The Graying of AIDS
I just was informed of a website and blog about aing with HIV called the Graying of AIDS. This education project has photographs and stories of people living with HIV and the web page offers a comprehensive resource list. I am adding it to my resources page.
On the Radio
No, I’m not referring to Donna Summer. (Well, not exactly.) I will be on the radio to discuss Aging with HIV. I am being interviewed by Michael Signoreli for his radio program this Tuesday, March 1st. You can hear the live interview on Sirius XM’s Out Q: Sirius 109, XM 98 and on the Sirius XM iPhone app.
New Group for Gay Men in Midlife
I am pleased to tell you about a group that I will be running with a colleague in the Village.
The focus of the group is gay men and midlife. For the generation of gay men now facing mid-life the AIDS epidemic shaped young adulthood. Gay identity was defined by the emergence of AIDS and young gay men were faced with the tasks of caring for loved ones, grieving, creating community and learning how to care for oneself in the face of homophobia and discrimination.
For this generation of gay men, the fact of being in mid-life is to have survived. It may helpful to reassess their coping strategies in order to meaningfully respond to changes in careers, relationships, bodies and sex lives that accompany aging. This group will allow its members to reflect, reassess and address questions such as:
What does it mean to be a middle-aged gay man now?
What wisdom have we achieved and what coping strategies have we developed in order to arrive at this place?
How has my earlier experience with AIDS and HIV affected my view of myself and aging?
What new strategies and skills do we need?
This 12 week group should prove to be a rich and rewarding opportunity to connect, receive support, learn from shared experiences, draw on past lessons and achieve new understanding.
If you are interested, or know of someone for whom such a group would be helpful, you can contact me at this link, or by using the “Dr. James” tab, above:
The Complexities of Aging with HIV: Huffington Post
Sean Cahill, Managing Director, Public Policy, Research and Community Health at Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), wrote a piece on Aging with HIV for The Huffington Post. In it he talks about diverse men and women who have lived longer than they ever expected, and highlights some of the issues they have in common. To read the article go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-cahill/post_1721_b_822262.html
New Books Arrived
The new copies of Aging with HIV: A Gay Man’s Guide have arrived and they are new and improved. Typesetting errors have been corrected. Most importantly, the typeface is large, which I greatly appreciate. Hope you do, as well.
AIDS Activism 101
I recently read a post by Mark S. King for his blog “My Fabulous Disease” that I thought would be especially relevant for people aging with HIV.
In it he gives an overview of the ADAP crisis that is going on across the US. He explains that there is growing concern that ADAP programs that provide access to HIV medications will be cut. He has video coverage of the “emergency summit” to discuss the growing ADAP crisis. And, he presents what we can do to make sure that people living with HIV can continue to receive their medications.
This issue is relevant to all people living with HIV and he offers clear guidance on how to get involved.
To read the post on how you can get involved, go to: http://marksking.com/my-fabulous-disease/aids-activism-101-steps-to-end-the-adap-crisis/
Activism and Aging with HIV
For many of you activism is not a new subject. AIDS activism may have been a part of your day-to-day life in the eighties and nineties. You may have even been a part of the gay rights movement of the seventies or earlier.
Is activism a part of your life today?
The men I interviewed for Aging with HIV: A Gay Man’s Guide answered this question in different ways. Some continued to participate in political and social groups and called themselves “activists.” Others were no longer as “out there” as they were ten and twenty years ago. They wrote letters, signed petitions on line, and supported organizations that shared their concerns. Some continued to read updates and were concerned, but no longer participated in causes.
Several felt alienated from activist organizations that, they felt were oriented toward younger people. Some had become fatigued from years of activism, and hopeless that they had any voice in creating change on a larger scale.
Why Get Involved?
Activism can offer many benefits to people in midlife and beyond. When you participate in social cause, you have the possibility to effect change on a larger scale. Activism also offers an opportunity for you to get out of yourself and to think about others. This is what developmental psychologist call generativity, and it is an significant aspect of continued personal growth at midlife. Getting involved also offers you opportunities to meet new people, stimulate your mind and broaden your social network.
Other Activities
There are many causes that you can get involved in. And, activism is only one level of involvement. Some of us work better on a smaller scale. Volunteering at a social service organization is a great way to get involved, feel like you are making a difference, and being part of something beyond yourself. Check out the resources page (see tabs above) to find an agency near your.
Study Suggests HIV Causes Rapid Aging of Key Immune Cells: POZ Magazine
A new study by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) suggests that HIV causes immune cells to age quicker than normal—potentially causing more rapid HIV disease progression in older people with HIV and earlier onset of aging-related diseases in younger people.
To read the full article discussing these findings, go to: http://www.poz.com/articles/hiv_telomere_sensescence_761_19813.shtml.
This article supports the concept of accelerated aging. Accelerated aging refers to a recent phenomenon in the HIV literature. Studies are finding that people living with HIV are demonstrating higher rates of illnesses typically found in older HIV-negative populations. Comparisons of brain scan patterns and bone marrow density of people living with HIV with the HIV-negative, and found that significant percentage of the HIV-positive participants have results similar to HIV-negative participants 10 and 20 years older. This article suggests that an explanation for accelerated aging lies in the way HIV impacts immune cell functions.
This area of research is still in a beginning phase, and the findings in any of these areas are not conclusive, nor can they be extrapolated to determine how living with HIV into midlife and beyond will affect any one person’s physical aging. Illness progression or age-related physical changes can be the result of many factors, including, but not limited to: the presence of HIV; aging; heredity; environment and lifestyle. Research on aging with HIV has correlated healthy aging with modifiable issues, such as social involvement, mood, treatment adherence, and alcohol use.
