A negative and often unfair attitude that society or a group of people have towards something. In the case of HIV, stigma can lead to discrimination, isolation, barriers to accessing health care, shame, fear, internal negative thoughts, and more.
People can also suffer from internal stigma; a sense of self-shame that can be as debilitating as external stigma and can lead to depression, isolation, and each other symptoms mentioned above.
+LIFE is dedicated to the fight to #ENDHIVSTIGMA – join the fight by sharing @pluslifemedia because the more we talk about HIV, the more educated people become. For even more information, visit the CDC.