Disclosed!

Seeing as there as been such a gap since my last regular entries, I still have a few follow up posts to make.

When I was discussing my disclosure dilemma I guess I failed to take into account the depth of friendship and maturity of my co workers! Anyways, one by one over the last few months I have discussed my status and have to say I have been overwhelmed by the support I have had! I should point out that I work in a very masculine industry, so disclosure of my HIV status was, in my mind, going to be an issue - where has my homosexuality never has been, not that I wear my sexuality on my sleeve anyway!

Anyway - the long and short of the matter is the guys I work with have just taken the news in their stride and have been so unbelievably supportive it was a little overwhelming!

It took a great deal of soul searching on my part - 10 months of it to be exact! But it has been one of the best things I have done. Now the guys show an interest in the condition and my treatment, not in an overly intrusive way though. I guess the fact that some of them are single (and all straight) and are quite sexually active with different partners, it has given them food for thought. So much so a couple of the guys are arranging to get tested themselves!

That makes me feel kinda good about myself as I have managed to raise awareness of the dangers of HIV and unprotected sex! More awareness means a lowered risk of infection and the more people who are aware of HIV and the fact that they are taking steps to avoid infection can only be a good thing. Now they have an awareness and understanding they will pass this on to their friends and the message gets out there!

A job well done!

(",)

To disclose or not to disclose?

I have been thinking on this every since the diagnosis! Who do you tell?

The first people we told were parents and our closest friends. The people that mattered most to us. The reactions, as anticipated were positive and supportive.

But what about anyone else? Should we tell our employer? We are not in an industry where our Status affects our day to day duties. We are pretty much "office monkeys" with perhaps the greatest danger being the odd stray staple or renegade paper clip! Joking aside though, this is a point that is playing on my mind.

There are a 101 reasons not to tell anyone other than those close to you, equally there are serious considerations to disclosing your status to other outside the 'inner circle'. I guess at the moment I am pretty much covered as I have a credible cover story for my frequent trips to the Clinic but what if I become ill and then the illness becomes more frequent requiring more and more time off work? Here in the UK at least we are covered by the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) but in order to be afforded this protection you need to have disclosed your Status! Rock and a hard place springs to mind, but it is still early days I guess!

I think as I learn more about my condition and gain a greater understanding of it's implications the the matter of disclosure will become an easier one.

Until then it will just be our little secret!