Start Talking... Spread Awareness...!!

Yesterday while watching the inauguration ceremony of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, there they showed a small Clip Featuring Virender Sehwag and Kumar Sangakara takling about AIDS and spreading awareness about it. That video really inspired me. So even i support that cause and decided to write a complete article on AIDS and what myths people have.

Knowing people who are living with HIV helps to humanize the disease and allows you to see beyond the staggering headlines and statistics. AIDS isn't really about numbers and risk groups-it's about people, about friends and family, co-workers and caregivers. Most of us are afraid or unsure of ourselves in unfamiliar situations. We also may feel uncomfortable around, or have wrong ideas about, people we don't know. AIDS is a scary disease. People who have AIDS may seem scary as well. The obvious way to solve this problem is to get to know some people living with AIDS.

It's important to remember the difference between being HIV positive and having AIDS. People who are HIV positive may be healthy; they often look just like everyone else. You probably already know people who are HIV positive, and you just are not aware of it. Unless people tell you their HIV status, you can't tell who has been infected. You can meet people with HIV anywhere - on the job, at a baseball game, at the grocery store - anywhere you meet people.

Those who have been diagnosed with AIDS, however, are beginning to feel - and show - the effects of a weakened immune system. As the disease progresses, they may need more assistance and support. These are probably the people you will meet if you begin volunteering for AIDS service organizations, whether you are delivering meals, providing practical support, or visiting the AIDS ward.

As the disease takes hold in more communities across the country and around the world, it becomes more and more likely that you will know someone who is affected by AIDS - a friend, a co-worker, even a family member. If AIDS has not yet touched your life so personally, you may want to become acquainted with people who are living with AIDS. Once you have an understanding of AIDS as a force in the lives of individuals and not just as a faraway and terrifying plague, you may feel ready to become involved in the fight against the disease. One of the best and most helpful ways to get to know a person with AIDS is to volunteer f or an AIDS service organization in your community. There are many ways to make a difference. For instance, you can deliver meals to people with AIDS, work at a drop-in center, or help to provide practical or emotional support to people who are living with the disease.

Don't misspeak about AIDS

Language and how we use it is very important. It reveals a lot about what we think and how we feel. When talking about AIDS, there are a number of disrespectful and dehumanizing words we may use unintentionally.

There are no "AIDS victims"

One of the most important changes we should make is to stop using the term victim to refer to people who are living with AIDS. By calling someone an AIDS victim we are saying that he or she is powerless in the face of this disease and should have no hope. We should instead use our words to emphasize the strength and the hope of those fighting AIDS.

There are no "innocent victims"

Early in the epidemic - and even today, unfortunately - it was common for people to talk about the "innocent victims" of AIDS who caught the disease "through no fault of their own." This implied that anyone who caught the disease because of doing something unsafe was some sort of guilty perpetrator of AIDS who deserved to suffer a terrible death. This sort of judgment, which casts some as innocent and lays blame on others, serves only to increase the stigma attached to this awful disease. No one with AIDS deserves to have it. No one deserves to suffer.

There are just people with AIDS

What you call someone is important. A name signifies more than just the words used, it suggests how the individual being referred to is seen by the group. People are often confused about what to call a person living with AIDS. If the term victim is out, what can you say? Most say, simply, "person with AIDS," which is often shortened to "PWA." Others even make it "PLWA" or "person living with AIDS." These phrases and acronyms help to maintain the humanity of the person involved, and they avoid reducing anyone to a diagnosis or condition.

Do not ask how a person caught HIV

It's tactless to ask how a person got AIDS. It implies that some of the ways of contracting the virus are all right and others are not. It's like asking someone if they are an innocent victim or if they deserved it. This question serves no real purpose and gets in the way of getting to know a person living with AIDS.

Be yourself: behave normally toward people with AIDS

Now that we know AIDS can't be spread by casual contact, how do we relax enough to be casual with a person who has AIDS? Many people become very nervous about this. Worrying that they might offend or upset, they find it hard to relax and behave naturally. People with AIDS will be much more upset by distance and restraint than by anything you might say. Treat people with AIDS with respect and awareness, not with velvet gloves.

Don't be afraid to touch

Humans crave touch. Being touched is comforting; it's one of the ways we know that we are liked and trusted by others. Without touch, there is less reinforcement, less comfort, less love. Without touch, there is a sense of isolation, of being alone. Because so many people are afraid of touching them, people with AIDS miss out on this ordinary physical contact. Hugging and shaking hands are completely safe and can make a huge difference in the life of someone with AIDS.

Don't be afraid of saying the wrong thing

Although it is important to learn about respectful language and other sensitivities, these issues should not stop people from making contact. The main challenge is to not behave differently toward people with AIDS. When you make a genuine attempt to know someone, your friendly intention makes more of an impact than a few wrong words ever could.