[VIDEO] How is Antwan Healthy?

This "How are you healthy" story was filmed as part of a series featuring various youth from the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) who agreed to take part in our campaign.

The BYC is a program of Howard Brown Health Center and our community partners, offering comprehensive services to youth, ages 12-24 including a safe space for young people experiencing homelessness.

As you will see, these fabulous folks do not hold back when telling their stories, enjoy them, learn from them, and check back to see new BYC-generated video blogs in the weeks to come!



How are you healthy?
Please join the hundreds who have shared their tips.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here on LifeLube.
Gay men and all allies welcome to participate.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign

 

Empowering Young, Black, Gay Men for HIV Prevention

via HuffPost Gay Voices, by Charles Stevens

The most recent statistics indicate that an entire generation is being impacted by HIV on an epic scale.

HIV cases among young, black, gay and bisexual men increased to an estimated 48 percent between 2006 and 2009, according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Ultimately, it is impossible to discuss HIV/AIDS in the black community without addressing the importance of tolerance.

It is up to us -- relatives, co-workers and friends -- to engage our black, gay brothers in a conversation that is constructive and rooted in concern, one that turns to them for insight instead of turning them away.

There have been significant political and medical advances made in HIV/AIDS prevention.

The National AIDS Strategy, a key achievement of Barack Obama's presidency, is a prime example. By focusing with laser precision on at-risk groups and prioritizing addressing disparities in HIV, there will be historic gains.

On the scientific front, advances in biomedical HIV-prevention tools, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, have given us signs of hope even as we take a collective gasp at the work ahead of us.

However, HIV has never been merely a public health issue but a social one, as well. It is an issue that impacts us not only abstractly but also in a very real and tangible way.

The black community as a whole has made substantial progress, more than is credited, in terms of embracing our diversity. Many unsung heroes and heroines have taken great strides in challenging anti-gay attitudes.

Straight allies have also spoken out unapologetically in support of their gay brethren. However, there is still work to do, and HIV/AIDS makes building bridges across orientations even more critical.

The black community has just as much of an incentive to be a part of the solution: the "win" is the lives of our people, the lives of young, black, gay men. These men are valued; their lives are priceless. They are assets to our communities.

Read the rest

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-30-11

Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Today's Gift

Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more. --Malvina Reynolds

The abundant life appeals to us. Seldom do we want less money, fewer toys, clothes, or friends. In general, we want more of everything and still more - particularly of love. The truth is that the things we hoard or hide or fear losing must be shared or soon may be lost.

Giving love to a lover, a friend, or even a stranger will fill up our own empty spaces where love wants to be. And we'll glow radiantly with the warmth that hovers on the heels of love expressed.

The pantry of the human heart is never bare when love is being served. We pass this way with one another, not by mere chance, but by design for the nourishment that is love.

Our greatest hope, to be loved, is ours when we've made that hope a reality for someone else.

From the book Worthy of Love by Karen Casey

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Woof Wednesday

Center on Halsted presents MONDO: Building and strengthening the community as an openly HIV-positive man - December 2

"Remembering My Friends"

via Edge, by Michael Petrelis

December 1, World AIDS Day, is just around the corner and as the day approaches I’ve been thinking of marking the occasion by remembering and honoring absent friends who’ve died from HIV-related illnesses and complications.

For World AIDS Day last year, on my personal blog, I wrote about a true unsung hero of the epidemic, Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, who was my first AIDS doctor and whom I cannot credit enough for helping keep me, and so many others, alive and relatively well.

Before the term AIDS was created, and even prior to GRID, gay-related immune deficiency, Sonnabend was on the frontlines of gay male health in New York City.

Among his accomplishments was developing effective prophylaxis regimes to avert opportunistic illnesses, creating safe sex guidelines and assisting people with AIDS to empower themselves.

Retired from seeing patients, he lives in London now.

