"My name is ChaCha Biedermann and I am HIV-positive. I was diagnosed with ADHD and I have psychosis from severe head injuries. I found a partner in real life before I became HIV-positive. We had a family. My partner had severe psychological problems when our son was born. The responsibilities of a newborn child and a partner with problems like mine were too much. We broke up and I found myself alone again. I never had liked being lonely, but now I don’t have too much interest in partnership, as it comes with problems. It is hard to find a person to love you when you are HIV-positive. So for now I am all alone in my life for the first time. I was not used to it in the beginning, but slowly I am accepting the facts, which can’t be changed. I am now working on social projects like my AIDS and HIV Support Project and the "Dance for Healing" project, both of which have been founded by me in order to help other people and do something positive in my remaining lifetime. Second Life actually has solved a big part of my problems with being lonely. I have managed to meet people from the health sector and other professionals at HealthInfo Island. I also came to meet other people with problems. Some of them have HIV and some don't, but we all have problems. So I came to see that I am not the only one out there who has problems. Whenever I feel lonely, I log into SL and I meet people who can help me with this or that. Also I have found ways to express myself and sometimes just maybe be funny. For example, I built a HIV Center on HealthInfo Island and now we have a whole island about HIV called Karuna. All this grew from the community which I have founded. I like peer-support and self-aid. I also like grass-roots. All this you can find in Second Life, if you look for it. And last but not least: please... do me a favor and don’t repeat my mistakes: Don’t gamble with your life." |