Top 10 Steps to Healing for People Newly Diagnosed With HIV

From: http://aids.about.com/od/newlydiagnosed/tp/newdiagnosis.htm

The initial shock, disbelief, and fear of an HIV diagnosis can make those first days almost unbearable. Kozby Kritzer, author of the book HIV and Me provides us with 10 tips for people newly diagnosed with HIV that will help get through those difficult first days.

1. Begin to heal...take ownership.

To begin healing after the shock of hearing your diagnosis, first acknowledge your fears and feelings about having HIV, and then take ownership of them.

2. Live in the present.

Instead of reliving the past or imagining a grim future for yourself, keep your mind focused on the present as that is where your healing happens.

3. Make your own future.

Forget other people's stories with HIV/AIDS and make it your own experience, as what you do each day creates your own future.

4. Stop and take a deep breath.

Whenever you feel stressed, filled with anxiety or just plain overwhelmed, stop and focus on your breathing to clear your mind and give it and your body a moment's peace.

5. Educate yourself...but take your time.

Control the flow of information that you absorb about HIV/AIDS to prevent your mind from either overloading or from slipping into complete denial about your diagnosis.

6. Take control of your medical care.

Regardless of your current health status, never forget that you are in complete control of your medical treatment and have the right to change it at any time.

7. Assemble a support network and use it.

Use your support network of family, friends and/or counselors to remind yourself that you are not in this alone, and that there are people ready and eager to provide the comfort and compassion that you need right now.

8. Build a strong foundation for the future.

Once you are feeling more centered, work to build a strong foundation for your future including making lifestyle changes and utilizing community resources available to support your healing and long term health.

9. With a strong foundation, you can manage your HIV.

After your foundation is in place, spend some time managing how HIV affects your daily life both in social situations and in respect to financial and legal matters.

10. Achieve a balance in your life.

Finally, to complete your journey towards a place of peace with HIV, strive to balance your mind, body and spirit, using activities like exploring your spirituality, doing volunteer work or experiencing holistic therapy if needed.
17 months ago
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  • Broken-Winged

    Hmmm.  Well, this IS, at least, interesting.  I have to say that when I received the email that started with "What are your top 10 steps to healing . . . " I was wary.   Healing?  HIV/AIDS?  For which there IS no healing, no cure, not even a vaccine?  To talk of HIV and healing sounds a bit "Californian" or "spiritualist".   The term "healing" generally refers either to physical healing or psychological healing.  In the case of physical healing we are talking about a medical condition improving, getting better, going away.  "Her wound has healed completely!"  Psychological healing is the Californian bit, referring basically to getting to grips with psychological condition.   Now, of course, HIV/AIDS isn't a psychological condition.  It's entirely physical.  We have a wretched virus in our systems that can cause fatal damage.   So is the term healing in relation to HIV/AIDS appropriate?

    Well, when you read "the 10 steps to healing" that are suggested by Kozby Kritzer, author of the book HIV and Me, you discover that, put aside the Californian language, she's basically talking about psychologically adjusting to a life with HIV.  Reading through her 10 steps I would say that there is truth in each of them, that I have employed each of them at some point since I was diagnosed.  What perturbs me though is the "industry" of the 10 steps.  I mean, my god, you could make an occupation out of this so-called "healing process".  You could let it dominate your life.  You could get out of bed each morning and say, "Right, which step will I work on today?".   There's something rather over-the-top about this approach, I feel.  At the end of the day HIV/AIDS is just another serious illness.  Right now I have a serious cold.  It's really knocked me for a six!  I know my colds.  I'm going to be out of it for two whole weeks.  The cough that follows could last as long as three months.  Fact.  Should I apply a similar  "10 Steps of Healing" towards the common cold?   I've had another shock recently.  We have a worldwide economic crisis on at the moment.  Interest rates in the UK have not been as low as they are now for 300 years.  And I am a saver.  I mean, I am dependent upon the interest of my savings.  Without that interest I have little to live on.   So I've been thrown for a six.  Should I apply a "10 steps of Healing" towards the effects of the credit crunch upon my life?  Do you see what I mean?   From the day we are squeezed out of our mother's wombs life comes at us with knocks and bangs and we have to deal with them, we had to be flexible, we have to adjust, and we can never stop or give up.  If we do, we go to the dogs.  So "10 steps of Healing" with regard to one of many awful illnesses to me sounds all a bit to unctious and sanctimonious.  I have so many problems to deal with every day that if I applied a 10-step process to each of them I'ld probably never sort them all out!

    17 months ago

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