This year it’s time for me to recall five deceased friends and colleagues, and a bit of their lives and achievements


Read the rest

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-29-11

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Today's Gift

Things do not change; we change. --Henry David Thoreau

The Universe by nature is loving and supportive. Successful people know how to tap this support by enlisting the cooperation of others in order to achieve their goals. They also know that to receive support, they must first support themselves.

An entrepreneur once told his fellow inventors, "Before others will believe in you, you must believe in yourself. Your faith in yourself will attract investment capital more than any business plan could."

Unfortunately, the people who need the most support often have the hardest time asking for it. Growing up in an environment where love was denied, they don't believe they deserve it. This is why it is important to affirm our basic worthiness.

People want to extend themselves to you; it feels good to give. Encourage them to do so by believing in yourself and reaching out for what you want. The Universe will reach back to take your hand. Believe in yourself and others will believe in you. It cannot be otherwise.

From the book Listening to Your Inner Voice by Douglas Bloch

 

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

[VIDEO] How is Egypt Healthy?

This "How are you healthy" story was filmed as part of a series featuring various youth from the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) who agreed to take part in our campaign.

The BYC is a program of Howard Brown Health Center and our community partners, offering comprehensive services to youth, ages 12-24 including a safe space for young people experiencing homelessness.

As you will see, these fabulous folks do not hold back when telling their stories, enjoy them, learn from them, and check back to see new BYC-generated video blogs in the weeks to come!

How are you healthy?
Please join the hundreds who have shared their tips.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic to the same place.
And we'll blog it, right here on LifeLube.
Gay men and all allies welcome to participate.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign

Aim for HIV Test Record in London for World AIDS Day

via PinkNews, by Staff Writer

The record attempt will take place at G-A-Y Bar on London's Old Compton Street

G-A-Y Bar and the 56 Dean Street NHS clinic are seeking participants to set a new world record for the most HIV tests administered in an eight hour period.

Dr Alan McOwan, Lead Consultant at 56 Dean Street, said: “We will be using the world’s fastest HIV antibody test, which provides a result in just 60 seconds.

“One in 20 gay men in London has undiagnosed HIV and two-thirds of undiagnosed men think that they are negative. Testing early can add 16 years to someone’s life.”

G-A-Y will be donating £10 for every test performed at one of nine testing stations around the venue to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

The record setting attempt will run from 2pm to 10pm on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2011, and will be held at the G-A-Y bar on Old Compton Street.

Registration forms can be picked up from the venue in advance or completed on the day

Read the rest

[VIDEO] It's Time

via Advocate

GetUp! in Australia released a commercial on Thursday from the perspective of one half of a gay couple in love. It builds to the big moment that they want legalized — a proposal to get married.

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-28-11

Monday, November 28, 2011

Today's Gift

Our job gives most of us a clear role.... Although we may feel relatively lost at home, we know who we are and what to do at work. —Pierre Mornell

Most people have become well adapted to the workaday world. Even if our jobs seem like drudgery, they provide us with a place and a routine, which define us. Many of us have welcomed the end of a weekend or a vacation because we could go back to our jobs and definite roles. This situation has many drawbacks. For one thing, if we are out of work, we may feel adrift. Furthermore, if we have defined ourselves only as breadwinners, we have probably missed the benefits of closeness in our families. Some of us have even said, "I feel like I'm nothing but a meal ticket."

A good job does have value, but we can also grow by giving more of ourselves in our less clear roles at home. It is healing to just "hang around" with our families and friends and to simply let relationships develop. The personal, familiar relationships that don't depend on jobs and roles let us be comfortably human.

I am thankful for the humanizing effect of my relationships at home.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men©

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-25-11

Friday, November 25, 2011

Today's Gift

I always have two lists: things I'm happy about and things I'm not. It's my choice which list I focus on. --Anne Arthur

Why do we all too eagerly see the glass as half empty rather than as half full? It need not be a habit that we are stuck with forever. All of us feel helpless at times to change our vision of life. Discouragement and self-pity become comfortable, and we fear that discarding them will leave us vulnerable.

