tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2559136913795781890.post4752960806239711477..comments2022-04-14T08:31:06.278-04:00Comments on Meditations: On the bareback conundrum...Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14562130508265973402noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2559136913795781890.post-50208352000663178072009-03-23T18:31:00.000-04:002009-03-23T18:31:00.000-04:00Yes, I believe that being closeted and or shamed ...Yes, I believe that being closeted and or shamed and living in a conservative environment that is hostile to public health and open discussion are all contributing to the problem. Let's not forget another problem, IMO, alcohol, meth, and other substances really lower inhibitions and reinforce risky behaviors.<BR/><BR/>I have seen other things at work in HIV conversion. I have a friend that barebacked like 200 guys one summer. Sure enough, he tested + at the end of the season, but I think for some reason he just kind of "wanted" to be +. Why? No idea. Survivor's guilt? I have counseled people in a HIV clinic, and have had to literally console people who tested - and were disappointed. These were really poor, addicted people who were hoping to get housing and benefits if they got HIV status. Go figure. Crazy, right?<BR/><BR/>You are probably right about compulsive behaviors. When you are doing them you "feel" like you can't stop, but if you can't control yourself then who else can? I say this as a person who has acted in a sexually compulsive way on occasion. I felt like I was unable to control myself but I think deep down I probably could have.Ellen Catalina, LCSWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05370543572803320295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2559136913795781890.post-16136065451842259102009-03-23T11:52:00.000-04:002009-03-23T11:52:00.000-04:00And I am caught square in the middle of it. The co...And I am caught square in the middle of it. The community I live in is out here in the Midwest, land of denial and Christian conservatism, where people are forced into hiding and the drive to simply conform to the rigid underlying lies of Christianity force people to take risks, to do things they might not otherwise do out of a desperate need to express something deep and meaningful. <BR/><BR/>I disagree, however, that people are acting on compulsions they cannot control. Compulsions may be real, but they are not uncontrollable. <BR/><BR/>We Americans are too quick to assign inevitability and uncontrollability to things. We are too quick to label everything a disease, giving people the justification they need to act as they will and simply claim they cannot help it. <BR/><BR/>I want us, as a people, to discard these silly Christian Puritanical ideas that stop us from educating our public, and maybe learn that giving people the tools they need to act properly is the only way to assure they do.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14562130508265973402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2559136913795781890.post-50477461659679750522009-03-22T22:47:00.000-04:002009-03-22T22:47:00.000-04:00I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing. I ...I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing. I think some people need to be authentic to their true nature. If that true nature dictates that you have to be barebacking, then so be it (though you should inform your partner of your status clearly). I mean some people climb Mt Everest because they just have to, fully aware they might die.<BR/><BR/>More often than that though, you have people acting out of sexual compulsion, meaning they really wish they could modify their sexual behavior but really can't. The consequenses usually aren't deadly, I've been there. But if some one is acting compulsively in ways that can kill them, it makes me wonder how friends, lovers, society, therapists, communities can help. I don't have the answer and this is a question vexing the public health community forever now, basically. <BR/><BR/>My feelings about those people who think HIV is a conspiracy and therefore refuse retroviral treatments is that they are nuts. Many activists in this "cause" have died. So sad.Ellen Catalina, LCSWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05370543572803320295noreply@blogger.com