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“Buat pada permulaannya, saya memang tak dapat acceptlah….saya….HIV positif kan. Denial pada diri saya tu masih tinggi lagilah. Lepas saya….aaah….berjumpa dengan [a name], iaitu, pengurusprojek motivasi, saya telah dapat kaunseling daripada dia tentang HIV,kan, dan saya dapat acceptlah sebab saya…..saya….yang buatkan dirisaya berisiko untuk dapat kan. Maknanya, saya…..saya menagih dadah,saya menggunakan jarum suntikan. Outcome daripada jarum suntikan tu -saya kena acceptlah apa yang berlaku pada diri saya tu kan. So, hari inisaya dapat menerima diri saya seadanya bahawa saya HIV positif.”(“In the beginning, I really could not accept….[that] I am HIV positive,right? For me, denial was still high. After I…..met with [a name], that is,motivational project manager, I received counselling from him about HIV,right, and I could accept because I…I…am the one who put myself at riskto get it, right? Meaning, I….I was drug dependent, I used injectingneedles. The outcome from those injecting needles - I just have to acceptwhat happened to me, right. So, today I can accept myself as being HIVpositive.”)(Male, 32yrs, Upper secondary education, DU)Psycho-social impactSocial impactSeveral questions were posed as to how being HIV positive has affected participant’srelationships with people close to them. Issues such as disclosure, stigma, prejudices anddiscriminations, social relationships and interactions with family members, friends,colleagues and community, as well as religious participation and/or spirituality wereexplored.DisclosureExperiences of disclosure, and to whom, were also explored. Some choose to discloseand only to certain people, such as their loved ones or significant others, such as spouses,parents, brothers and sisters. Others choose not to disclose their status for fear ofrepercussions, such as ostracism by family members, stigma and the fear of beingdiscriminated, and this well kept secret render them more stress. Some participants keptthe secret for a while before deciding to disclose their status. The FDGs revealed bothgood and bad experiences of disclosure.“How should I say…When I was diagnosed…I told my girlfriend, thenmy father, relatives and friends. All ran away from me. Nowadays, I amonly with my father”(Male, 36yrs, Primary education, Heterosexual)“When I was diagnosed, my parents couldn’t accept it and asked me tomove out from the house. I though by letting my parents know…lettingmy family know that I would have..arr..family support but I was wrongbecause at that time, there was no information about HIV and AIDS”50