Heather Renee

In a modern world, you would expect healthcare workers to be impartial or educated about HIV. While this has been my expectation, what I have encountered is entirely different. From...

"You can't be overwhelmed by the what-ifs, or you'll miss out on the best part." ― Rebekah Crane, The Upside of Falling Down When it comes to living a life with...

Self-esteem is an important component of our individual selves and has a correlation with our mental health. An individual’s self-esteem makes up for how we feel about ourselves, our bodies...

The first therapy appointment can cause some nervousness or anxiety. It does not matter if it is your first-ever therapy appointment or just your first appointment with a new therapist...

Our mental health is an important aspect that affects our quality of life. Like many things in life, the mental health disorders we have can affect us differently and the...

Mine. Mine. Mine. Do you know that feeling when you find a doctor and you feel like they actually see (and hear) you? I stumbled upon one of the rare...

I remember seeing occasional information about HIV while growing up. This information was always presented with men, mainly men that identified as gay. Looking back on it today, everything I encountered...

Have you heard of this saying before this article? I grew up hearing this saying. You may have some experience in dealing with this continuous situation yourself. The last several...

In late 2017, I was hospitalized with pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). This is when we found out that I was HIV-positive. I originally only had a CD4 count of 5, which...

There is stigma to the left. There is stigma to the right. Sadly, there is stigma everywhere. As a person who has multiple health conditions, I have become very familiar...

My sister and I were both exposed to COVID. Her little ones were infected at school. While they remained asymptomatic, we were hit hard. Almost every symptom listed for COVID...

When my Infectious Disease doctor started treating me, I was 100 pounds at 5 feet, 8 inches. She initially believed that getting my antiviral medication sorted out would help me...

While both men and women are susceptible to HIV, HIV can affect women in many different ways than it affects men. The effect on women’s gynecological health is very broad...

Right. Left. Up. Down. Deciding to start therapy can be a confusing endeavor. Despite this, starting therapy does not have to be overwhelming. There are steps to take to make...

Once you have chosen an HIV specialist or an infectious disease (ID) doctor, you will have to become accustomed to routine appointments. In most cases, routine follow-up appointments start every...

While I am pretty good at being an advocate for other people, I am not always the best advocate for myself. Luckily, my sister surprised me when she became my...

Negative thoughts. Anxiety. Fighting to love yourself. In my previous article, My Therapy Journey, I briefly touched on cognitive processing therapy. Cognitive processing therapy, or CPT, is a kind of...

Diagnosis after diagnosis. I honestly did not have much time to process my feelings or thoughts when I was diagnosed with HIV. My body and my mind were drastically overwhelmed...