing your heart to open and appreciate all the blessings that you have.




"WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
NO PLHIV is alone with his or her struggle with HIV!"

-Pozziepinoy-


© Copyright. All Rights Reserved by Pozziepinoy 2012

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