HIV/AIDS and Mental Health Issues

Introduction/Background

HIV/AIDS stands for human immunodeficiency virus. It is the virus that can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or AIDS if not treated (About HIV/AIDS. (2019, August 14). The HIV/AIDS epidemic has been an issue within the United States for as early as 1960 but it was first noticed after doctors discovered sign of clustes of Kaposi’s sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in gay men in Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco in 1981 and it is still a prominent issue within the the LGBTQIA+ and the black community; it especially impacts the black LGBTQIA+ community. Clinical depression is the most commonly observed mental health disorder among individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV; the most common emotions after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS is sadness and grief. Many patients will not seek treatment because they think that this feeling of sadness and despair is a normal side effect of their diagnosis and this in fact incorrect. This topic is an important topic to discuss due to many patients who have this disease will committ suicide due to the fact that they are feeling sad and have a lot of grief because they are dealing with this disease. When someone tests positive for HIV/AIDS it is like your whole world can change in an instant; from who you associate yourself, having to get new healthcare providers, watching your immune system, and of course having to figure out how to now live your life knowing that you have HIV/AIDS; all these factors can make anyone start having obtaining symptoms of depression. This feeling of sadness and grief could make a person want to distant themselves from the world or even take their lives. People who find themselves living with HIV/AIDS have higher rates of rates of suicidal behavior than those who do not battle with this disease. We need to educate these individuals who have this disease that it is not the end of the world for them just because they have HIV/AIDS; that life continues to go on and so should them. This research paper would provide adequate research on the topic that can open doors to limiting this percentage of people having depression and committing suicide because they have this disease. Society tries to keep people who have HIV/AIDS in their own little world and tries to separate them socially from everyone else. The mindset that world has on HIV/AIDS and on people who has HIV/AIDS needs to be alter or the number of suicide rates among this group will continue to increase and it is not fair that these individuals have to deal with having this terrible disease and having to deal with mistreatment from their peers. Conducting more research on this connection between HIV/AIDS and depression is important because it is not often talked about and it needs to be talked about due to it being a real issue that real people have to deal with everyday and it needs to be talked about more. In people living with HIV, misery may decline existing ailment states and lead to more unfortunate wellbeing results. Earlier research has uncovered that downturn is not just connected with higher HIV viral loads and lower CD4 cells tally yet additionally rushes the movement to AIDS and lifts the danger of mortality. Moreover, wretchedness has been accounted for to lessen adherence to antiretroviral treatment (ART), debilitate its helpful impacts, and bargains the prescription results at both individual and populace scale.

Methodology

Methods

This study was conducted by reviewing ten articles on HIV/AIDS and the disease connection with depression and other mental illness such as anxiety and paranoia. The information was obtained by conducting an extensive search on the electronic resources and databases provide by Tennessee State University. The primary search engines that were used to conduct research for this study are Google and Proquest; the initial key words used in these search engines include HIV, AIDS, depression, paranoia, anxiety, mental illness… From this search over 44,000,000 articles then returned with possible matches, although with further review for adequacy and relevancy and brought down this number to ten articles. These ten articles will be the source of information for this paper.

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Results

The stigma associated with HIV/AIDS represents a mental test to individuals living with HIV/AIDS. We speculated that the results of shame related stressors on mental prosperity would rely upon how individuals adapt to the pressure of HIV/AIDS shame. 200 members with HIV/AIDS finished a self-report proportion of authorized shame and felt disgrace, a proportion of how they adapted to HIV/AIDS shame, and proportions of discouragement, uneasiness, and self esteem. When all is said in done, increments in felt disgrace (worries with open frames of mind, negative mental self view, and divulgence concerns) combined with how members revealed adapting to shame (by withdrawing from or connecting with the disgrace stressor)

anticipated self-announced melancholy, uneasiness, and confidence. Increments in felt shame were related with increments in tension and melancholy among members who revealed generally significant levels of separation adapting contrasted with members who detailed moderately low degrees of withdrawal adapting. Increments in felt disgrace were related with diminished confidence, however this affiliation was lessened among members who revealed generally significant levels of commitment control adapting. The information additionally proposed a pattern that increments in ordered shame anticipated increments in tension, however not sadness, among members who detailed utilizing greater separation adapting. Emotional wellness experts working with individuals who are HIV positive ought to think about how their customers adapt to HIV/AIDS shame and think about fitting current treatments to address the connection between disgrace, adapting, and mental prosperity. Rates of current despondency among people with HIV have been assessed to be two to multiple times higher than paces of despondency among people who are HIV pessimistic, and rates are as much as multiple times higher among ladies with HIV than ladies without HIV (Bing et al., 2001; Ciesla and Roberts, 2001; Morrison et al., 2002). Individuals with HIV meet the criteria for summed up nervousness issue at a rate just about multiple times higher than a relative U.S. test (Bing, et al., 2001). Individuals with HIV/AIDS likewise report sentiments of self-question, reluctance, adverse assumptions regarding relational communications, and sentiments of sadness and depression identified with their sickness (Kelly et al., 1993; Kylma, Vehvilainen-Julkunen, and Lahdevirta, 2001).

Discussion

The hypothesis of this was paper was thoroughly supported; In this examination, I found a positive relationship between's apparent separation and sorrow. In 2011, an investigation of the pervasiveness of oppression HIV/AIDS patients in nine nations in Asia showed that patients in every nation detailed a conspicuous degree of disguised separation. The government and department of health should strengthen publicity and education about AIDS to deepen society’s understanding. Family support is crucial for patients with HIV/AIDS because of course it provides warmth and care and decreases the stress faced by individuals affected this chronic disease. But, unfortunately only 57% of patients had a good relationship with their family and this of course leads to social and separation anxiety. Very few studies have investigated the impact of family support on depression in patients with HIV; however, it has been proposed that poor family support is associated with an increased incidence of depression. From this study the researcher was able to determine that more extensive matters need to be set in tone to help those individuals facing with HIV/AIDS learn how to cope with positive measures. If more preventive matter does not get set in place the suicide rates among people with this chronic disease will continue to grow up. People with HIV/AIDS deserve to live happy care free lives like everyone else, they need to learn that life does not stop just because they have this chronic illness. From this study I learned by next year according to the UNICEF estimates that worldwide by 2020 approximately 40 million children will have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS and this estimate was made six years ago and this estimate is a combination of deaths from due to the disease and from suicide.

Conclusion

This present study displays the relationship between HIV/AIDS and depression and other forms of mental illness such as anxiety and paranoia. This topic is an important topic to discuss due to many patients who have this disease will committ suicide due to the fact that they’re feeling sad and have a lot of grief because they’re dealing with this disease. When someone tests positive for HIV/AIDS it’s like your whole world can change in an instant; from who you associate yourself, having to get new healthcare providers, watching your immune system, and of course having to figure out how to now live your life knowing that you have HIV/AIDS; all these factors can make anyone start having obtaining symptoms of depression. Without more preventive measures being taken in place by the government and any health programs the stigma of individuals who have HIV/AIDS dealing mental illness will continue to rise which will lead to suicide rates among this community will just continue increase. The articles that were used to determine the factors behind this study were factual and provided evidence to the hypothesis listed at the beginning of this research paper. The future of HIV/AIDS will be bright if more research, like the one within this paper, takes place; this conversation needs to be discussed if the solution has yet to be revealed. HIV/AIDS patients deserve happy fulfilled lives and this will not happened if they are not educated and everyone around them is not educated on this topic; they need to be informed that their lives do not stop because they have this disease. More support groups need to be implemented and the government needs to stop trying to hide away from the conversation.

References

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