Many people have such strong emotional reactions to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that they do not believe accurate information about HIV/AIDS and do not act reasonably. Major life issues that are already emotionally-laden are all the more difficult to deal with when they are linked with HIV/AIDS.

Some examples are:
death
loss and suffering
sexuality (including sexual orientation)
injection drug use
trust/uncertainty

Strong emotional reactions to HIV/AIDS usually exist because we already have a strong emotional reaction to some other life issue.

In our society, most discomfort about HIV/AIDS is connected to a discomfort about homosexuality. For example, some medical professionals discovered, upon reflection, that they were more afraid of getting HIV by providing health care to a gay man with HIV than by providing health care to a straight man with HIV, even though they were providing exactly the same care to both men. Their emotional reaction was experienced as a fear of HIV, but the cause of their fear was their discomfort with homosexuality.

If people hear clear, accurate information about HIV/AIDS and are still unreasonably afraid or uncomfortable, their emotional response is rooted in how they feel about particular life issues (such as the ones outlined above) and not only in how they feel about HIV/AIDS.

However these emotional barriers can be removed. The following activities have been proven to reduce or eliminate people's fears about HIV/AIDS. People do not have to engage in these activities in the sequence in which they presented. They can begin to tackle these fears with any one of the activities that is most accessible or appealing to them.

1. Clarify, review and discuss HIV/AIDS information. People learn by repetition. When they are emotionally uncomfortable it is natural to recheck their knowledge about HIV/AIDS.

2. Assume that a strong emotional reaction to HIV/AIDS is rooted in some life issue that evokes strong feelings. Identify the feelings and the life issue (or issues) which fuel that emotional reaction. Knowing what is going on inside oneself helps to make it feel more manageable.

3. Talk to someone supportive. A person who minimizes or laughs off how someone else is feeling is not supportive. Neither is someone who lectures or scolds. A supportive person simply listens. They do not try to fix anything. Talking out-loud about feelings and their cause makes them even more manageable.

4. Actively listen to the life experiences of people living with HIV or AIDS and their loved ones or care givers. TV, radio, videos, movies, books, magazines or public presentations all provide opportunities to hear some of what it is like to live with or be affected by HIV/AIDS. Looking for connections to our own life experience helps to build emotional bridges.

5. Get to know someone with HIV or AIDS. Making a personal connection usually causes fears or other emotional barriers to evaporate. And people usually come to realize that their lives are enriched by making the connection.

Source: www.aidslondon.com/basic_hiv_aids.asp