"All my friends died, how am I still here?" Increase in calls from people traumatised by AIDS crisis after watching It's A Sin, Yorkshire charity says

MESMAC, which operates across the county providing support to people living with the virus, said it has seen an increase of calls from both men and women getting in touch to discuss their experiences and seek support.

The show, written by Queer as Folk creator Russell T Davies, follows the lives of a group of young gay men through the 1980s coping with the impact and devastation of the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Friday night’s episode, broadcast on Channel 4, saw a leading character die of AIDS after his symptoms included having seizures and experiencing episodes of dementia.

But MESMAC, which runs support services for those living with HIV, say they are keen to spread the message to viewers that a HIV diagnosis is no longer a death sentence, and that medical breakthroughs mean most people who are diagnosed today can manage their illness effectively with medication and have a normal life expectancy.

People managing their illness often have an undetectable viral load of HIV which means they cannot pass it on to others.

Rosie Ellington, communications co-ordinator at MESMAC, said: “Our service users are really affected by It’s A Sin.

“What we’re getting is largely the need for support for people living with HIV who were around at the time and feel like ‘It’s not a story to me, it’s my life and I need to talk about it.’

“We’ve seen a real increase in calls asking for support.

“I was talking to one of my service users who said it brought up a whole host of emotions for her about living in secrecy.

“A lot of people don’t tell many people they’re living with HIV. You’ve got a lot of people who are very open and activist about it, and people who just don’t tell anyone at all.

“All of a sudden, everyone is talking about it, and people are worried that they might have to tell people about their experiences.

“There’s some really awful stuff we’re hearing from people who are still alive after contracting HIV in the early 80s and 90s who are saying ‘all my friends died, how am I still here? How am I the one that survived.’

“There’s a little bit of survivors’ guilt at the moment especially from people who contracted it at the time.

“That’s quite a big thing. It’s bringing back that grief and that remembrance of a time losing lots of friends. That grief is really resurfacing.”

The charity is encouraging people who are worried about the effect It’s A Sin might have on their mental health to not watch all five episodes at once, and switch the programme off if they need to.

And they are calling for better education around HIV and AIDS to ensure more people are aware of advances that have been made since the time period the show covers.

Ms Ellington said: “It isn’t the death sentence it was in the past.

“People live full and healthy lives and we want people to know that.”

If you are living with HIV in Yorkshire and need support, visit www.mesmac.co.uk