Living With HIV: Advice on Treatment, Stigma, and Getting Support

About 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which can progress to AIDS if untreated. AIDS is a disease that affects the immune system. About 13 percent of those individuals with HIV may not know that they have HIV; thus, testing plays an important role. 

What is treatment for HIV like?

While there is no cure for HIV, there are many treatments available that allow people living with HIV to generally live long, healthy lives, particularly with early diagnosis and if those with HIV are able to be consistent with the available medication regimens. 

“HIV drugs are [overall] much less toxic than they were when I was diagnosed,” says Larry Bryant, Volunteer Program Manager at Housing Works, a non-profit advocacy group that offers housing, healthcare, and legal support to people living with HIV. 

“We have a very healthy family of non-toxic medication regimens that are helping people live, that may not have had a chance to do 10 [or] 15 years ago,” says Bryant. 

Bryant was diagnosed with HIV in 1986, when he was just 18 years old. He tells people who are newly diagnosed that it’s okay to be scared.

“I, honest to God, never would have thought I would be sitting here today,” he says. “My story is not unlike a lot of individuals who today are diagnosed HIV positive. Life is bigger than that now.”

For Scott Davis, Program Coordinator at Housing Works, treatment options were more limited for him when he was infected with multidrug-resistant HIV back in 2003.

“In the United States, we’ve found that treatment and education are absolutely the best ways to curtail the epidemic and to prevent it from continuing to increase,” Davis says.

How do you cope with HIV stigma?

Still, people living with HIV can experience stigma. This may discourage those who are most at risk for HIV from getting tested or receiving treatment.

“It’s a big issue, stigma, and that is, to me, one of the reasons why HIV is spreading faster,” says Kadiri Audu, a client of Housing Works who lives with HIV. 

Bryant says that he knows many people who won’t get tested for HIV or seek medication for their illness because they’re afraid of being targeted.

“If we’re going to end the stigma, my thought is that people living with HIV like myself should be comfortable or be willing enough to just live life openly,” he says.

How do you access support for living with HIV?

With the emphasis on medical treatment for people with HIV, sometimes the social and emotional support they need gets overlooked, according to Bryant. For example, people living with HIV may be more likely to experience unemployment and food insecurity than the rest of the population.

“Smart treatment is a continuum of care that supports the whole individual, from their health, to their mental health, to their economic and educational health,” Bryant explains.

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Written by:

Marisa Taylor Karas

Marisa Taylor Karas is a freelance journalist based in Brooklyn who has covered health, gender, and technology for 15 years. She previously worked at The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and Al Jazeera America, among other publications, and also served as managing editor of the Mellon Foundation in New York City.

Reviewed by:

Alexandra Schwarz, MD

Alexandra Schwarz, MD, is a board-eligible sleep medicine physician and a board-certified family medicine physician. She is a member of both the AASM and the ABFM.

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