now as i ready i see that alot of people were like me where they worry about their symptoms and because of some rsiky behavior in thier past they thing oh my God i have hiv. i did the same thing. though ive been tested a thousand times i still got scared. i even got tested 2 years after the 1st possible encounter and 1 year after the 2nd and it came back negitive. what got me thinking oh no hiv was i got an inner ear infection. now if anyone here has ever had one you would think...im going to die. i still have it and its been 5 months. not only that but my girlfriend has recently gotten sick.....swollen tonsils, ear infection, who thing and also has these pimples/kind of a rash on her chest that shes always kinda had but it got way worse. anyways this all got me scared about it but the simple fact of i got tested and tested negative is still there. window period is 3 months. i even asked and they said that the 6 month doesn't even apply anymore. it takes 3 months and any testing after that is for peace of mind. it is very common for people who feel guilty for past encounters to think that they have or even deserve it. you can't go by symptoms just the facts. meanwhile worrying about hiv and not what the actual cause of symptoms are is just plain dumb. hope all is well and don't be scared to get tested. saves alot of stress and gets you on with life.

I can totally relate to that. I've been obsessing about HIV for about 5 years. ON and off. I've been tested at 6 months post exposure and it was negative. Four years later, after being with a new girlfriend for over 4 years, I Got sick and started freaking out again, I got tested and it was negative. Now, the facts are, There's not possible way I have HIV, but for some reason, I still go through alot of anxiety over the fear of having it. Every symptom I have, I stress about, thinking it's really HIV related.........my mind keeps telling me that the test were wrong, or the doctor falsified the test, or he didn't even test me LOL. I'm crazy. Now, I have generalized Anxiety disorder, and my symptoms are Extreme fatigue, blurred and spotted vision(floaters), I have a white tongue for about 4 weeks now, thick white saliva, and constent sore throat...........I know all these symptoms can be caused by my fear and anxiety because it throws off the balance within my body, but I never thought white tongue could be caused from anxiety.......Can anyone confirm the white tongue/anxiety connection?

There is so much stuff written about mind/body relationship that you just want to get a library card and unplug the TV. You may want to try: "You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought" by John Rogers; "Full Catastrophe Living" by Jon Kabat-Zinn; "Mind as Healer/Mind as Slayer," by Kenneth R. Pelletier; "Illness as Metaphore" by Susan Sontag; "Peace, Love, and Healing" by Bernie Siegel, and anyting by Joan Borensenko (sp?).

The other issue is that HIV brings to mind all of the terrible plagues and pandemics that have occurred throughout history. From the Black Plague to Tuberculosis to Leprosy - these are disease because of which whole communities and cultures have been ostracized. For some, therefore, HIV is the latest disease upon which we can hang our hats for participating in "anti-social", "decadent", and "purient" behaviors. When we start believing what people tell us about people who are HIV +, then we have bought the farm and the awfulness of this disease becomes justified. chris