Saturday, March 17, 2012
Blog 3
If I had a friend come to me a who suspected that they may have an STD I would offer them moral support and try and ease their worries by letting them know that it could possibly be nothing but they should still get tested because some STD do not have symptoms. I would help them find a nearby clinic that maybe offers free confidential testing. I would mainly be there for moral support, offer to take them to the doctor and just be that person that they feel comfortable talking to, but I would also chastise them about the mistake they made leading up to an STD scare. Many people think, “Oh that can’t happen to me” and most of the time it does happen to that person. If a friend came to me with this problem, first and foremost I would be there as a friend not judging, just listening. If everything turned out ok, I wouldn’t want my friend walking away from the situation with the same attitude of, “that couldn’t happen to me”, I would want them to know the consequences of their actions and how it could affect their life.
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I agree that having an attitude of “that couldn’t happen to me” is the wrong attitude. Even if you suspect that there is a 1% chance that you have an STD, it is important to get tested, even if it is just for piece of mind. STDs are nothing to be brushed off and you are right, the earlier they are caught the more likely it is that they can be treated and maybe even cured. I think it is important that you help them by taking them to the doctor and being there when they need to talk to someone. If they do not have a serious relationship or are afraid of telling their partner, they will need someone to talk to and discuss how they feel.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to add that if they do have an STD, they need to understand how that is going to affect the rest of their lives. They need to be honest will all future partners and possible significant others about their STD before they become sexual relationships. I think this is often the reason STDs are so rampant, people are afraid of telling others about it before sexual contact. While it s a scary subject to bring up to someone you really like, you are not doing them any favors down the road if they end up contracting the STD from you. I always believed that you can tell someone you love anything and they will love you no matter what. I would hope that if you were honest with your significant other or partner about an STD they would be understanding to your situation and would take preventative steps with you so they would not contract it.
I also agree that having that type of attitude is not the right way to go. It can often lead to being too confident and ending up in not getting tested which could be very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that if someone were to come to you with that type of problem that you would be a good support to them. I would be the exact same way. It is a hard subject to talk about with friends, but its good to see that no matter what you wouldn't judge them for it.
Amber,
ReplyDeleteYour friend would be fortunate to have your understanding and direction if she/he was afraid of possibly having an STD. I was most impressed that while you said you would be non judgmental you also indicated you would not want your friend to take the risk again. I imagine you would remind her that if abstinence was not her/his choice in the fututure, perhaps the use of a condom would be in order. Thanks, Amber I enjoyed you blog.
Rhonda Drake-St.James
Hi Amber:
ReplyDeleteI did not think of helping my friend find a place to be discretely tested. That is a very good thing to do, and placed in the same situation, I would now add that to my list of important thing to do to help my friend with facing her possible illness.