Seeing the glass as half empty is a sign that our attitude is holding us back. Unfortunately, a bad attitude is seductive. It's as though we find pleasure, perverse though it may be, in feeling sorry for ourselves. Sometimes we even imagine staying in that place forever. It's then that we need the warmth of loving friends, and it's no accident that we are surrounded by them in this fellowship.

We may, at first, try to ignore those reaching toward us, but we will soon feel their presence. We can thank our Higher Power for the inspiration to adjust our attitude.

If I reach out lovingly to someone else today, I will not need a nudge from my Higher Power to adjust my attitude.

From the book: A Woman's Spirit by Karen Casey

 

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Daily Motivation 11-24-11

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Today's Gift

A day to be thankful

Every day is a day to be thankful. Life’s abundance has no limit, and gratitude is what keeps that abundance flowing.

In every circumstance there is something for which to be thankful. Even when there seems to be nothing else, there is hope.

Being truly thankful makes you infinitely more resourceful. By sincerely appreciating what you have, you find new and valuable ways to make use of it.

Gratitude makes you more generous and creative. By focusing on how fortunate you are, you’re able to give the best you can give.

When you are happy, be thankful and your happiness is greatly multiplied. When you are feeling down, be thankful and you’ll soon be feeling much better.

Whatever may come, see it as an opportunity to be sincerely thankful. And let life’s abundance flow more and more freely into all your world.

— Ralph Marston

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Woof Wednesday

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-23-11

Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Today's Gift

Happiness is not a place to travel to. It's a way of getting there. —Anonymous

Those of us who climb mountains find joy in reaching the top. However, the climb would not make much sense if there were not things to enjoy on the way up. If we groan and complain, it will be hard to feel joy at the summit. However, if we are able to enjoy each day's journey, it makes all the difference in the world. In the midst of each chore, we can notice the sunset or the unique and beautiful surroundings of each day.

Each of our days is different. Happiness is not a goal we are struggling to reach some time in the future. It is a gift we can give ourselves today. If we enjoy some parts of each day of our hike, we will also feel joy at the summit.

What form will my gift of happiness take today?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-22-11

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Today's Gift

Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go. —Bernard Malamud

It is useful for us to reflect on our heroes for a time. Who do we greatly admire? Are they men or women? Are they closely involved in our lives, or are they distant and beyond our ability to reach on a personal level? Can we feel hopeful and open enough about life to have heroes?

Our heroes inspire us to find the new edges of our growth. We see in another man or woman the qualities and values we admire. We find our own best parts, perhaps partly hidden or undeveloped, in the people we hold as heroes. For example, if we admire a television personality, we can learn about our own values by asking what we admire in him or her. If we admire a friend, we may see a trait we hold dear in ourselves. As we grow and change, our heroes are replaced by others who fit our maturing values.

As I think about people I admire, I learn about myself from them.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men©

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Young, Gay, and Homeless

via NPR, by Margot Adler

A number of studies of homeless youth in big cities put forth a startling statistic: Depending on the study, somewhere between 30 and 40 percent of homeless youths identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

It's largely because gay youths are more often kicked out of their homes than straight youths. And even if they are not kicked out, they may feel so uncomfortable that they leave.

In New York City, nearly 4,000 young people are homeless every night — many of them gay.

Reaching Out To Homeless Youths

On the Christopher Street pier in Greenwich Village, where dozens of gay and transgender youths hang out, Carter Seabron and Elena Wood of Safe Horizon's Streetwork Project hand out snacks, condoms and information.

The organization sends out several nightly teams to find homeless youths.

"Would you like a snack?" Seabron and Wood ask. Oreos, Rice Krispies treats and chewy bars are the favorites.

They also give out information about Streetwork's drop-in centers, where young people can get showers, clothing and housing referrals.

Seabron, the outreach coordinator for the Streetwork Project, says that "for the most part, the majority of youth we see who identify as being homeless also identify as being LGBT."

