Awareness for AIDS

By: ASHNA DAS

AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is the 3rd stage of the HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) infection. HIV can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, sharing syringes, or perinatally; but as the disease progresses it leads to AIDS. HIV usually progresses to AIDS due to no treatment, which causes rapid health decline as HIV/AIDS patients are susceptible to life threatening conditions and complications. 

Victims of AIDS are affected in their mental health and throughout their daily life due to this disease. This disease causes inflammation in the body, which leads to neurological deficits as the inflammation affects the brain and spinal cord. Victims of this disease also often have a higher chance of developing many mental disorders, such as depression, due to the stress of the disease. The side effects of the medication to treat HIV/AIDS can also exacerbate the mental conditions of people affected by HIV/AIDS and affect their cognitive behavior. Many people with HIV, and especially AIDS, feel embarrassed and humiliated about their disease and resent the disease, especially victims of AIDS, as it is surrounded by much stigma and discrimination. 

The stigma and discrimination against many who have HIV/AIDS further divides the community. People refuse to be educated on this topic, and then spread false information about the topic, which further spreads stigma about this disease. For example, outsiders look down on people with AIDS as they believe that the progression of the disease could have been prevented through proper medication. This is true, however, many people with AIDS were not able to get the proper medical attention they needed. According to NIH, 44% of youths with HIV did not know they were infected and only 78% of youths who were diagnosed with HIV have received care within the next 3 months of their diagnosis. 

People diagnosed with HIV/AIDS have to deal with a lot of stresses, mental and physical. They must overcome the disease’s mental and physical deficits, as well as the humiliation and stigma surrounding the disease. They already have to battle depression and other mood, cognitive, and anxiety disorders, but they are also forced to face the discrimination and stigma that uneducated people spread. If we stop spreading stigma and stop discriminating against people who have this disease, their mental status will improve, as they will not have to deal with the judgment of others. We, as people not affected by HIV/AIDS, should spread actual, relevant information about this disease, rather than stigmatize and judge people for it. For example, instead of criticizing the victims of AIDS, we could support them, and help them find ways to resist the disease and its effects on the body. By learning about this disease from medical professionals or researchers and preventing the spread of misinformation and judgment, we can help bridge the gap in the community and the education of this disease. After all, we cannot judge what we do not have.

Citation

Koenig, Linda J et al. “Young People and HIV: A Call to Action.” American journal of public health vol. 106,3 (2016): 402-5. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302979

“HIV And AIDS and Mental Health.” National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), 28 June 2023, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/hiv-aids.