Dealing with AIDS
These diseases can be devastating, not only to the ones that are infected, but also to their family members and loved ones. When somebody says that they have HIV or AIDS, the reactions that they get are very different from when somebody says that they have a disease such as cancer. There is both a social stigma against those that are infected with HIV and AIDS, and there is an intense fear that the people around a sufferer will also be infected. This type of mentality is what caused several children to be expelled from their schools and exiled from their communities and from their friends by angry parents. Knowing about HIV and AIDS before getting yourself and your entire town crazy is a given. There is much more awareness about these viruses than there was even a decade ago. The next step after making yourself aware is knowing what to do if somebody you know is infected. Here are some Do’s and Don’ts for people that might have to deal with a family member or loved one beign infected by HIV and AIDS in the future.
DO: Be understanding. At this point, you should already know more about how these viruses are contracted and that you are not in immediate danger by sitting and having a conversation with a sufferer. Those that have been infected by HIV or AIDS already have a lot to deal with, and it could not have been easy to approach you to tell you about their disease.
DO NOT: Be judgmental. Everybody makes mistakes, and somebody with HIV or AIDS is paying for their mistakes more than you can imagine. It is important that people with these viruses be allowed a chance at living a normal life, but that is not possible if there is a stigma against the diseases. Not that it should make a difference, but there are cases where people contract HIV or AIDS from things such as blood transfusions, breastfeeding, or by simply being birthed by a mother with the disease.
DO: Realize that not all infected people are degenerates, even though the public has painted it that way. There are many cases where one night of unprotected sex has lead to an infection. There is an picture that people have of HIV and AIDS patients where they are all promiscuous, drug using homosexuals, but that simply is not true.
DO NOT: Make the person that has told you about a very important part of their life feel alone. This is a time when they need the people they love the most, and abandoning them during their time of need is not going to help anybody.
If we reach a point where people suffering from HIV and AIDS do not have to hide it, we can move forward as a society. Recognizing these people will increase awareness of the diseases, which can bring down numbers in the end, but most importantly it can bring about acceptance.
