Even though stigma is treated as a minor case when it’s experienced, extreme cases of HIV stigma can negatively affect the body. HIV and other related issues can be difficult to talk about especially when for fear a possibility of stigma. Most people are suffering in silence because they aren’t ready to talk about HIV and the stigma that it can cause. The best way to handle HIV stigma is constantly talking about it and making sure you separate the disease from your own life.
How can you stop HIV stigma?
It’s about the perception and the view that people give to HIV that causes stigma on other people. Most of the people look at HIV as a killer disease making it very difficult for HIV victims to interact openly with other people. Because of their condition, most of the HIV patients require a lot of constant love and no discrimination in the environments where they live.
It takes brave people to openly talk about their HIV status and embrace their conditions to easily overcome stigma. The fear of what will happen next and how other people within the surrounding are likely to react is the main cause of stigma in many people. The effect of stigma on your health is worse than the fear that you may have to overcome it.
What is the importance of overcoming stigma?
It may take some time before you can totally stop or overcome stigma. Apart from the HIV victims who undergo stigma, close families and friend are equally vulnerable to the same stigma. It can be worse when the entire family is affected by stigma hence the importance and need to stop the stigma and its effects among people.
The initiative to stop stigma among the HIV victims can be an initiative of the government or non-government organization that majorly focus on HIV control. By training the general public about HIV and making sure everybody have the right information about the condition, you can easily stop HIV stigma.
