Are you lesbian?
Being married is hard enough even if you are straight, but if you suspect that you may be gay or lesbian then it definitely makes life even more complicated. Many times, gay and lesbian people may grow up having feelings toward the same sex, but they go ahead and get married to save face and obtain the approval of mainstream society.
Others may get married only to realize that they are gay or lesbian because they were completely unaware of their true sexual orientation. Regardless of how it happened, you must be strong, make the right choice for yourself and your family, and move forward with life.
Since tomorrow is the World AIDS Day, I was thinking about writing something related to this. Apparently, there is this medication called Truvada, a combination of two other compounds, emtricitabine and tenofovir, both of them being antiretroviral drugs prescribed to HIV-positive patients.
Although so far, there is no cure for HIV/AIDS, the antiretroviral treatment, if taken correctly, can greatly slow down the evolution of the disease, therefore it can provide a longer lifespan to HIV-positive patients.
Last evening, a very close friend of mine (a transgender girl) told me that she`s about to meet her boyfriend`s family for the first time at the Christmas dinner, and she asked me for some advice because she`s a bit nervous about it. She worries that his parents may figure out that she`s a transgender, although she`s 100% passable and feminine. Nevertheless, I guess that all Tgirls think about this, no matter how feminine they are.
Although I wasn`t ever introduced to my ex boyfriend`s family, I think I would have been a bit nervous too, although I`m very outgoing and talkative. I mean, let`s face it, you know how mothers-in-law are, they want the best for their boys and stuff, and to be honest I seldom saw a mother in law that`s TRULY happy with her son`s girlfriend.
Foreclosure.
Nowadays, many people worldwide have a loan that`s secured with a mortgage on their personal property (their houses). Due to the actual financial crisis (that honestly doesn`t really seem to be even close to an end in many countries such as Romania, although a few countries like China have registered important economical growth), most people have encountered with certain problems when it comes to the monthly repayment amount. Why? Some people either were made redundant or had their salaries significantly reduced because of the current econimical situation that we`re confronting with.
One thing`s for sure: those who have a home mortgage and have trouble with the monthly repayment, can either choose debt rescheduling, or go for refinancing the mortgage and so, avoid foreclosure. To be honest, I don`t know what`s it like in other countries when talking about debt rescheduling, but here you can choose to reduce the monthly repayment amount on a period of six months up to twelve months.
Thinking about changing your clothes?
Coming out is definitely not easy, and for most of us, the members of the LGBT community, this is either good or bad. Coming out is good for you if your parents accept you for who you are because you feel more relieved and you don`t need to hide anymore. On the other hand, some parents may have a negative reaction when you come out to them as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Either way, coming out may lately influence your appearance and lifestyle. At least a bit, lol.
As I said in one of my previous articles, I firstly came out as gay to my mom (I was never able to have a conversation with my dad, since he doesn`t even wanna hear about it). Nothing changed when I came out as gay to my mom (okay, maybe I started wearing more pink, hehe), but since I was always a bit more femme, I could act just the way I wanted (knowing that she was aware), and when it comes to my lifestyle, I could also make more gay and bisexual friends. This is how my lifestyle changed at first.
Pro or against beauty care products?
A week ago, I bought myself a new body lotion, from quite a famous brand in the field of beauty products. I`ve been using body lotions and all sorts of creams for a very long time now, and I have to admit that never have I encountered with any problem because of the beauty products that I used. Yet, something happened to me this morning because of this body lotion. I have to say that whenever I did an allergy test, it came out that I`m not allergic to anything.
Last evening, after my daily bath, I used the new body lotion I was telling you about (I did say I bought it last week, but there still was left a bit of my other lotion, so I didn`t start the new one). Everything was perfect, it moisturized my skin really well and there wasn`t any problem at all.
Thumbs up for Obama`s health care bill!
We all know that Barack Obama is pro-LGBT, and he took care to show us one more time when he named June the LGBT month. In addition to this, besides the fact that Barack Obama is helping the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens of USA, he did not forget about the health care issues LGBT people often confront with.
When somebody had a car crash, let`s say, the only ones who were allowed to see the patient in hospital were close relatives and the husband/wife. No access was guaranteed for gay and lesbian partners of a person that suffered injuries and was in hospital. Otherwise stated, due to the new Obama Health Care law, every patient may now designate those who can visit him while in hospital and those who can`t.
Feeling blue? Photo source: iStockphoto.com
Depression and anxiety are very common among gay men, and some of the most common reasons why some gay men feel depressed include the homophobia surrounding them of the feeling of guilt. I have many gay friends that use to feel guilty about being gay, because they believe they have not only disappointed and saddened their family, but also their friends. However, this isn`t a general rule. When it comes to depression, it is classified in chronic depression and severe depression. Fortunately, both of them can be treated.
Some gay men can be depressed and don`t even know it. While for some members of the LGBT community, depression is something temporar, something that comes and goes and usually lasts a few hours to a couple of days, others have learnt to grow up with it and live with it. Depression can begin since the teenage years, when the teenager gay boy gets ridiculized, he is being mocked on or even thrown out of the house by his own parents because of his sexual orientation.
I am going to present you the basic information that each and every one of us should know about HIV/AIDS, in order not only to prevent ourselves from getting infected, but also in order to protect our partners. I strongly believe that it`s our moral duty to constantly check our HIV status by getting tested at least once every three months, and also before starting a new relationship. Remember, it can take up to six months from the moment of infection to the point when your body begins to produce the specific HIV antibodies, so an HIV test CANNOT guarantee you that you are HIV-negative.
For instance, you could`ve gotten infected one or two weeks before testing, so the results of the test will obviously come out as negative since your body didn`t have the time to produce HIV antibodies. Therefore, one can only know for sure whether he`s negative or positive after at least three months of sexual abstinence. The ONLY way to know your HIV status for sure is to get tested for HIV, no other blood tests can be so accurate.
HIV 1. Photo Source: PHIL Centers, Content Providers: CDC/Dr. Edwin P. Ewing, Jr.
It`s a known fact that HIV infection is one of the LGBT issues which needs the most attention. Studies have shown that more than 30 million people live with HIV/AIDS all around the world, and 7000 people find out every day that they`re infected with this terrible virus. Thirty million people who want to live and who are still waiting for scientists to discover a vaccine which completely cures the HIV infection. For almost three decades, such discovery wasn`t possible. Although the antiretroviral drugs have significantly improved the life of HIV positive patients, the cure everybody`s waiting for still hasn`t been discovered. Anyway, scientists claim that they`re very close of it, because a couple of months ago they discovered this very strong natural antibody which anihilates more tham 90% of the HIV virus mutations and helps them with their research.
I know that everybody talks about it and readers begin to get sick of hearing the same things over and over again, but I`m gonna talk about the HIV subject once more. Why? It`s simple, with all these prevention campains and ads, thousands of people still get infected each day. You know, they say it`s always better to prevent diseases or infections rather than treat them, and this saying especially applies when it comes to HIV infection. This is why so many money are invested into preventing the HIV infection.
