Live with HIV
40 years of AIDS: Did the social reception of HIV/AIDS change?
In June 2021, exactly 40 years had passed since the first cases of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection were officially detected and described in scientific literature. Do these changes translate into the independence of one's well-being from an HIV diagnosis? We tried to answer this question in our meta-analysis.
Emotional inertia and well-being of people living with HIV
Emotional inertia means that an emotional state persists over time and does not change dynamically in response to the situational context.
Psychological well-being, or me and my life
Psychological well-being is defined in a variety of ways, however, it can be agreed that this term refers to individually perceived happiness and satisfaction with life.
Why will research on psychological well-being help me and other patients?
If you are in the HIV positive group and you struggle with numerous somatic, psychological and social problems, psychological well-being is particularly important for you. Thanks to research it takes on a practical dimension.
What does the daily well-being of people with HIV depend on?
Major differences are observed in affective states and coping with the infection among patients who receive the same treatment and have nearly identical medical indicators describing the course of the disease.
What determines long-term change in psychological well-being of people with HIV?
To what extent is a person’s well-being constant (e.g. conditioned by innate personality traits), and to what extent does it depend on changing environmental conditions?
Emotional state of persons with HIV and clinical parameters – are they linked?
Persons with HIV often experience strong chronic stress which – as current status of knowledge indicates – is more linked to psychosocial factors (e.g. social stigmatisation) than medical ones.
Well-being and clinical parameters, social status and innate personality traits
In our first study we wanted to check to what extent the innate personality traits from the Big Five model (the five-factor model of personality (FFM)) as well as variables describing social status were linked to well-being of individuals with HIV.
Who is better at coping with stress – women or men with HIV?
Gender differences concerning psychosocial functioning of persons with HIV constitute a major research theme. For example, a lower level of well-being is recorded among women with HIV than among men with HIV.
Psychological well-being of people with HIV. Summary
In an attempt to sum up the results of our research presented here we would like to note several recurring themes, which are consistent with other psychological studies on this subject.
Can HIV infection lead to PTSD?
HIV infection entails not only negative somatic consequences but also numerous problems of psychological and social nature. Addictions, depression and anxiety disorders are mentioned among the most frequent ones.
The other face of HIV/AIDS trauma: posttraumatic growth
Extreme negative opinions about psychosocial consequences of living with HIV are widespread. However, firstly, advances in treatment significantly extended the lives of HIV-positive people.
Posttraumatic growth among people living with HIV: what we do not know yet?
We believe that it is certainly worth exploring the phenomenon of PTG further. It is associated with e.g. greater satisfaction with life, greater emotional well-being of HIV-infected people or higher CD4 lymphocyte count.
