Reviewed by: Xin Li (Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University)
Author: Zhang Wei (Beijing Ditan Hospital, Capital Medical University)
When it comes to the treatment of AIDS, we can all think that this is a disease that is extremely harmful to health, and requires professional drug treatment or special surgical treatment, which is often said by ordinary people to "take medicine" and "open surgery".
But what is often easily overlooked is that what AIDS patients need most is not only physical treatment, but also psychological meticulous guidance and warm comfort.
Image source: Stand Cool Helo
1. What psychological problems may I experience?
For most patients, the moment they learn that they are infected with HIV, it is a huge psychological blow, and it is very likely that various psychological problems and even psychological crises may occur. In severe cases, mental disorders may also occur, mainly manifested as depression, anxiety, revenge, numbness and so on. Most people will have multiple psychological problems at the same time.
The most likely to be depressive symptoms. Feeling worried and afraid of their own health, not hoping for their own treatment, and developing a strong fear of death. The discrimination of the people around them will be "worse", making the patient insomnia, low mood, bad appetite, and even to the extreme point of suicide.
Many people experience symptoms of anxiety. Fidgeting, anorexia, insomnia, etc. may occur. Sometimes you will suddenly feel nervous, accompanied by physical symptoms such as heart panic, difficulty breathing, frequent urination, urgency, sweating, and irritability. Sometimes I feel unbearable and panicked about everything, as if a great disaster is coming, which is called a "panic attack" in the medical field.
Patients develop a sense of revenge. When you learn that you are infected with HIV, you will feel that you have been killed, you will be very angry, you will resent the unfairness of heaven, and you will even hate the whole society, resulting in the psychology of revenge against society, such as deliberately donating blood, placing needles or knives stained with your own blood in places where others may be injured, and so on. There are also many reports in the news, despite the fact that these methods are difficult to cause others to infect with HIV.
In the advanced stages of the disease, patients may show indifference or even numbness to the phenomenon of HIV infection, unwilling to change their existing lifestyle, and may treat life negatively and do not cooperate with treatment.
These psychologies, which are difficult for healthy people to understand, are very easy to appear in the hearts of AIDS patients, and patients should face these psychologies, and healthy people should give AIDS patients more humanistic care.
2. How do I self-regulate?
Efforts should be made to face up to reality and accept the fact that you are infected with HIV.
It should be clear that AIDS is no longer a terminal disease, it has become a chronic disease, and like diabetes and hypertension, it requires long-term antiviral drugs to control the disease and can survive for a long time. The World Health Organization predicts that AIDS will be conquered by 2030.
We must strive to maintain a positive and optimistic mood, believe in science, believe in doctors, believe in our own strength, and believe in our ability to grasp our own survival time. On the mainland, the number of AIDS patients has shown a small upward trend, but the number of people caring for AIDS patients is increasing significantly, and more and more people are giving AIDS patients more understanding and care. Therefore, we should learn to treat HIV correctly, and we should learn to enjoy life and learn to live with HIV.
If you feel that you can't get rid of negative emotions, you should actively seek help from professionals and related organizations, such as psychologists, healthy HIV-infected people, etc., rather than avoiding or denying your psychological problems.
3. What should caregivers be aware of?
As a caregiver of AIDS patients, in addition to life care, we must also pay attention to the emotional health of patients. Because everyone's emotional needs are different, there is no one unified approach that works for everyone.
Encouraging the patient to make decisions related to their care and medical care, and encouraging the patient to actively participate in his or her treatment decisions, will give the patient a sense of control and independence about their own destiny.
Do not avoid patients. People living with AIDS, like everyone else, feel anger, frustration, and other bad emotions. Be aware that these reactions are not directed at you, but are caused by a disease. Be patient with them and be more tolerant.
Don't be afraid to discuss his or her condition with the patient. AIDS patients actually need to talk to each other often and hope that someone will listen.
Don't be afraid to make physical contact with the patient, shake hands with the patient from time to time, hug, etc., will have a great encouragement to the patient and help him or her to establish a positive and optimistic mood.
*The content of this article is a popularization of health knowledge and cannot be used as a specific diagnosis and treatment recommendation, nor is it a substitute for face-to-face consultation by a practicing physician, for reference only.
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