|
HIV/AIDS and Suicide:
Implications for Suicide Identification and Prevention
with Persons Infected with HIV
Ronald J. Kvalsund & Kelly Spillman
The Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline
Post Office Box 10950
Tallahassee, Florida 32302-0959
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/convening/HIV-AIDS.htm
AIDS continues to be a leading cause of death in the United
States. As of December, 1996, 571,324 people in the U.S. have
been diagnosed with AIDS (Centers for Disease Control, 1996).
Although the number of AIDS related deaths are beginning to
level off, the psychological and physiological pain for those
already infected continues.
A person infected with the AIDS virus can live a healthy and
productive life for seven to 10 years, on average. By the end of
this period, the HIV virus has weakened the immune system to the
point where it can no longer fight off infection, leaving the
body open to any number of opportunistic infections that can
cause pain and suffering, It is at this point that many
individuals infected with HIV begin to seriously consider
suicide as an option to living, Research shows that individuals
infected with HIV are seven times more likely to attempt suicide
than their noninfected peers (Beckerman, 1995), For HIV positive
individuals suicide is often preferred to ensuring the endless
diseases and illnesses faced by those who's immune system no
longer functions property. Many people with AIDS feel that
suicide is the only alternative.
This presentation will focus on the psychosocial issues related
to HIV and suicide. Specifically, topics such as social stigma,
isolation, chronic grief, multiple losses, and the pain and
suffering of dealing with chronic illness will be discussed in
relationship to AIDS and suicide, Assisted suicide and rational
suicide will also be examined, The presentation will end with
implications for counselors and crisis personnel. As the debate
about suicide continues, helpers are often caught in the middle
of an ethical and clinical debate regarding a person's right to
die.
|
