Mental and emotional health and wellbeing

There are things you can do to look after your emotional health, including talking about your experiences and feelings, connecting with others; taking part in activities you find engaging and rewarding; staying physically active; and limiting your intake of alcohol and drugs. See also our section on Mental and emotional health problems.

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  • Wondering at the ‘Special Universe’ of Gay Life in All Its Diversity

    When the clinical psychologist Walt Odets began working with gay men in San Francisco in the mid-1980s, much of the therapy focused on trauma and shame. There was the reality of growing up gay in America combined with the catastrophe of the AIDS epidemic, which by 1989 had killed at least 90,000 people, including a number of Odets’s patients. More than three decades later, the gay men Odets now works with live in a markedly different world, one where they can marry and in which sex doesn’t come booby-trapped with the fear of death.

    02 June 2019 | New York Times

  • UNAIDS survey aligns with so-called fourth 90 for HIV/AIDS

    The survey echoes a trend in the community to take notice of mental wellness when thinking of public health interventions to fight HIV/AIDS.

    31 May 2019 | The Lancet (free registration required)

  • PrEP May Offer Psychological Benefits to Gay, Bisexual Men at Risk for HIV

    A new study has identified lower rates of sexual anxiety among gay and bisexual men taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

    24 April 2019 | American Journal of Managed Care

  • Switchboard: Homophobia, HIV and hoax calls

    Switchboard, the LGBT helpline, took its first call from a tiny office in the basement of a bookshop in King's Cross on 4 March 1974. To mark the 45th anniversary, people have been sharing memories of a charity that's helped millions across the world.

    05 March 2019 | BBC

  • Older HIV patients struggle with loneliness and depression — and lack of services

    Older people with HIV are frequently lonely and depressed, many of them face serious housing and financial hardships, and they have high rates of physical ailments — such as chronic pain, heart disease, diabetes and fatigue — that can diminish their quality of life. All of that’s been known for several years. But services to meet their needs still fall short, say people with HIV and the groups that support them, and simply quantifying their mental and physical health problems has been a challenge.

    21 October 2018 | San Francisco Chronicle

  • Physical Activity Associated With Cognitive Benefits in Women Living With HIV

    Physical activity may protect against cognitive impairment in women living with HIV, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Infectious Disease.

    20 September 2018 | Infectious Disease Advisor

  • Brotherhood of Man: My Experience at a Spiritual Retreat for HIV-Positive MSM

    On a warm weekend in July, 19 gay men living with HIV gathered in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania for a a three-day body-mind-spirit retreat. I was one of them.

    28 August 2018 | The Body

  • Patients With HIV Who Develop Depression Are Unlikely to Seek Treatment

    Pharmacy TimesPatients With HIV Who Develop Depression Are Unlikely to Seek TreatmentPharmacy TimesThe study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, examined the association between the length of time a patient remains depressed and care outcomes among 5927 HIV-positive adult patients. Participants took multiple depressive severity assessments that were ...

    10 August 2018 | Pharmacy Times

  • Fast Track Cities Quality of Life Survey

    We invite people living with HIV in 29 cities to complete a 10-minute online survey that will can assist us in better understanding the quality of life issues that impact urban AIDS responses. Your name will remain anonymous, but through your input you will have a positive effect on the quality of life of the global community of people living with HIV. The 29 cities include Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Bamako, Bangkok, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Dar es Salaam, Denver, Durban, Geneva, Kingston, Lisbon, Libreville, Madrid, Melbourne, Miami, Montréal, Nairobi, New Orleans, New York City, Oakland, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador de Bahia, San Francisco, and Santiago. UK Fast Track cities (Brighton and London) can fill it in by checking "other".

    09 August 2018 | IAPAC

  • How Are Early Members of ACT UP Adjusting Today?

    A new study assesses the long-term impact of AIDS activism, including trauma, loss, posttraumatic growth and a belief in change.

    05 June 2018 | Poz
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Community Consensus Statement on Access to HIV Treatment and its Use for Prevention

Together, we can make it happen

We can end HIV soon if people have equal access to HIV drugs as treatment and as PrEP, and have free choice over whether to take them.

Launched today, the Community Consensus Statement is a basic set of principles aimed at making sure that happens.

The Community Consensus Statement is a joint initiative of AVAC, EATG, MSMGF, GNP+, HIV i-Base, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, ITPC and NAM/aidsmap
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This content was checked for accuracy at the time it was written. It may have been superseded by more recent developments. NAM recommends checking whether this is the most current information when making decisions that may affect your health.

NAM’s information is intended to support, rather than replace, consultation with a healthcare professional. Talk to your doctor or another member of your healthcare team for advice tailored to your situation.