Enjoying the Holidays While Living With HIV | myHIVteam

Connect with others who understand.

sign up log in
Resources
About myHIVteam
Powered By

Enjoying the Holidays While Living With HIV

Posted on October 24, 2019

Living with HIV may change your holidays, but you can still have enjoyable and meaningful celebrations. Although HIV may make some holiday traditions challenging, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy connecting with friends and family during the holiday season. By communicating your limitations due to HIV, being flexible, and adjusting your expectations, you can help make sure the holidays are happy and memorable.

Communicate Your Needs

Let your loved ones know that connecting with them over the holidays is as important as ever to you, but treatment side effects like nausea or conditions you've developed from long-term ART use are making it hard to plan as usual. You need to put your health first or risk worsening your condition.

  • Don't be afraid to say no.
  • It can help to use direct "I" statements. For instance, "I am not feeling well enough to host this year" is better than "Having everyone over is just too stressful." Communicating in this way makes your needs clear without making others feel accused or burdensome.
  • Even if you usually maintain healthy boundaries, the holidays are a time when they may be tested. If a friend or family member tries to make you feel guilty for setting your boundaries, gently remind them that HIV doesn't take the holidays off, as much as you wish it did.

Be Flexible

Instead of saying "no," say "yes" to something else. If a family tradition no longer works for you since you were diagnosed with HIV, it may be time to suggest an update.

  • If you can't travel as usual, consider offering to host. Ask others to bring potluck dishes and help clean up so you don't wind up overdoing it.
  • If you usually host the gathering but can't do it this year, encourage someone else to host instead. They may be delighted to welcome everyone to their home for a change.
  • If you always bring a beloved dish, pass the treasured recipe on to a loved one like you would a family heirloom, or shine the limelight on another chef in the family and invite them to bring their favorite dish.
  • If you can't bring yourself to give up the party, think of ways to save time and energy. Use paper plates, plastic flatware, and disposable tablecloths for easy cleanup. Make decorating (or de-decorating) part of the event and get everyone to help. Plan a low-impact meal such as a stew that simmers all day in the crock pot with little prep work or tending.

If it's just not possible to get together in one place this year, consider using a video chat service such as Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime to have a special holiday call on a smartphone or laptop. During a video chat, you can:

  • Watch family open gifts
  • Have them show you the decorations around the house
  • Read a holiday story or poem to the children
  • Sing favorite holiday songs together

Adjust Your Expectations

Even without a chronic illness like HIV, holidays often come with high expectations that lead to disappointment and stress. Letting go of the illusion of a "perfect" holiday can help you keep expectations realistic and focus on what's most important about the holidays. For many people, that means connecting with loved ones, being thankful for what you have, and finding hope for the new year.

Here are some mindful tips from Johns Hopkins Medicine for adjusting holiday expectations:

  • Accept that your holidays won't be perfect and will be different from celebrations in years past.
  • Focus on what really counts. Find things to be grateful for and look for new ways to connect with loved ones.
  • If you get into a conflict with someone over the holidays, take a few breaths before you react. Try to stay compassionate and react with kindness.
  • As you reflect on last year, be kind to yourself and let go of any negativity. As you look forward to next year, make smaller, gradual resolutions rather than huge goals that will be difficult to achieve.

During the holidays and year-round, the members of myHIVteam are here for each other. Joining myHIVteam means gaining a support group of thousands of others with HIV who understand exactly what you're going through.

Here are some conversations from myHIVteam members about navigating the holiday season with hiv:

How do you celebrate the holidays with HIV? Share in the comments below or post on myHIVteam.

Posted on October 24, 2019
All updates must be accompanied by text or a picture.

Become a Subscriber

Get the latest articles about HIV sent to your inbox.

Related articles

Take a look in your fridge, and you may find a bottle of orange juice or soy milk with a label th...

Vitamin D and HIV: What’s the Connection?

Take a look in your fridge, and you may find a bottle of orange juice or soy milk with a label th...
Living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be challenging, both physically and emotio...

4 Ways To Manage Anxiety With HIV

Living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be challenging, both physically and emotio...
This is a short guided meditation by Dr. Christiane Wolf on self-kindness, which can give you mor...

Self-Kindness When Struggling: 6-Minute Guided Meditation

This is a short guided meditation by Dr. Christiane Wolf on self-kindness, which can give you mor...
Navigating dating can be particularly difficult for people living with HIV, so it’s important to ...

How To Navigate Dating With HIV

Navigating dating can be particularly difficult for people living with HIV, so it’s important to ...
If you’re living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it’s important to remember that an ...

7 Incredible Athletes With HIV

If you’re living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it’s important to remember that an ...
Has living with HIV or AIDS prevented you from getting a job or earning gainful income for yourse...

Do You Qualify for HIV Disability? 4 Things To Know

Has living with HIV or AIDS prevented you from getting a job or earning gainful income for yourse...

Recent articles

Health care providers generally diagnose human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using one or more blo...

Diagnosing HIV

Health care providers generally diagnose human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using one or more blo...
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system. Left untreated,...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): An Overview

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a virus that attacks the immune system. Left untreated,...
Living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sometimes means working hard to differentiate symp...

Can HIV Infection Cause Cough?

Living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sometimes means working hard to differentiate symp...
No one enjoys a headache. Unfortunately, 52 percent of people worldwide experience headaches, and...

Headaches and HIV: 7 Causes To Consider

No one enjoys a headache. Unfortunately, 52 percent of people worldwide experience headaches, and...
Your nails may not seem like they’d be very important from a medical viewpoint, but they’re actua...

4 Ways HIV May Affect Your Nails

Your nails may not seem like they’d be very important from a medical viewpoint, but they’re actua...
If you’re starting treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), you should know about th...

IRIS in HIV: 7 Facts To Know

If you’re starting treatment for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), you should know about th...
myHIVteam My HIV Team

Thank you for subscribing!

Become a member to get even more:

sign up for free

close