Hiv paranoia + symptoms?
Question:
Answers:
While not limited to HIV, people can talk themselves into believing they have the symptoms of almost any disease. The condition is called Psychosomatic Stress. It can mimic several symptoms, like heart attack, shortness of breath, flu-like and muscle pain.
When it is chronic and involves multiple diseases without verifiable symptoms, it is then a psychological condition of Hypochondria. Counseling is recommended for this, to at least get stress coping techniques.
Stress plays a vital role in our lives of giving us a "fight or flight" response to sudden situations. But long term, unrelieved stress has been increasingly linked to real physical conditions such as heart disease, migraines and immune deficiencies.
I would urge you to go get an HIV test just to put your mind at ease. These are highly accurate and the earlier you know about the condition, the better treatment can work. Then, if negative, you can do the tough thing of making sure you avoid high risk behavior like sharing needles, or unprotected sex.
If your job involves being exposed to bodily fluids (like nurse, firefighter, police, paramedic) then the facility or department should be providing gloves and face shields as a matter of routine. If you are in this category, I commend your career choice and am grateful for your service.
Other Answers:
Well, do you have a legitimate reason to believe that you have HIV? What kinds of symptoms are you experiencing?
Yeah, the psychosomatic stuff does make a difference, but if you think that you have HIV-like symptoms, it wouldn't hurt to get tested. If you don't, you'll keep having this "paranoia" and these symptoms.
Good luck.
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