For those of you that do not know, I have had a boyfriend almost the whole time I have had this blog. We met at an HIV conference that I attended within a month of me returning home with my new diagnosis. I even talked about this conference and new group of friends in my very first posting on this blog (World AIDS Day 2011). And yes, since the conference was for HIV+ people, it is safe for you to assume that he is also HIV+.
Unfortunately we just broke up 2 months ago. Yes, I am okay. We are both okay. We are still friends and will always be a support system for each other. I do not plan to delve more into our personal situation, but I wanted to give this basic information as a prequel to any future posts.
You see, I am now single...and now faced with a whole new open can of potential stresses and dilemmas as I step back into the dating scene for the first time as a HIV+ woman. I know this is an area that people have an interest in and will have questions about. So, I intend to try to keep you up to date on my adventures (I'm calling it that in an effort to keep myself feeling more positive about it, even though I am not).
To give you some foundational information..... I am currently researching in both directions...."poz" people and "negative" people. I have an account on an HIV dating site. And I also have an account on a regular dating site. So far the fishing pool is very limited (and often depressing) on the HIV site. The pool on the regular site is humongous, but terrifying! The fear of rejection is so overwhelming that I can feel myself shutting down and shying away before I even let something begin.
I happen to be reading a romance novel right now featuring an HIV+ woman entering the dating scene and finding love and acceptance from a new (negative) partner....and I'm thinking in my head....yeah, if only it was so easy....
But I guess I won't ever really know until I get some guts and actually try it....
Good luck! I am sure there are many people on here rooting for you. I can understand why it must be terrifying... dating is terrifying enough as it is. You deserve to take that leap for yourself and see what's possible, though!
ReplyDeletePlease try it,you could beat the odds... I was in a similar situation a little more than 3 years ago, and I met the right one, negative guy...(I been positive for more than 20 years, female, 39)
ReplyDeleteWe are in love and, besides the fact that I expected rejection, what I have founded was the love of my life. Good luck and keep positive!!!!!!!
I have just spent the past hour going through your blog. AMAZING. Thank you for sharing your story. I have worked with so many patients with HIV, but have never known their lives, and I feel that you're providing a more holistic perspective. I hope you're doing well since you've posted this. Take care!
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