Who do I tell? ·
Before you tell anyone about your friend or family member’s HIV, you must first of all check with them that they are comfortable with you telling that person.
Once you have told someone you can’t take it back and you may find that the person you tell might not react as well as you would have liked or that they similarly tell others, This may result in distress for the person with HIV and/or you.
Although they may say it is okay to mention their HIV status to others, it doesn’t give you the automatic green light to talk about it thereafter unless they have said so. People don’t like being defined by their infection and may get hacked off if the only thing you talk about is their HIV status. People with HIV like to talk about soaps, football and all the usual gossip!
If you need support there are agencies/services you can talk to.
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