AIDS post-HIV : beat of a different drummer - AltHeal

selfworth; feeling powerless against familial/
societal expectations, or a sense of having to
struggle with these to ensure acceptance and
recognition; depending on outside approval for
their self-identity; tension from experiencing
p rejudice against homosexuality or in the
women's case, feeling they had to care for
others before themselves. The HIV diagnosis
further intensified these feelings of stress and
isolation.
These findings
immediately make me
wonder how significantly
common they
might have been to all
people living with an
HIV diagnosis: gay
people growing up
with prejudice and
thus experiencing
doubts concern i n g
their self-worth; intravenous
drug users
who for reasons of
personal suffering may
have chosen to 'opt
out' in favour of the
relief supplied by
drugs, and thus
excluded from society;
anyone of low selfworth
who may feel they don't fit into a society
driven by competitive material values; and on the
e x t reme end of the spectrum, people of
Africa/Asia/South America living with poverty
and malnutrition, their sense of cultural identity
erased by racism and colonialism, or living in
countries characterised by the violence and
corruption of political and spiritual fragmentation.
For participants of the study, living and coming
to terms with the diagnosis of HIV eff e c t e d
significant changes, namely taking action to
remove themselves from stressful activities or
relationships, acknowledging themselves and
their own needs more, taking time to enjoy life,
and exploring new avenues especially holistic
and spiritual. Factors that accelerated or
assisted these changes were mainly choosing to
live, having to deal with illness, and the use of
holistic/complementary therapies. Every single
person felt strongly that they could affect their
own healing and expressed clarity on what they
felt their personal healing path entailed, mainly:
living a healthy/balanced/peaceful lifestyle,
listening to their body more - instead of trying to
c o n t rol it, paying attention to their own needs,
acknowledging and expressing their feelings,
and exploring their spirituality.
All the participants felt that tai chi would be a
beneficial therapy to offer to people with an HIV
diagnosis. The main reasons being that it helped
to maintain wellbeing, reduce stress, incre a s e
awareness, focus on the real issues of life, that it
was a way of helping
yourself, and was
enjoyable, centre i n g ,
and energising and
calming at the same
time. Findings
suggested that tai chi
did effect gre a t e r
insight, attunement
and integration on all
levels of being.
People felt that the
imagery and
Picture: Si Chi Ko
symbolism helped
them relate tai chi to
w o r l d / l i f e / s p i r i t u a l
aspects; that it helped
to broaden the mind
and see things in a
d i ff e rent way, to come
into the body and
focus; and that the
natural images conveyed a sense of calm and
inner peace. Additional benefits incurred in the
learning process were patience and acceptance
of things as they are in the moment.
No findings in this study were conclusive, as it
was limited in scope and size; by the fact that
t h e re was no controlled monitoring; and that
several factors may have influenced the
outcome, such as: unstable health, the simultaneous
use of other holistic therapies, drug
combination therapy and its side-effects, work
and lifestyle, the practice of meditation, and that
long-term benefits of tai chi only emerge over
time with regular practice.
H o w e v e r, the main benefits reported by participants
did accord with the healing tradition of tai
chi and research studies involving tai chi, namely
a sense of calm, focus, well-being and renewed
e n e rg y. The main issues characterising participants'
self-identity' prior to diagnosis corresponded
with several themes emerging fro m
p revious studies. For example, the themes of
powerlessness (Myss & Shealey, 1987) and
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