Body Image among HIV-Positive Youth
Most young people worry about the way they look. In a society where every media image portrays skinny, young, white people as the pinnacle of beauty, it's easy to feel self-conscious about our own body.
When you're HIV-positive, it can be especially hard to have a good body image due to the effects of medications and because of all the changes you're already going through. But it's incredibly important to be comfortable in your skin. Having a good sense of your body type and feeling okay with the way your body changes as you take medications is very important.
Here are some helpful hints concerning your medication:
- Know what medications you're taking and what they're doing to your body.
- Know of the potential side effects your medications may cause.
- Be able to connect with your health care provider in order to discuss the side effects and whether you should stop or change your medication
or find out ways to cope with the side effects if they continue.
- Accept the changes that are happening and think about what you can do to move on and feel satisfied with yourself once again.
- Learn more strategies to help reduce all types of side effects due to medication by visiting http://www.catie.ca/ng_e.nsf.
It's also important to be healthy around eating patterns—because the consequences that come with disordered eating and/or eating disorders can be more serious for an HIV-positive person. To learn more about ways to eat more nutritionally, go to http://www.catie.ca/ng_e.nsf.
If you any other have body image concerns, there is a lot of information out there for you!
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Body Image :: Hanne
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Disorders :: HIV-Positive Youth :: Resources
Updated March 2008
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