Wood says not all of them are thrown out of their homes, although many are.
 
Margot Adler/NPR Tiffany Cocco (left to right), Jeremiah Beaverly, Carl Siciliano and Avi Bowie hang out at the Ali Forney Center in Manhattan.

"The parent might not say, 'You have to get out now,' like, 'I am kicking you out,' especially since that is illegal if they are under 18," she says. "It's a fine line between what is their choice and what is not."

Each homeless young person has a different story.

Jeremiah Beaverly grew up in Wisconsin and Illinois.

"The day after my 18th birthday this year, my adopted parent kicked me out," he says. "At the time, I was really infatuated with this guy, and she was listening to my phone calls. She started telling my family, 'He is this, he is that, he is gay,' and talking about me as if I wasn't part of the family."

Beaverly was lucky — he had friends whose parents were more accepting. He stayed with them until he finished high school.

Now, in New York City, he is in emergency housing — only available for 90 days.

"I went from shelters and couch-surfing to my own bed," he says. "I haven't slept in my own bed for almost a year, so it is really nice."


Read the rest

[VIDEO] How is CJ Healthy?

This "How are you healthy" story was filmed as part of a series featuring various youth from the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) who agreed to take part in our campaign.

The BYC is a program of Howard Brown Health Center and our community partners, offering comprehensive services to youth, ages 12-24 including a safe space for young people experiencing homelessness.

As you will see, these fabulous folks do not hold back when telling their stories, enjoy them, learn from them, and check back to see new BYC-generated video blogs in the weeks to come!




How are you healthy?
Please join the hundreds who have shared their tips.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic and/or a link to your own video.
And we'll blog it, right here on LifeLube.
Gay men and all allies welcome to participate.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-21-11

Monday, November 21, 2011

Today's Gift

Slow motion gets you there faster. --Hoagy Carmichael

"One of the hardest lessons for me to learn is patience," admitted a fellow. "I've been in a race all my life. I suppose I could compare myself to the hare in the fable of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare.' I jump into things, rush at them, and never seem to cross the finish line. I get side-tracked by other things that seem to need immediate attention. I never have a sense of peace. Everything has to be done by yesterday.

"I was even in a hurry in my marriage - which is one reason I'm divorced now. I wanted my wife to race with me. I wanted her to be perfect overnight. I nagged at her constantly. I was too impatient to let her grow at her own speed. Because I couldn't slow down, I couldn't allow her to be at peace either.

"I thought I was doing all the changing and growing. When, in reality, all I was doing was bombarding my problems and projects with a lot of momentum and very little common sense."

Today I will slow down. I only increase my difficulties when I try to solve them in a hurry.

From the book The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes:

 

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Rethink Breast Cancer presents: Your Man Reminder

Would LOVE to see the "gay men's health equivalent" to this...!!!

Does Gay Sex make one Homosexual?

via blackgaymensblog, by Storm

The previous blog post about black gay and bisexual men seducing straight men prompted a lot discussion on Facebook and on Skype.

I decided to start a separate dialog, because there was a lot of focus on whether or not a man could be considered straight if he has had gay sex.

For me, the previous blog post had more to do with wanting someone, who was unattainable and lusting after straight men, who are often perceived as sexually superior, than whether or not straight men who might engage in gay sex are still heterosexual.

The minute straight men are mentioned on Black Gay Men’s Blog, some of us immediately lose sight of the totality of the article and focus on whether or not straight men, who engage in gay sex can still be straight.  So, I thought we could explore that here.

Personally, I do not believe that engaging in gay sex once makes a man(or woman) gay. I don’t believe sexuality is that clear cut – it all depends on the circumstances surrounding the sexual encounter.

I am not suggesting homosexuality is a choice, but I think engaging in homosexual acts can be. Let me make one thing clear, I am not talking about repetitive, on-going sexual encounters or referring to those men, who might be in denial. 

I think that any man who has gay sex for a prolonged period of time, or has numerous male sexual partners is at the very least bisexual.

