Are you feeling confused, scared, angry, sad, stressed?

Maybe you’re in denial, or want revenge?

Surely you’re thinking “why me?”

These are normal reactions to being newly diagnosed. In discussions with our Community Advisory Committee, we talked a lot about when women came into acceptance. The journey to acceptance, self-love and living positively was different for everyone, but did not happen right away for anyone.

BWV hopes to help you move into acceptance and self care, even in the beginning stages of your HIV journey. Self care for some looks like keeping up with doctor’s appointments and taking medication. For others, self care looks like engaging in social media about Black health and doing breathwork and yoga.

Scroll down to see some ideas and videos for self care!

Why should we care about HIV and Mental Health?

Studies show that living with HIV can contribute to or exacerbate mental health challenges. This reality does not yet consider what being a woman of colour also means for mental health. Often the services we find are designated for Black women, but not specifically for Black women living with HIV.

BWV hopes to disrupt some of this disregard by partnering with organizations and encouraging mental health supports to work with and for Black women to account for a positive status. We still have a lot of work to do, but feature some cool campaigns, organizations and projects with HIV consciousness. Others are featured because of their strong dedication to Black women’s health.

How can I practice self-care?

We asked women who participated in our research consultations about their favourite ways to engage in self care. Women talked about the following:

• Redefining and building a self care routine

  • Adding STI, STD and HIV testing into your regular self care routine

  • Adding movement into your daily life

  • Having healthy boundaries around work, life, family and relationships

• Eating nutritiously by considering a diet that will give you protein, vitamins and minerals that keeps energy high and minimizes the side effects of ART medication

• Consulting your doctor about changes to your diet and changes you notice in your body

• Engaging in fun activities and engaging with brands related to Black health and wellness:

  • Check out the following self-care websites which are designed by Black women for Black women:

    • Black Girls Breathing

    • Sad Girls Club

    • Black Girl Yoga

    • Gyallivant (GTA-based wellness hub)

    • Shop Living Well

• Understanding stress and stress management:

  • Life is stressful: children, stigma, grief, lack of support. To add to that, being diagnosed can be a stressful experience and then beyond diagnosis, living with HIV, can be stressful.

  • What are the signs of stress? There are physical symptoms (i.e. high blood pressure, fatigue, sleeping problems), emotional symptoms (i.e. worrying often, feeling hopeless or powerless, uncontrollable anger), and behavioural symptoms (i.e. arguing, difficulty concentrating, withdrawing from friends and family).

  • How to reduce stress? The Well Project suggests making a list of the following:

    • What areas in which you feel stressed/overwhelmed

    • What or who can help

    • How to get services, resources, help

    • Don’t forget to maintain self care, even in stressful moments

• Capturing ways to manage stigmatization by tapping into supports:

  • HIV-related stigma and discrimination often lives because of misconceptions around HIV and how one acquires HIV. Social acceptance is hard to come by and adds difficulty to the journey of self acceptance.

  • Women have reported finding other women living with HIV has been transformative for understanding their experience and moving towards living positively.

  • Our blog and women using The Well Project share personal stories around managing stigma.

• Understanding the signs of depression:

  • Check out the following resource which details mental health and its effects on women

How can I seek help if I’m a Black woman aged 16-22?

BWV is partnered with Future Black Female (FBF), a non-profit organization that works to empower Black girls and women through focus on education, career and civic engagement. Future Black Female provides FREE virtual and in-person counselling to Black girls aged 16-22 in Canada.

FBF is not an HIV organization, however, have an HIV conscious approach. Future Black Female also offers programs for financial and career well-being. Check out their website through the external site link above.

How can I seek help if I’m a Black woman of any age?

Disclaimer: The following pages are campaigns, organizations or projects dedicated to the well-being and health of Black women. They are not all HIV-specific.

FBF is not an HIV organization, however, have an HIV conscious approach. Future Black Female also offers programs for financial and career well-being. Check out their website through the external site link above.

Social Media Pages:

• Sad Girl’s Club: An organization dedicated to destigmatizing mental illness in Gen Z and millennial Black women, and femmes of colour.

• Black Girls Breathing: An online community which provides virtual mental health resources and positive affirmations for Black women.

• Therapy for Black Girls: An organization which provides educational resources about important mental health related topics (LGBTQ+ friendly)!

• J Ivory: Black Creative Director and influencer who posts positive affirmations for mental wellness.

• Hey Black Girl!: An organization which provides workshops for the encouragement and empowerment of Black women.

Therapy:

• ACT Toronto: ACT is a Toronto-based organization which provides free, confidential counselling about issues concerning HIV, sexual health, mental health and substance use.

• Reduced Fee Virtual Teletherapy: This organization, InclusiveTherapists, provides affordable and culturally sensitive virtual therapy options. Directly catered towards queer folx, Black, Indigenous, and neurodivergent individuals!

• Embodied Black Girl: This group provides education on the importance of ‘embodied boundary practice’ and prioritizing the self. Subscribed users (free) will receive weekly insights on topics that impact intergenerational healing and leadership and more.

• Therapy for Black Girls: An organization which provides accessible and relevant insight on mental health topics related to Black women. Additional materials includes weekly newsletters, blog posts, and member only events.

Relevant Podcasts:

• Therapy for Black Girls: Licensed Clinical psychologist, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, hosts a podcast aimed to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible.

• Balanced Black Girl: A weekly mindfulness podcast which includes information dedicated to self-care, personal development, and overall health.

• The Self Love Fix: Dedicated to helping young women delve deeper into their inner child and explore ways to improve self love, self worth, and self esteem.

• Manifest Daily: Spiritual podcast host and Lifestyle Content Creator, Dheandra Nicolette, shares lessons from personal experiences with manifestation, self-care, navigating relationships, finances, and more.

Books:

• Positive Women of the World: This is a collection of interviews and lived experiences shared by women with HIV. 100% of the proceeds supports a woman living with HIV accessing support services at ACT.

• Remaking a Life: How Women Living with HIV/AIDS Confront Inequality: This book uses the HIV/AIDS epidemic as a lens to understand how women generate radical improvements in their social well being in the face of social stigma and economic disadvantage. Author, Celeste Watkins-Hayes, takes readers on an uplifting journey through women’s transformative projects whereby they change their viewpoint of “dying from” AIDS to “living with” it.

• Evidence of Being: The Black Gay Renaissance and the Politics of Violence: Author, Darius Bost, writes an account of the media, poetry, and performance of the community which emerged during the AIDs epidemic during the 1980s in Washington D.C. This books speaks abotu the importance of community over loneliness and hope over despair.