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Ask the Experts about Mental Health and HIV
Effects
Jul 13, 2008
What emotional effects do HIV/AIDS do to you? Do you suffer from anger or stress or something?
and what is the physiological effects it can do to you??
Response from Dr. Horwath
The emotional effects of having HIV/AIDS are very wide ranging. Having a serious viral infection that threatens your health can be very stressful. Sometimes people get quite angry or self-blaming on finding out that they have HIV infection - "why me?", "why wasn't I more careful?" - and sometimes they will blame others - "He (she) didn't tell me his (her) HIV status. Some people develop significant anxiety or depression. If this is the case for you, then it is important to get some help. Speak to a trustworthy friend or seek help from a mental health professional or other medical professional.
HIV can also cause physical changes that affect a person's emotional state, behavior or thinking abilities. For the most part, the physiologic effects of HIV on the brain and behavior tend to occur long after the initial infection. Most of the effects of HIV on the brain don't occur until a person already has a fairly advanced stage of AIDS.
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