Especially, if he does so when he has free access to women and the life of a loved one is not threatened.  This is just my opinion and not the opinion of other contributors on Black Gay Men’s Blog. 

I have never claimed to be politically correct 100% of the time. Quite frankly, I prefer being thought-provoking and getting us to have some sort of dialog, than being politically-correct.

I think some gay men are too quick to want to label anyone who has had homosexual sex as gay or no longer straight. Sexuality is simply not that black and white – not all sexual encounters define one’s sexuality.

The label “gay” is a western concept and there are societies, in which that label doesn’t exist and others where the gender of one’s sexual partners is not as big a deal as it might be here in the USA. 

In those societies, “gay” is not a political statement  and Black Gay Men’s Blog does have readers from all corners of the globe, so I try to look at things more broadly.

We don’t have to agree, but we can respect and maybe learn from one another.


Read the rest

Black and Latino MSM Identity and HIV Risk

via Poz, by Trenton Straube

New research uncovers mistaken assumptions fueling HIV rates among black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM).

The belief that having sex with someone of your own race lowers your risk of contracting HIV is a misperception that needs to be addressed among black and Latino men who have sex with men (MSM).

What’s more, health care workers are missing opportunities to test this population for HIV—even when the men are engaged in care and disclose their sexuality to their doctors.

These are just two findings of research looking at black and Latino MSM who are HIV positive but unaware of their status. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 53 percent of new HIV cases in the United States are among MSM and that 54 percent of these MSM are black and Latino.

In addition, HIV-positive black and Latino MSM are less likely than their white counterparts to know their status—which is one factor that amplifies HIV rates among these populations.

To explore these dynamics, researchers led by Gregorio A. Millett, MPH, the CDC/HHS Liaison to the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), analyzed data from 1,208 MSM (597 black and 611 Latino) who participated in studies in Los Angeles, New York City and Philadelphia.

Eleven percent of them (18 percent black, 5 percent Latino) turned out to be HIV positive but unaware of their status (referred to as “HIV-positive unaware”).

Researchers found that certain variables were more common among the MSM in this group.

For example:

Black HIV-positive unaware MSM were associated with:

•Gay identity
•Earning a moderately higher income
•Having health insurance
•Disclosing sexuality to current health care provider
•Fewer than three lifetime HIV tests
•High perceived risk of testing HIV positive
•Belief that sex with other black men reduces HIV risk

Latino HIV-positive unaware MSM were associated with:

•Nongay identity
•High perceived risk of currently being HIV positive
•Belief that sex with other Latino men reduces HIV risk


POZ spoke with Millett, who arrived at ONAP via the CDC, about the implications of these findings, which were printed in the September Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes in an article titled “Mistaken Assumptions and Missed Opportunities: Correlates of Undiagnosed HIV Infection Among Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex With Men.”

We also asked Millett how his team in DC might use the data as they implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.


Read the rest

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-18-11

Friday, November 18, 2011

Today's Gift

Do not compare yourself with others, for you are a unique and wonderful creation. Make your own beautiful footprints in the snow. —Barbara Kimball

Comparisons we make of ourselves to other people do destruction far greater than our conscious minds are aware of. Positioning ourselves on the "beloved pedestal" prevents the equality... that offers each person the freedom to be solely thierself.

Comparisons in which we are the losers darken the moment, cut us off from the actual rhythms of that moment. The consequences can be grave. Within any moment might be the opportunity we've awaited, the opportunity to achieve a particular dream. We must not miss our opportunities.

Each life is symbolized by a particular set of footprints in the snow. How wonderful and how freeing to know that we each offer something uniquely our own. We need never compete to be noticed. Each of us is guaranteed recognition for what we contribute, because it is offered by us alone.

Envy eats at us; it interferes with all of our interactions. It possesses all of our thoughts, caging us, denying us the freedom to achieve that can be ours.

