HIV: ON LIVING-TAKING CONTROL: ENCOURAGE YOURSELF
HIV: ON LIVING-TAKING CONTROL: ENCOURAGE YOURSELFProtect your physical health. Eat well, sleep enough, cut alcohol and smoking down or out. Exercise as much as possible; just going for a walk is great exercise. Relax when you can: read, watch a movie, do relaxation exercises. Take good care of your body. If you have HIV, give your body a chance to fight the infection. If you are a caregiver, you also have to take care of yourself. Lisa said, “I am very careful about exercise and food. You owe it to the people you’re caring for.” Be kind to yourself emotionally. Steven gives himself pep talks: “When I feel good,” he says, “I let myself know that. I tell myself, ‘Steve, you feel great today.’ ” Dean says that every day he rates how he feels on a scale of one to ten: “It’s mostly nines and tens,” he says. Helen says that her best support is herself. “Basically, it comes down to me,” she says. “I want to survive this. So I have to support myself, and when I do something well, I pat myself on the back.” If an emotional problem seems too severe or does not go away, or if you are seriously considering suicide, or if you simply want someone to whom you can express all your feelings, see a mental health professional.*243\191\2*
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