Greetings chaps (and chapettes)!
As you all know, I endeavour to draw attention to those irksome devils we call STIs, offering help and support wherever I can and as much as I’ve seen so much improvement in the way we think about sexually transmitted infections, there’s still some way to go.
I’m talking mainly about the stigmatisation of living with an STI and how it can make you feel.
In 2018, there were 410,000 diagnoses of STIs in Old Blighty alone – 410,000 chaps! This definitely hammers how that STIs are not some obscure rare disease contracted by just an unfortunate few. They affect loads of us and thousands also go undiagnosed. If you’ve recently found out you’re housing an extra tenant in the form of a sexually transmitted disease, Chappie has some advice on how to take the stigma out of living with one if you’re feeling a little insecure about things at present.
I want to draw your attention to one of the greatest lyricists of all time, Morrissey, who said:
‘Why should I waste valuable time with someone I’d rather kick in the eye?’
Morrissey and STIs?! What is the blabbering on about?! A fair point – stay with me, there is a method to my madness.
Alas, you might come up against friends and acquaintances who have something less than constructive to say about the news that you have an STI. If you don’t mind me saying, these people are NOT worth your ‘valuable time’. Seek support from mates you know will be there when you need to get things off your chest and who aren’t afraid to talk openly and offer you an ear over a pint, or in Chappie’s case a game of croquet.
If you’re not quite ready to talk about it with close friends and family, sometimes exchanges with people you don’t know very well can be useful – we’re all different and deal with things in different ways after all. That’s the beauty of human beings chaps – no two lads (or indeed willies) are the same! Talking with a GP is a great first step to getting your head around things and taking some of the stigmas away in your own head. This might well give you the confidence to go on and make the next step of telling a close chum.
Dating and STIs sound like a match made in Dante’s 9th circle of Inferno. Or does it? There are actually a number of dating websites for people living with an STI, which will be music to the ears of people who might have thought their dating life is forever kaput from this day forward. Not the case my friends! There’s a top 10 list of these sites just one click away right here.
Remember chaps, having an STI does NOT mean you can’t have relationships or fun ever again ever! There are lots of different treatments out there and life can go back to normal with the help of your GP; just remember to stay safe the next time you take your chap out for some bedtime fun!