DICK SPLASH
My own culture, I feel, is denied. I worry that the excellent good sense
you sometimes deliver is not reaching and touching all of us. Complete
inclusivity is a tall order, and there's only a point to it if the virus
doesn't discriminate. It does.
I find HIV/Aids services difficult to use - the sniffy righteousness,
the warnings about entitlement to benefits, the horror at fools seeking
infection, the suggestions about work and even volunteering.
Work may be wonderful, but not necessarily for all. Vocation seems rarely
to be heard of, except when mentioned as in 'vocational guide'. As for
volunteering, I have willingly offered myself and my time for years -
and now you want me to be exploited by well-meaning but not always very
clear do-gooders?
And as for massage and aromatherapy...I know that the other sort benefits
some folks, but the sort I enjoy consists of vigorous deep internal massage
administered by a virile man with a small brown bottle jammed up his nose
(bet you censor that bit). [Only the word 'cock' - ed.]
As for anyone contemplating infection, they either need information about
the realities of disease and treatment, or may be seeking to escape from
something worse. Talking of which - in case you were wondering - yes,
I am receiving psychiatric help. I can recommend the mental health team
at the Maudsley (King's College Hospital).
To add to your recent articles on mental health, I can say that what's
available seems to me to have improved, but that the early hurdles remain
much the same. Getting a
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referral to effective help means first pronouncing some key words to a GP.
