A wise person once said that the way to peace and harmony is found on the middle path. When we have a choice between two opposites, choose the middle way or blend them into a combination to achieve a balance. Extreme highs are exhilarating, wild and ultimately energy-sapping, and they naturally result in their opposite, extreme lows, which is when you feel like you are no good to anyone. Like a roller coaster this journey does not lead to the subtle, long-lasting pleasures of peace, tranquility and contentment. Nor will it lead to the greatest gift in life; glowing good health. This makes sense in many areas of life and for every person, but holds a special relevance to people living with HIV.
An integrated approach to managing HIV
In his book Healing HIV, Dr. Jon Kaiser, an HIV doctor in the US, talks about finding the middle path by using the right combination of natural therapies and medications. He says:
“By integrating aspects of the following three modalities into your treatment program, you can achieve long-term strength and balance:
- Aggressive natural therapies: To support the long-term health of the immune system.
- Emotional and spiritually based practices: To help transform being HIV+ into a stimulus for positive lifestyle changes and growth.
- Antiviral medication: To help suppress viral activity to safe and manageable levels.” (Healing HIV- How to Rebuild your Immune System. Jon D. Kaiser, MD. Health- First Press, CA,USA 1999)
Some people with HIV don’t want to take medical treatments and try very hard with natural therapies, and others take medication but aren’t really interested in healthy food and spirituality. According to Doctor Kaiser these are two extremes and both used alone are not as effective as using them together – walking the middle path of balance and stability.
What if Joe and Jill Bloggs are HIV positive?
Because positive straight people are a minority among the HIV community they tend to present with HIV/AIDS later and their health maintenance is poorer. They don’t access information and support around HIV simply because it is not readily available in their community. Joe Bloggs at the fishing club doesn’t see any information about HIV in the local newsletter, nor does he see ads for support groups or even safe sex in his regular fishing mag or 4WD book, or even in the daily paper. His wife Jill doesn’t read about HIV in Gardening Monthly, or see flyers in the local shop window, or at the preschool meeting offering events for positive people. But what happens if Joe and Jill Bloggs are HIV positive?
Most likely they will initially try to get some support for themselves, an understanding doctor hopefully, and the odd package of info in the mail. Then they just try to muddle on with their lives, awkwardly incorporating HIV into a world that has no place for it. There are no visible structures in the straight community to provide this couple with information about how best to manage their lives, so most probably they will use their existing frames of reference. Joe may not want to suddenly start eating healthier food, see an acupuncturist or adopt spiritual practices, but he may take the drugs the doctor gives him. And Jill, who already does yoga and watches her diet, may not be keen on taking heavy-duty pharmaceuticals, so she reads Louise Hay and sees a local naturopath who is also not keen on medical drugs and is almost certainly inexperienced with HIV.
Studies have shown that meditation and natural therapies, when used in consultation with your doctor, can greatly improve your overall health and wellbeing. The figures from NSW Health also show that, since the advent of combination therapies (antiviral drugs) in 1996, deaths from AIDS have fallen dramatically. In NSW, deaths from AIDS in the early 90s did not fall below 320 each year and peaked at 423 in 1994. In 1996 they fell to 272 and declined by over 100 the following year. In 1998 deaths from AIDS stood at 69 and by 2002 the total was 13.
It’s a challenge for any positive person, regardless of label, to walk the middle path, as Dr Kaiser sees it, yet it undoubtedly makes sense. Why use a single approach when you have many tools at your disposal?
Pozhet provides information and support to men and women living heterosexually with HIV/ AIDS, their partners and family members. For more information visit our website www.pozhet.org.au or phone us on Freecall 1800 812 404.
