Mind, Body & Spirit!

I was on TWITTER the other day while at lunch and I saw this post by a woman I followed that said “but AIDS on the other hands is a punishing disease” and was curious. Does AIDS punish? I tweeted to her that I felt those two words “AIDS”and “punish” should not be in the same sentence. She did not like that and the tweets began. So I had to think about this a little.

Does AIDS punish, not in my opinion!

What AIDS does do is break down the immune system to the point that the immune system can’t fight off any opportunistic infections such as Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) or Kaposi’s Sarcoma (KS).  Eventually the person who has AIDS, based on their treatment, can die from an AIDS related illnesses. Of course as I have heard, no one needs to get AIDS today, not with the medications that are available to treat HIV infection. In reality, according to the CDC stats once HAART therapy began, deaths from AIDS related illnesses have declined. If you want more education, I always suggest people go to THE BODY.COM where the information is discussed thoroughly.

Punish, as defined by Merriam-Webster

Definition of PUNISH verb \ˈpə-nish\

transitive verb – 1 a : to impose a penalty on for a fault, offense, or violation b : to inflict a penalty for the commission of (an offense) in retribution or retaliation   2 a : to deal with roughly or harshly b : to inflict injury on : hurt intransitive verb

to inflict punishment — punishable adjective— punisher noun

Examples of PUNISH

• I think that murderers should be punished by life imprisonment.
• She was punished for lying.

Why would I want to believe that a disease that was contracted through unsafe sex or through an addiction is here to punish me? What I would be saying is that I did something bad and wrong, that I SHOULD BE punished for my sins of unsafe sex and addiction.  WAIT! didn’t Jerry Farwell say that? “Columnist Pat Buchanan calls the disease “Nature’s revenge on homosexuals,” and Rev. Jerry Falwell calls it “proof of society’s moral decay.” In 1983, Falwell and gay minister Rev. Troy Perry square off over God and AIDS on CBC’s The Journal. “. I wonder where he is, Heaven or Hell? Oh well, he’s silent now.

Do I need to be punished for contracting a disease that millions share?

If so, who is here to judge me for that? Well not Mr, Farwell anymore!

Why would anyone want to look to something that encompasses their body as a punishment? I have often believed ‘where the mind goes, the body follows.’ If I send negative messages to my body, then it could be destructive, therefore saying that there is a disease in my body that is punishing me is like making it worse on the psyche and the body.

Punishing is not taking treatment. If there is a treatment, then it must be adhered to, otherwise, then I AM PUNISHING my BODY because I AM NOT following the suggested treatment.
Punishing is continuing unsafe sex or other behaviors that will cause me to be re-infected or infect others.
Punishing is INTENTIONALLY having UNSAFE SEX, just to get back to those who might have given it to me.
Punishing is not taking care of myself mentally.
Punishing is not being educated on what the disease does.
Punishing is not following doctor’s orders.
Punishing is shaming myself for contracting a disease.

Punishing is NOT MY JOB!

Again, I caution anyone to use the words ‘AIDS’ and ‘PUNISHING’ in any sentence. There are enough people in this world who want to believe that, why add to their shame and guilt.