Why AIDS-like symptoms may occur

After engaging in high-risk behavior, a man checked online and learned that this behavior can infect HIV. Out of self-blame for his behavior and fear of disease, he suffered from insomnia, fatigue, and intermittent diarrhea. He lost 15 kilograms in weight in 2 years. His immunity also declined. He was prone to colds and often had low-grade fever. The more he read about AIDS-related knowledge, the more he felt that his symptoms were like AIDS, so he repeatedly wrote letters to doctors, called or went to the hospital for consultation: "If I wasn't infected with HIV, how could I have so many symptoms?" After multiple tests, he After the HIV antibody was negative, HIV infection could be completely ruled out. However, due to the symptoms caused by long-term fear and anxiety, he still firmly believed that he was AIDS. This made him often upset and restless, and sometimes he would suddenly develop inexplicable nervousness and fear, and feel dizzy, flustered, difficulty breathing, sweating, trembling, restless, and feeling that disaster was imminent and that he was about to die. (1) Obsessive-compulsive symptoms: Some people with AIDS phobia repeatedly think about AIDS-related symptoms or some behaviors that have occurred in the past - obsessive thinking, repeatedly check for suspicious signs on the body (such as swollen lymph nodes, etc.) - obsessive actions, Even some details that ordinary people don't care about are repeatedly considered, thinking that he may be infected with AIDS. There was a college student who was tempted by others to taste the forbidden fruit and had sex with a girl in a hair salon. After that, he repeatedly reviewed every detail and checked every suspicious damage on his skin and mucous membranes, for fear that the young lady had AIDS and would infect him. After reading the information about AIDS, he would take off all his clothes every day and look and touch all over his body. Every red spot on his skin was suspected to be an early stage rash of AIDS, and every bump on his body was He also mistook it for the swollen lymph nodes caused by AIDS. Although the possibility of HIV infection has been ruled out after multiple tests, he has become cautious in everything and is always afraid of being infected by HIV. He washes his hands repeatedly every day, wears a mask and gloves when going out in summer, takes a shower after coming into contact with others, and even disinfects his whole body... In fact, he sometimes knows that it is not necessary, but he can't get rid of it. This obsessive-compulsive symptom can cause him to suffer from long-term insomnia, lack of concentration, and lose interest and confidence in work and life, seriously affecting his life and study. (2) Hypochondriasis Symptoms People with AIDS hypochondriasis often have personality traits of being overly stubborn, demanding too much precision, and being overly insistent. They often mistakenly identify some autonomic nervous symptoms caused by psychological fear as symptoms of AIDS. Every time they see a doctor, the negative test results and the doctor's detailed explanation can temporarily relieve the psychological burden. But not long after, new doubts arose again, forcing him to go to the hospital again for examination. There was once a person with phobia who felt slightly unwell and sometimes even had a cold and a headache. He would baselessly believe that he might have been infected with AIDS. He went to see experts everywhere and had repeated tests, but the conclusions of various authoritative institutions still did not reassure him. He was running around all day. Among the major hospitals and inspection agencies, every effort is made to get to the bottom of it. Because he heard that there were reports that some people had false negative HIV antibodies. Over the past two years, he had been tested 18 times in different hospitals, and each time he said, "I will check again for the last time." But not long after the negative result came out, he changed to another hospital and asked for testing. Not only was he physically and mentally exhausted by the fear of AIDS, but his family members were also troubled by his hypochondriasis and were unable to live a normal life. Every time he went to the hospital, his mother would make sure to call the doctor and instruct the doctor. You must tell him that "100%" is not AIDS (3) Symptoms of phobia. Many people who have phobia symptoms of AIDS have a fragile personality and feel panicked when they hear some information reports about AIDS. In their minds, the contagiousness and prevalence of AIDS have been wrongly exaggerated. They even suspect that everyone around them may be infected with AIDS, and that every item may contain HIV. They are worried that people around them may be infected with HIV. Infect yourself with HIV. As a result, some abnormal behaviors appear, such as fear of going to "dangerous" places or public places, fear of contact with "suspicious people" or even anyone, fear of wounds, fear of blood, and in severe cases, afraid to go out or see people all day long. Even when I hear the word "AIDS" spoken by others, I feel panicked, short of breath, and frightened. There was such a phobic person who repeatedly came to the hospital for consultation and described various ways in which he might be infected with HIV.

For example, when he was partying with friends, he was worried that one of his friends might be infected with HIV. He also felt that he had oral ulcers and was afraid of contracting HIV through saliva. There was also the fact that the door handle of the public bathroom had just been touched by a man who looked like "AIDS." "Have been touched by someone, and there seems to be a wound on your hand; even if you have acne on your face during a haircut, you may have been touched by a barber who is infected with "AIDS", etc... But these ways will not infect HIV at all. of. (4) People with depressive symptoms and AIDS phobia feel sorry for their parents, wives and children after engaging in high-risk behaviors, and at the same time they are worried about being infected with HIV. Under this double pressure, he is very prone to physical symptoms such as fatigue, muscle aches and diarrhea. This heightened his fear of contracting AIDS, causing him to fall into deep self-blame and even contemplate suicide. There was an AIDS phobic who was very afraid of contracting AIDS after having sex outside of marriage. He gradually became depressed, lost interest in the outside world, did not want to talk, did not want to move, could not eat, could not sleep, often regretted and blamed himself, was pessimistic about the future, lost confidence, and finally had the idea of ????suicide. In his suicide note to his wife before committing suicide, he said: "Dear wife, I am infected with AIDS. I have carried you to the hospital many times. Although the doctor said that I am not infected with AIDS, I don't believe it at all. I miss them It must be comforting me, because I have already developed many symptoms of AIDS. I am sorry for you, I betrayed you, I did something I shouldn't have done, and AIDS is not tolerated by God!... "AIDS phobics may exhibit one or any combination of the five neurotic types mentioned above. Although many patients underwent medical examinations and received negative test results and detailed explanations from doctors, this did not seem to eliminate their concerns about AIDS. In fact, this is the pathology of phobia. Although in the short term, phobic people may relieve their anxiety through "negative test results", in the long term, this pathological behavior will also be reflected in the repeated testing process. be aggravated and ultimately cause them to develop higher levels of fear and anxiety. Cause of AIDS phobia: Most people with AIDS phobia have engaged in highly risky premarital or extramarital sex, and the partners of sexual intercourse are often prostitutes, hotel escorts or hair salon girls, and some have chaotic sexual relationships with people they meet online. female. On the one hand, these risky sexual behaviors will indeed greatly increase the chance of HIV infection; on the other hand, because this kind of behavior is not allowed by social moral norms, deep down they are often subject to moral condemnation and social pressure. The struggle between reason and desire, morality and instinct often makes them feel conflicted, ashamed, and guilty, making them more likely to develop AIDS phobia. In this case, they saw or learned some information about AIDS, but they knew little about it, so they exaggerated the contagiousness of AIDS, or regarded possible symptoms of AIDS as specific symptoms of AIDS, which were consistent with their own feelings. A pair of numbers took their seats, plunging themselves into deep fear.