Here’s some of our advice on dealing with it all.

Time

Being told you’ve got HIV is going to take time to sink in, even if the result wasn’t totally unexpected. 

It may be a cliché, but 'take your time'. Things will become clearer. And however you feel now, don’t be too hard on yourself. 

Information

Some of us found that knowing more about HIV helped. It seemed less of a mystery. There are lots of sources of information to help you learn more if that’s what you want to do. You can find these listed throughout our website.

On the other hand, some people don’t want to find out too much. It can be confusing or overwhelming to deal with a lot of information. 

There’s no right or wrong. What's right is whatever works for you. 

But it is good to know a bit about HIV because that can give us more control over how HIV affects our lives. It means we can keep a better eye on our health. And it makes it easier to go to the clinic and make decisions about treatment. 

Talking

You might want to talk to a few people you are close to and trust. Being told you’re HIV positive is a big thing to deal with alone.

In the section of our website on Telling people you’ll find practical suggestions about who to tell and how to tell them. This should help you think things through a bit.

But don’t feel pressured into telling people. It’s totally your decision.

I’ve got no one to talk to

If there’s no one you feel you can tell, there are lots of people who can help. 

You could call THT Direct, our helpline. Here you can talk to staff who have been trained to give support and advice on anything related to HIV.  

Or you could talk to the health adviser at your HIV clinic. There are also counsellors and support groups across the UK that can help.

You can find out more about the different types of support available in Support & information.

How do I know if I’m dealing with things OK?

That’s something we all asked ourselves.

There are a few signs you can look for to see if you are doing OK. And there are some signs that might suggest that you’re not dealing with things quite so well and may want to think about getting help.  

Doing OK

If you are doing OK you are:

• still able to enjoy friendships even without telling people you’ve got HIV
• thinking about your lifestyle now you’ve got HIV and about any changes you can make to help you stay healthy
• still able to have positive thoughts about the future.

Not dealing with things so well

If you’re suddenly behaving completely differently - for example, you are partying harder and taking more drugs or alcohol - or your normal sleeping patterns have totally gone out the window, then you probably aren't dealing with things OK.

Now may be the time to get some support. You can read about the may different kinds of support on offer in the Support & information section of our website. Or you could ask your GP or HIV clinic for advice.