As told by Jen, Niamh and Alan. Written by Rory Finn.
There are more people living with HIV now then there ever has been. Thanks to amazing advances in HIV treatment, people have a normal life expectancy and are living well for longer. Since 2020 over 50% of people receiving HIV healthcare in the UK are over 50 years old. We now having an ageing demographic and these are the first generation of people are living and growing old with HIV. We explore what this mean for them.
We spoke to several people living with HIV, asking them about their relationships with their body. Jen, a bi/pan woman living in Bristol was diagnosed with HIV seven years ago. She started treatment a month later, on her 36th birthday. The sooner people start treatment, the better the outcomes for their long-term health, with the goal to supress the virus to an undetectable level. Jen said, “Learning about U=U empowered me to be open about my diagnosis and share it with everyone in my life”.
Prior to her HIV diagnosis she struggled with depression and anxiety, until she received an ADHD diagnosis when she was 39. Learning this helped her mental health massively.
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