“HIV stigma is destroying our mental health”

40 years ago received Being diagnosed with HIV practically meant signing a death warrant.. However, the advent of the first treatments paved the way for survival, although at a very high cost, as they were very toxic drugs that harmed the body of those who are considered today long survivors AIDS pandemic of the 1980s.

This is the case Mar Linareswho at 62 years old has more than 35 people living with HIVsince the diagnosis was made in the late 80s “At that time I saw many friends die, and I also became a guinea pig for the first drugs, which were very aggressive towards the body, especially in women, because the doses were intended. for men who participated in clinical trials, and for us, with low weight, they “intoxicated” us. “I was taking dozens of pills a day, and today I’m down to one pill,” says Linares, a member of the organization. SuperVIHventstook part this week in XXVIII VIII NGO Conference was held in Toledo.

Over these decades, the HIV horizon has undergone a complete metamorphosis, but some things have remained intact: “Stigma and discrimination have not disappeared. An extensive therapeutic arsenal now saves our lives, but prejudice continues to fill the very heavy backpack we carry every day and which destroys our mental health as we often feel rejected and isolated, condemns Linares.

An example of this unfair discrimination is the “via Crus” that Linares experienced until he reached an important milestone in achieving the first recognition of permanent disability due to the consequences of HIV in our country. “It’s been a very winding road over six years because long-term HIV is not recognized as a disabling disease, even though the first treatments they gave us had a lot of side effects and treated our organs badly, so , that “This has led to consequences that make it impossible to combine our lives with a profession or a working day,” he admits. In her case, working as an administrator in a company became unbearable. “It felt like every day was starting over again because I sat in front of the computer and didn’t remember anything, I had problems with concentration and memory loss, in addition to chronic fatigue. All this undermines mental health, which is another stigma that exacerbates what we already suffer from as people with HIV.”details Linares.

Precedent

In the field of HIV, scientific research has made giant strides, but society still lags behind. “It remains to be expected that health care will take a comprehensive approach to people who have experienced a long pregnancy., taking into account both physical and mental health. We are not conventionally chronically ill, but we have our own characteristics that must be recognized and which have not yet been done, as evidenced by the fact that HIV is not even cataloged by Social Security when applying for a medical examination. “This is another example of discrimination that continues to exist,” he condemns.

The decision obtained by Linares in his favor sets a precedent that “I believe this will help open the door for other people with HIV who may be faced with asking for permanent disability.And. I hope this is so, because I have seen that administratively it is very difficult for a person with HIV to be given this right,” he says.

For this reason, raising our voices remains so necessary, a difficult task that HIV activists have tirelessly carried out in our country for almost 40 years, fighting, among other things, to eliminate the unfair stigma associated with HIV.