Thriving With HIV

Andrea: My name is Andrea Johnson 00:00:09. I have been living with HIV for seven years now. Anyone thinks about HIV, it's like, “Oh, my God, I don't wanna talk about that.” Why? It's fear. It's fear because we don't talk about it enough. Dr. Felsen: Probably the most common misconception about HIV is that people think that it's not something that they can get. Yolanda: Anyone, literally, can have HIV, and not tell you that they do. Dr. Khalil: You have to be careful, obviously, with that diagnosis. You want to protect your loved ones. Yolanda: You have to be sure that when you're having sex with someone that you know what's up with them, what their status is, what your status is, and you have to be honest about it. Marcus: Understand that it has nothing to do with guilt, bad behavior of ... you know, some sort of punishment, for being who you are. It's not a gay disease. It has nothing to do with any of that. It is a virus. Dr. Felsen: Some people take it as an opportunity to, in some ways, turn their life around. Yolanda: Throw yourself 100% into fulfilling your goals and dreams. Andrea: Talk to a professional. The recommendation is that you start medications right away, so that your viral load can stay below zero or undetectable. Dr. Goldberg: There are excellent medications that treat it. Many of the regimens are a single pill once a day, with minimal or no side effect. Dr. Felsen: Live a healthy lifestyle, like anyone else, and by healthy lifestyle, I mean a healthy diet, a well balanced diet, and regular exercise. Marcus: And now the next step is, take care of yourself, and love yourself, and forgive yourself. Andrea: Look, you're going to live. You're going to survive. You're going to be able to do everything that you aspire to do in your life. It's all up to you and what you want to do. HIV is the virus. It is not you as the person.