Minutes with Jah: Are You Happy on Your HIV Journey?

By Jahlove Serrano

Last Updated:

1 min read

Living with HIV, I learned healing is a journey and not a destination. In the beginning years of my HIV diagnosis, I had no one I could have talked to. I didn't have a support system. I was truly suffering in silence, or so I thought.

As I started strengthening my overall health and building a support system, my HIV journey became easy to walk. I discovered that happiness comes from within me. Now I work hard to spread awareness throughout our community. Click on my video to hear more.

Want more Minutes with Jah? Check out his author page, here!

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The H-I-V.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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Heather Renee Member

Jah - I have to say that I am happier currently than I have been in the past with my journey. Currently, I have good mental health specialists and a good group of prescriptions to help my mental health. I feel like having a good mental health situation matters so much when it comes to being happy with your HIV journey. - Heather R (team member)
CommunityMember639300 Member

I'm happy your journey is going so well. I too was diagnosed 20 years ago. Unfortunately my doctor was not responsive to my needs and I had pneumocystis pneumonia then stevens-johnson syndrome. Initial vl was 489,000. Now I have an hiv doctor's office that doesn't fill my scripts in time and I end up missing meds regularly. I'm just getting over being sick from no meds. I'm afraid if I change docs it might be even worse. I'm curious to know how many people were already sick when diagnosed and also how they are currently doing. Thank you for your story. Charles 
1. LizGreen Community Admin
 
 <inline-mention username="CommunityMember639300" user-id="6910206"/> it's so unfair that you end up missing your meds because of a mistake your doctor makes. I hope others will chime in here about their health at diagnosis, it's a great question. - Liz (Team Member)
BobbyNYC Member

I may be older than many of you but I wish you the best in your HIV journey. I have been HIV positive for over 25 years and am undetectable and have been for quite a number of years. It hasn't always been like that and in the early days, when the meds were new, it was still a bit scary. I now have Parkinson's but I think I am learning as I go in life to say to myself, when I am down, "This too shall pass." The hardest things in life sometimes, looking back, makes us better people, if we can remember during the tough times "This too shall pass."
1. LizGreen Community Admin
 
 <inline-mention username="BobbyNYC" user-id="4280949"/> that is really good advice, I think we can all learn from you and what you've been through. <inline-mention username="MWarrior" user-id="6221616"/> and I were just discussing how hard it is to have hope sometimes. I like how future focused your thinking is, and we appreciate your support. - Liz (Team Member)