I will look with love on my sisters. I will free them and myself to be all we are capable of becoming.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey©

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

[VIDEO] How is Nikko Healthy?

This "How are you healthy" story was filmed as part of a series featuring various youth from the Broadway Youth Center (BYC) who agreed to take part in our campaign.

The BYC is a program of Howard Brown Health Center and our community partners, offering comprehensive services to youth, ages 12-24 including a safe space for young people experiencing homelessness.

As you will see, these fabulous folks do not hold back when telling their stories, enjoy them, learn from them, and check back to see new BYC-generated video blogs in the weeks to come!

How are you healthy?
Please join the hundreds who have shared their tips.
Tell us HERE. Send a pic and/or a link to your own video.
And we'll blog it, right here on LifeLube.
Gay men and all allies welcome to participate.
Read past posts.
Learn more about the campaign

 

Health Screening for Gay Men

via thehealthybear, by George Forgan-Smith

Hey there Guys,

I was recently sent an interesting question from a reader about gay men’s health checks…

As an older (well, not that old) gay man who has had a fairly long and complicated journey towards self-acceptance and becoming sexually active, beyond the basic considerations around safe sex (i.e. condoms), what should I be considering (like immunisation, screening, etc.) around managing my sexual health, and managing other health issues where gay men are at increased risk?

Really quite an interesting question. I sometimes think we forget that gay men can suffer with all sorts of health issues, not just those based around HIV.

Today I thought it would be good to give an overview of some of the health issues gay men may be at higher risk for as well as some ways to reduce or even avoid those risks.

By the very nature of our sexual expression, gay men are at a higher risk for exposure to diseases such as Hepatitis A and B and in some cases Hepatitis C.

Hepatitis A is spread from oral contact with faeces with practices like rimming potential ways of spread. Hepatitis B and C can be spread by sexual contact, blood contact and also sharing of toothbrushes and razors with people who are infected. 

While there is not vaccination available for Hepatitis C there are very good vaccinations for both Hepatitis A and B. I highly recommend all gay men consider these vaccinations.

Other vaccinations worth considering are the HPV vaccine to help prevent genital warts as well as oral and anal cancer.

The best time to consider this vaccine is before you have become sexually active however the there are recommendations that all gay men up to the age of 26 should consider the vaccination.

While it may be useful past this age there are concerns that it may not be as effective.

Gay or straight all men face similar medical issues as they age.

This includes heart disease, prostate problems, risk of cancers and other diseases as we get older. For this reason I recommend getting a good health check up as you enter your 40′s.

Currently the Australian government has a program for men aged between 45 and 49 to check for health risks like diabetes, cancers, obesity, depression, heart disease and other factors.

This is a fantastic initiative and I highly recommend talking to your doctor if you are between the age of 45 and 49. This is a great opportunity for a top to tail health checkup.

Read the rest

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-17-11

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Today's Gift

You cannot devalue the body and value the soul - or value anything else. The isolation of the body sets it into direct conflict with everything else in creation. —Wendell Berry

Our bodies are part of creation as much as trees, lakes, mountains, flowers, and animals. Part of our growth into full manhood is treating ourselves respectfully. It is a spiritual practice to be fully accepting, active, and alive physically.

We can no longer be content to be only spectator sportsmen in front of the televisIon set. We need to get our own muscles moving. What we take in as food expresses the level of respect we feel for ourselves. Our sexual expressions reflect the value we feel for our own bodies and our partners'. Our spiritual feelings become part of all the basic details of our lives.

 

Today, my spiritual experience includes all the ways I care for and accept my body.

From Touchstones: A Book of Daily Meditations for Men©

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

"Positive" Side of Living with HIV/AIDS

via HuffingtonPost Black Voices

In its 30 year history, few (if any) positive aspects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have made the spotlight, but advances in treatment and a new study are aiming to turn that around and to demonstrate to HIV/AIDS patients that they can still have a high quality of life while undergoing treatment.