This research could result in treatment interventions that address accelerated aging on the cellular level. A growing concern for the expanding population of those living with HIV into midlife and beyond. Until this issue is more clearly understood efforts need to be taken to address the health concerns of people who have lived longer than they ever expected, and to help individuals determine what steps they can take to improve their lives.
Resolutions Gone Awry
Its that time of year. The end of January. Snow is falling. (A lot of it in New York!) And, your New Year’s Resolutions are on the verge of becoming history.
This week I’d like to encourage you to reconsider those resolutions. Perhaps they need to be altered. But, it may not be time to put off those goals for New Year’s Eve 2012.
What do Resolutions have to do with Aging and HIV?
Living with HIV into midlife and beyond requires adaptation to a great deal of change. There have been changes to your body, career, family, your friendship networks, and to the world around you. Optimal aging with HIV involves flexibility as you develop new strategies to cope with aging. Often this means discarding old patterns that no longer work for you and beginning the difficult task of learning new ways to care for yourself.
You may have used the new year to reflect on what has and hasn’t worked for you in the past, and developed some ideas about what you want for yourself in the year ahead. You may have made an intention to change the way you eat, to exercise more, to address your drinking, to make new friends, to join an organization, to look for a new job, or get yourself out there in the dating world. You may even have come up with a plan to reach those goals.
Well, now is the time to review how that plan is going. If you are still on target, then read this post in order to help you look for warning signs that your resolution is going awry. But, if you are anything like me, your commitment to change is starting to waver, and you are at risk for giving up altogether. If that is the case, let me tell you about my New Year’s Resolution.
My Story
At the end of December I realized that I had been gaining weight. In fact, a step on the scale revealed that I was the heaviest I had ever been. So, I resolved to lose weight in the new year.
I had helped many others through similar challenges and knew what pitfalls to avoid. For example, I knew that I needed a reasonable goal. If I tried to lose too much, too quickly, I would just feel deprived and give up. So, I decided that I would set a goal of 1-2 lbs per week. I also knew that I should not only change my eating habits, but also increase my exercise, so I joined a gym.
Great plan. (Do you see where I’m going with this story?) Well, its the end of January, and as of yesterday I have lost 1 lb.
This is where I want to say, “what’s the point? My metabolism has slowed and no matter what I do, I won’t be able to lose that weight!”
But, since I’m writing this post to help you, I have to take the following advice:
Don’t Give Up!
When a plan doesn’t succeed, it just means there’s something wrong with the plan. In every failure there is a learning opportunity.
So, first, before you dismiss the commitment you made to yourself, remind yourself what you wanted to accomplish, and why.
Do your reasons to meet that goal still seem rational? Then, you have to find a way to make it work.
Next, assess the steps you took to meet that goal. Did you do what you said you were going to? If not, ask yourself, why you didn’t.
Make Adjustments
Maybe the goal makes sense, but the way you are going about it is faulty. For example, I could have joined a gym near my apartment. But I don’t get home until late every evening, and am usually too tired to exercise then. It would be better for me to find a gym near work, where I can go during a break in the day.
Once you know why your plan hasn’t worked, you can make changes to the plan and try again.
Back Off
I often hear clients who have given up on their resolutions only to discover that the goal they set for themselves was unreachable. In my case, I set a very reasonable goal, but I got a cold and missed one week of exercise. I also didn’t consider that I would have to build my stamina slowly, having been away from the gym for some time. And, there was a learning curve, as far as my diet was concerned. It took me some time for me to learn what foods I could, and couldn’t eat, in order to stay on target for my weight goal.
Backing off is different from giving up. Its being honest with yourself about what you are, and are not, willing to do to accomplish your goal.
Ask for Help
There may be obstacles in your way that you are unaware of. If you have rethought your plan and are still getting nowhere, it may be time to get some help. Talk about your goals with a friend, your doctor or a counselor.
Change is hard. We develop patterns of taking care of ourselves and relating to others. Sometimes those rituals are deeply ingrained in our sense of ourselves, our memories of friends, and our families. Food, for me, is one of those issues. I still eat the same meal for breakfast that I did as a child. Changing my diet means changing my relationship to food, and that can have emotional meaning, as well.
Sometimes you just need a buddy. Share your resolution with a friend. (And, they can share theirs with you.) By including someone else in your plan, you have someone to support you, encourage you, and to hold you accountable when you want to give up.
Resources
On the resources link (above) there are a list of agencies that may be able to help you reach your goal.
I hope that this post helps you to recommit to your resolution, reassess your objectives, and get the help you need to achieve your goal. Please let me know if you set an intention for the new year, and how you are progressing on that goal.
Aging and HIV Conference
I just received this notice from hivaging.blogspot.com:
Aging and HIV Conference Scheduled The 2nd International Workshop on HIV and Aging has been scheduled for October, 2011 in Baltimore, Maryland. Abstracts are due September of 2011. For more information, go to: http://www.conferencealerts.com/seeconf.mv?q=ca1im80x
Thank you Dr. Emlet for keeping us posted.
Dr. Schmidtberger on Aging with HIV
Dr. James Schmidtberger, co-author of Aging with HIV: A Gay Man’s Guide was recently interviewed about his two decades experience working as a physician with people living with HIV. Read the article at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation website.
AHA Project 