The HCV stigma - again

[Guest guest]

Hi everybody

Heres some more of don's logic. LOL :-)

Sometimes we project a stigma on ourselves when it comes to telling others about our health issues.

Sometimes we contribute to the general publics lack of knowledge too, by being ashamed, afraid, or unwilling to disclose our health issues.

We rationalize it all sorts of ways - fear of rejection, sparing someones feelings, our own shame, guilt, feeling dirty, etc.

As a result the general public is kept un-informed, and sometimes those who would be our biggest allies are shut out, and we lose either way.

There is a lot of talk about Hepatitis info not being exposed in the news media, but Heppers are partly to blame for this lack, due to the fact that we dont speak out as loudly as say the HIV-AIDS people do.

Breast Cancer is very well known, for example, because those who had it yelled at the top of their lungs, until people began to take notice.

Many Heppers sit in silence, and suffer lack of support from friends or family.

We also suffer from lack of research funding, and these things hurt us.

I tell everyone about my HCV. Even strangers.

I want everyone to know this disease exists.

I am not going to spare one person on the face of the earth, because if I do, they may be the next victim.

If people hate me, or turn on me, so be it.

But they might be my best friend for it too.

I might spare someone else the horror.

Let me ask you a question.

A year before you were diagnosed, did you know Hep C existed?

I didnt.

Oh yeah, I had heard of Hepatitis way back as a kid in the 1960's. but it never crossed my mind.

Hep C was a total mind blower for me, when I found out I had it.

What the hell is Hep C?

What does my liver do, and where is it?

And am I going to die?

It still scares me 2 years later, and I do intense research, and talk to people.

I think its very important to let everyone know Hep C exists, and if they are interested, inform them about the details.

This is just my opinion, but it might be something we should all be thinking about.

We talk about it often enough.

We dont need to be ashamed that we have Hep C either, no matter how we got it.

If we did it to ourselves through bad habits and unclean living, well, we didnt know better at the time, so is it really our fault?

If we got HCV some other way, is that our fault?

Anyway, you all see what my point is.

Im not telling anyone what to do about telling others about our own Hep C.

Thats a choice each of us has to make.

I just wanted to talk about how I kinda see it.

love

don in ks