AIDS Survivor Syndrome Wont Go Away!
AIDS Survivor’s Syndrome (ASS) no doubt has come to stay with the community of People Living with HIV/AIDS and isn’t going away.
AIDS Survivor Syndrome (ASS) describes the spectrum of sustained trauma survivorship resulting from living through the AIDS pandemic, the worst epidemic in modern history.
Most vulnerable are individuals who became HIV-positive in the 1980s & 1990s, when having HIV was considered a terminal diagnosis.
According to the organization KickASS at this year’s United States Conference on AIDS, nearly 50 percent of Positive, poz men experience mental health issues.
KickASS says a survey reveals 35 percent of long-term male survivors “still grieve” and 7 percent “still deeply grieve”.
A U.K. study of 6,000 people found those living with HIV are three to seven times more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety vs. those without HIV.
The rates increase with age and the length of time someone has been living with HIV.
A study in AIDS Care earlier this year found that nonprofessional caregivers of poz folks who can no longer care for themselves also struggle with mental health, with 46 percent of caretakers experiencing depression and 27 percent anxiety.