The AIDS Treatment for Life International Study (ATLIS) collected information about treatment awareness from more than 2,000 patients across 12 countries, the largest patient survey of its kind.

"We were able to, for the first time ... garner an understanding of what that patient goes through from a treatment perspective, but also from a personal perspective," says Lindsay Deefholts of Cohn & Wolfe, one of the companies involved in the research.

"We didn't want to just uncover the negatives associated with this disease. There are a whole lot of positives that we were able to learn about with these findings," Deefholts says.

"It actually gave a lot of hope and it was something to celebrate ... there's a lot of good that's also happening."

One result of the findings is the first-ever set of treatment guidelines for HIV, which have yet to be released by the National Institutes of Health.

Researchers from the International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care, or IAPAC, which sponsored the study, also cited new treatment options with fewer side effects, in an effort to strengthen communication between doctors and patients when it comes to adherence to medication and the long-term benefits patients can experience as a result.

The findings also revealed the need for more individualized treatment and greater focus on co-morbidities, which refer to the other health conditions that can be exacerbated by HIV or its treatments, such as heart disease, stroke or kidney failure.

"It's great that HIV clinicians are focusing on antiretroviral therapies and patients are doing so much better," Renslow Sherer, professor of medicine at the University of Chicago and member of the ATLIS team, told the Chicago Tribune when the study findings were presented last year.

 "But people are now dying from heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease and stroke ... We just want to make sure that both patients and doctors treating people with HIV don't just focus on the T-cells," he says.


See the video here

GSA is a OK!

via ThinkProgress

A new study from the Family Acceptance Project published in the current issue of Applied Developmental Science details many important benefits for middle and high school students who have access to a gay-straight alliance (GSA) in their school.

Of note are the ways LGBT students benefit from the mere presence of a GSA at their school, even if they do not actively participate.

Though the study has a limited sample size, it demonstrates the significant impact GSAs can make:

•Students at a school with a GSA were less likely to experience depression and more likely to have higher self-esteem.

•Students at a school with a GSA were less likely to drop out and more likely to succeed in higher education.

•Participation in a GSA was associated with fewer problems with substance abuse, depression, and lifetime suicide attempts.

•Having a perception that a GSA effectively promoted school safety was associated with less depression, fewer problems with substance abuse, and greater college attainment

So, while GSAs make a very big difference for LGBT youth, they do not solve all problems.

The study suggests that in addition to supporting the formation of GSAs, “school administrators and personnel should consider additional policies and programs that are associated with safer schools for LGBT students,” such as anti-harassment and anti-bullying policies.

Nevertheless, creating visibility and support for LGBT youth in schools clearly contributes to many positive outcomes.

GLSEN found similar GSA benefits in its 2009 National School Climate Survey with adolescents.

This new study from the Family Acceptance Project shows how the benefits of GSAs during adolescence affect LGBT young adults as well.


Read the rest

Woof Wednesday

Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-16-11

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Today's Gift

 

Self-pity is easily the most destructive of the nonpharmaceutical narcotics; it is addictive, gives momentary pleasure and separates the victim from reality. -- John W. Gardner

 

The Victim Trap

 

The belief that life has to be hard and difficult in the belief that makes a martyr.

 

We can change our negative beliefs about life, and whether we have the power to stop our pain and take care of ourselves.

 

We aren't helpless. We can solve our problems. We do have power - not to change or control others, but to solve the problems that are ours to solve.

 

Using each problem that comes our way to "prove" that life is hard and we are helpless - this is codependency. It's the victim trap.

 

Life does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be smooth. Life is good. We don't have to "awfulize" it, or ourselves. We don't have to live on the underside.

 

We do have power, more power than we know, even in the difficult times. And the difficult times don't prove life is bad; they are part of the ups and downs of life; often, they work out for the best.

 

We can change our attitude; we can change ourselves; sometimes, we can change our circumstances.

 

Life is challenging. Sometimes, there's more pain than we asked for; sometimes, there's more joy than we imagined.

