"If I Test HIV Positive, I'll Commit Suicide!" (Don't!)

  • 16 years ago
Cass Mann is one of the world's longest-term HIV-positive diagnosed gay men, now in his third decade of living with HIV, and the founder of UK’s only gay men’s HIV/AIDS charity Positively Healthy, which provides HIV services including education, support, and peer counselling. Here he talks about how people sometimes feel suicidal when they think they're about to test HIV positive or have tested HIV positive, and why suicide makes no sense. A person who is diagnosed HIV positive today can expect to live a full lifespan with a good quality of life so long as they follow medical advice and take care of their health and nutrition. Many gay men who committed suicide lacked a network. Gay men should get a support network in place so that they have it when they need it. Drugs, depression, and isolation all increase the risk of suicide. People suffering from depression need immediate treatment. For more information, visit http://www.posh-uk.org.uk/ and http://www.AIDSvideos.org/.

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