People and Culture
Mental health affectsmany peopleat some point in life. For people living with HIV, stigma, disease-related stress, and the biological effects of the virus itself all contribute to an acute mental health burden, creating a cycle that can accelerate disease progression and affect quality-of-life.[1]
UNAIDS findspeople living with HIVmore likely to experience diagnosed mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety. Concurrentmental conditions mayalsoimpactlifestyle choices,such asHIV careand adherence to treatment.
This factholds considerablemeaning forAhmed.Herecalls being at his “weakest point” whenhisHIV diagnosisin 2016collided with his mental health in ways he was unprepared for
Achievingandmaintainingan undetectableviral loadwas a significant milestone that helped shiftAhmed’sperspective.”I’m now in a really, really good mental head space,” he says. However,ifAhmed could offer his younger self guidance, the message would be, “Be confident, stay true to yourself and start working on and loving yourself.”
When facing challenges related to mental health, instead of letting his struggles define or isolate him, he actively searched for outlets for healing, such as through art
“Being an artist helped me in my journey because I always had the situation of expressing myself through art.”hesays
Ahmedhas also become an invaluable re meaningful community connections as an advocate has not onlyhelpedhimcreate a support system, but ithas provided a sense of belonging, self-confidence and understanding for him and others living with HIV
Watch the video above to learn more about Ahmed’s journeyand the importance ofaddressing mental health conditions for people living with HIV.
[1] From NIH National Library of Medicine article Depression and HIV Progression: A Mini-Review
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