Overcome the fear of knowing your HIV status – get tested
When you think of self-love, self-care and self-preservation you may envision carving time out of your day for a chapter of a book, eating nutritious foods or watching a favorite movie. What you may not envision is treating yourself to an HIV test. Why is that? Why is something that could save your life, bring knowledge and awareness around your body and be fairly easily controlled not on your to-do list? I think it may be fear. May it be stigma?
Overcoming this fear of testing — this stigma surrounding testing — is a huge first step in taking care of you. Understanding that the fear, stigma and secrecy may be uncomfortably inserted into conversation about HIV and HIV testing has no place in 2022.
Fortunately, in 2022, we have resources that make HIV testing completely free, private and extremely quick. Should your fear be needles, we can combat it with a small lancet poke to the finger. Should your fear be waiting for weeks on end for your results, we can combat that by providing your test results within minutes and surrounding you with knowledgeable and caring professionals.
I believe we have all gained a new appreciation for how painful isolation and lack of support can be through the pandemic. Whether you need support just getting you to an HIV test or coping with the results of an HIV test — it will always be available. Mental health professionals are available onsite at most testing areas — either giving you the courage to love yourself enough to take that first step in getting your test and, if needed, helping you learn how positive your life can be should you find out you are HIV positive.
As we have more recently learned to live with the pandemic without the initial fear of March 2020, you will also be able to learn how to live an HIV-positive life without fear. You will learn to live with love and empowerment built on knowing your body and with peace knowing that we live in a time when medicine will allow you to live a completely “normal” life with an HIV-positive status.
A positive HIV test should not stop you from thriving and living a long life. As we celebrate National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, we encourage adults aged 55 and older to get tested to reduce the spread, prevent a late diagnosis, and get proper treatment, if needed. With proper treatment, one’s status can become undetectable, reducing your risk of passing on the virus to zero.
Knowing your status, getting, and staying in care can improve the health of older adults as they continue to enjoy sexual life. It’s important to know HIV does not have an age limit, and anyone engaging in sexual activity is at risk.
All this to say, the fear of being HIV positive should never stop anyone from being tested. It should push you to the testing center — a radical act of self-love. To connect with a provider near you, visit TakeControlHIV.com, go to services and complete a link to care form.