 

It's all part of the package, and the package is good.

 

We are not victims of life. We can learn to remove ourselves as victims of life. By letting go of our belief that life has to be hard and difficult, we make our life much easier.

 

Today, Higher Power, help me let go of my belief that life is so hard, so awful, or so difficult. Help me replace that belief with a healthier, more realistic view.

 

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©

 

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com

Progress through Resiliency

via Positively Aware, by Amy Herrick, Mary Hawk, Mackey Friedman, Chingche Chiu, James Egan, Mark Friedman, and Ron Stall

While improvements in approaches to HIV prevention have been made over the 30 years since the start of the AIDS epidemic, HIV among MSM is far from eradicated.

Despite more than two decades of prevention efforts focused toward MSM, the rates of HIV infection in this population continue to rise.

What is the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S.?

A 2008 report released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that MSM accounted for 46% of all new HIV infections and HIV infection rates among young MSM increased at a rate of about 12% each year between 2001 and 2006.

This report further noted that MSM were the only risk group who experienced an increase i n infection rates during this time.

In fact, according to a recent study by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh, even if the rate of HIV infection among MSM remains at the current level, by the time a group of young MSM (18 years old) reach the age of 40, 41% of them will be HIV-positive.

We cannot make any progress in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. unless we find ways to lower rates of HIV transmission among MSM.

How do other health disparities among MSM relate to risk for HIV/AIDS?

A growing set of recent scientific papers had shown that health problems among MSM are interconnected and function as a group to increase HIV risk in this population.

Because they are sexual minorities, gay, bisexual, and other MSM experience massive minority stress and social marginalization (for example, widespread bullying, gay-bashing, and other forms of violent harassment).

Studies suggest that these negative experiences increase a person’s risk for multiple health issues, including depression, anxiety, drug use, and sexual risk behaviors.

This process happens over time as people are exposed to discrimination and social marginalization.

These experiences cause stress to the individual, resulting in lowered self-esteem, increased emotional distress, and a sense of social isolation, all of which cause a person to be more vulnerable to serious emotional and physical health problems.

According to the CDC, a syndemic is, “Two or more afflictions, interacting synergistically, contributing to excess burden of disease in a population.”

In other words, negative health conditions are thought to interact to form a syndemic: synergistic epidemics that, together, can lower a person’s overall health and make him or her more susceptible to disease.

For example, health problems such as drug use, depression, and domestic violence have been found to interact so that their impact on the overall health of the person is greater than what we might expect from looking at each affliction separately.

While many studies involving MSM have shown interconnections between health problems, such as drug use and high-risk sex, two recent studies have focused on syndemic conditions in samples of adult MSM and young MSM.

These two studies showed that as the number of psychosocial conditions (such as depression, anxiety, and experience of abuse) a person has increases, so will his likelihood of having unprotected anal sex, as well as his likelihood of becoming infected with HIV.

It has been suggested that this set of co-occurring psychosocial health problems operating together as a syndemic may actually be driving the HIV epidemic among MSM, while also working to raise the levels of other health problems among MSM.


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Ed Negron's Daily Motivation 11-15-11

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Today's Gift

Growing is like running a twenty-six mile marathon. If we give up on the twenty-fourth mile, we will never know what it feels like to finish the race. —Anonymous

There will be times in our growth when we will want to give up. Our pain seems to have no end to it. In a sense, we are like the runner of a marathon on her twenty-fourth mile. She may think she cannot finish the race; she may lose her ability to see things as they are.

If she can remember previous successes, she will no doubt make the decision to go on, to at least give the race her best shot. It does not matter how may people come in before or after her. It matters only that she has not given up. When she crosses the finish line, the pain turns quickly into joy.

When we refuse to give up, we give ourselves an accomplishment we can rejoice in, the reward of knowing we have done our best.

What can I finish that I gave up on earlier?

From Today's Gift: Daily Meditations for Families ©

Read more Daily Motivations at http://thework-in.blogspot.com