Mental health within LGBT+ communities in London Jose's story

The last in our blog series celebrating Pride Month, we spoke to Jose Mejia, a researcher, facilitator and project manager working in HIV and mental health in London about how he has navigated stigma and mental health challenges on his own personal journey, and the importance of developing coping strategies and support networks for good mental wellbeing.

I was born and raised in Cali, a city in the south-west of Colombia. I grew up in a big family which was both loving and caring - my family taught me key values that shaped me as the person I am today, and they offered me unconditional love and support. I guess I was very lucky, as many LGBT+ people don’t have that kind of support.

I'm 39 now and I’ve been living in London for the last 10 years. I originally moved to London in 2015 because I needed a change. Perhaps, I was also trying to escape a bit as I felt a bit stuck and wanted to leave a lot of history behind. When I came to London, I completed a Master’s degree, aiming to give my professional life a bit of a twist.

In my spare time, I love running, reading and the sound of my washing machine spinning!

Personally, I’ve had a very positive experience. But I also know there is a long way to go.

Everyone’s experience of life in the city might be slightly different depending on who they are, what they look like, where in the city they live, what services they are trying to access, etc.

I would say, that everyone who has moved to London has done so for different reasons, and we all find different ways of finding our community in this city and building our social circles.

It takes some learning to balance how much you fight for acceptance/inclusion, and how much time you spend on building your own networks.

I try to do a bit of both.

By the time I moved to London, my state of mind was very different, having already been receiving treatment and informal support back home in Colombia. I had worked on accepting that I was living with HIV, and getting a bit more clued up on how to manage this.

When I arrived in London, I was better emotionally and had a great opportunity ahead, both with studying for my Master’s degree and living in a new city and country. I promised myself I would make the best of it and continue along my journey of acceptance, so I got involved with the HIV community here.

I've continued receiving the treatment I started back home and I’ve been able to tap into other sources of emotional support to maintain good mental health. A couple of years ago, i also joined Fast Track Cities London's HIV Ambassadors programme, using my own personal experience of living with HIV to tackle stigma, both societal and internal, as well as educating and building greater awareness within the health and social care sector to improve access to services for people living with HIV.

Despite the challenges in terms of funding and service provision, Londoners living with HIV have access to a pretty robust compared with other parts of the world. You can find services to socialise, to improve your wellbeing and emotional health, to work on addictions, to work on sexual problems, to access financial support, to fight discrimination or to plan a family, for example.

Plus, there are some key services for different parts of our diverse community, such as the trans community, women, LGBT+ migrants and sex workers.

More funding for long-term mental health support is needed for people living with HIV.

For example, 8-12 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions doesn’t even scratch the surface in terms of digging beneath the surface and addressing the negative experiences of many people living with HIV. A limited number of sessions with a trainee can't unpick all the trauma that someone may have experienced in their lives. This could have been either historically, from the initial HIV epidemic in the 1980s/90, the challenges brewing today through cuts to international aid grants and the repercussions on our community worldwide – or both.

The existing offer doesn't fully address the stigma that many people living with HIV experience. More mental health support is needed for some of us to understand the impact of stigma and share our experience in the world, in our community and in our closer networks.

As well as external stigma, internal stigma can be equally if not more damaging to mental wellbeing causing us to belittle, neglect, and sometimes dislike ourselves. Fast Track Cities has been working with partner organisations across the city to develop an empowerment programme designed to tackle HIV-related stigma across three broad areas: stigma in society; stigma in the NHS and other public services; and internalised stigma.

I’ve found that peer support is an incredible resource in managing feelings, emotions and overall mental wellbeing. Sharing experiences with others living with HIV is such a valuable and beneficial experience. Developing a model to embed peer support across all HIV services in London is a key project within the 'Getting to zero' collaborative and the wider Fast Track Cities London workplan for 2023-26.

The Terrence Higgins Trust also has a calendar of peer support groups and peer learning for people living with HIV.

It’s important to remember that HIV might play a part in all or most of our life. But it isn't our single story.

Don't forget you are more than your status. And If you’re struggling, remember that things will get better – you don’t need to struggle on your own. There are so many places you can turn to for help,

If you’re not struggling, AMAZING! But don't forget that others are, so lend a hand, volunteer, donate, fundraise and give love and support to those who need it.

Lastly don't forget about JOY! We all need it!

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