The Journey to Disclosure and Visibility

WebMD

a day ago

With HIV, there are a million things you have to consider and prepare for. A lot of them happen simultaneously. It's a lot to manage.
At the start of your HIV journey, it's normal to be focused on surviving these challenges.
As the basics of managing your diagnosis unfold, there's much also happening inside you – feelings and emotions that can be overwhelming. Feeling angry, confused, sad, hopeless, and frightened are to be expected. Unpacking those feelings is important.
There's a lot of change and new information to digest as well. Move at your own pace. Being patient, persistent, and honest with yourself goes a long way in helping you adapt.
Regardless of how it looks or how long it takes to adjust, life with HIV can be rewarding and empowering. What seemed impossible ends up in your rear view mirror. Day by day, month by month, year by year, you can build mental and emotional strength. That strength will always be useful and necessary.
When things start to level out for you, it may help to figure out how and when to share your experience. Finding your level of comfort with talking about your status takes time. This varies from person to person. But once you've become more secure in the basics of what it means to live with HIV, opening up is often easier. There's no right or wrong way to approach this.
Opening up about your status may happen with someone close to you, with whom you feel safe. Or it could happen in a support group, sharing with others who can relate to what you're going through and experienced.
Choosing to process some (or all) of what's happened with a mental health professional could be the way to go. For some, sharing publicly about their life with HIV is beneficial. This could happen through speaking engagements, artistic performances, or writing. In my case, after a few years with HIV, I tried each of the above methods. They were helpful for me, albeit at different points in the first 10 years of my HIV journey.
If you choose to go share your experiences, it's important to be mindful of potential risks.
Stigma, ignorance, fear, and misinformation are prevalent. In some instances, they've led to harmful outcomes. While this shouldn't deter you from being open about your status or being more visible, if that's what you want, it's important to consider how visible you choose to be, and with whom.
When it comes to HIV and how much of your life it impacts, your decision about disclosure and visibility should be made carefully. But the choice is an extremely personal one. It's not for everyone, which is OK.
Whether you choose to navigate their HIV journey privately, publicly, or somewhere in between, the important thing is you get the treatment, care, and support you need and deserve.
Regardless of what you choose, the goal is living a long, healthy, and prosperous life while feeling as safe as possible.