Teenagers and young adults

Being a teenager can be a really confusing time and you might feel lots of different emotions. It is normal for teenagers to have mood swings, to feel angry, upset and to feel like you want to do your own thing.

Sometimes it can be hard to cope with how you feel, especially if you find out you have HIV or you start to worry about it.

When people find out they have HIV, even when they are adults, it can be a really scary time. It’s even harder for teenagers and young adults. You might feel confused by how you feel and not know who to talk to. You may feel angry with your parents or with the doctors looking after you. All of these feelings are normal and it’s OK to feel like this. 

It can take some time to work through these feelings and it is really important to talk to someone you trust, like an adult at home or someone who looks after you at your clinic.

As you start to grow up you might have friends you want to tell about your HIV, or you may start to have sexual relationships. It can be a good idea to talk to someone you trust about how you can approach these things.

People with HIV can lead a normal life, live a near-normal lifespan, have relationships and sex, and they can have children. But not everyone realises that, and if they learn that you are HIV positive they may react in a way that is hurtful or damaging.

So it is important to choose carefully who you tell about your HIV. You could talk to your parents or carers about who to tell and how you can go about that. There is more advice about telling people here.

There are places that can support teenagers and young adults with HIV.

At Terrence Higgins Trust we offer young people’s counselling and we have services for adults where you can come and talk to a Health Trainer to get more information about HIV. Contact THT Director use our Service Finder to find out more.

Another idea is to contact Body and Soul, a charity in London with groups for children and teenagers with HIV, and young people who have a parent with HIV. The staff there specialise in working with children, teenagers and young people, and they also run Teen Spirit - a group for teenagers with HIV.

HIV is a virus that causes damage to the immune system, the system that stops us from becoming sick or makes us better if we do get ill or hurt ourselves.

So people with HIV need to take medicine which keeps the virus under control. The most important thing you can do is to take your medicine every day – this keeps the virus suppressed and allows you to lead a healthy life.

The doctors call this adherence. If you are finding it hard, it’s best to tell someone at home or your doctor as there are things they can do to help with it.

It is not unusual for teenagers with HIV to find it hard to take their medicine. Some feel like they are being made to do something against their will. It is really important to make sure you get all the facts about HIV and the medicine so you can understand why it’s so important.

This will enable you to take back control of your health and your HIV. The healthier you are the easier it will be to carry on leading a normal and healthy life. Try to think of yourself as an expert in your health and your body, so that you can make good decisions about keeping well and healthy.

Having HIV doesn’t mean that you cannot have sexual relationship, but it is important to understand the ways HIV can and can’t be passed on. Find out more about how HIV can and can't be passed on.

The virus is present in sexual fluids so by using condoms you can generally prevent it from being passed on. Someone at your clinic will be able to explain how condoms work so you can use them confidently. 

You could talk to someone at home, at your clinic or an HIV Health Trainer for more information.

However you may be feeling now, there is no reason that you cannot lead a normal life and live a near-normal lifespan.

HIV is something that can be controlled with medicine.

The most important thing is to try to learn about HIV, so that you can feel confident about looking after your health and happy about your future.