The name is absent

al. 1997), gender constraints (Gregson et al. 2004; Seeley et al. 2004) and
macroeconomic impacts (Dixon et al. 2001). However, much of this work has focused
on the objective and visible impacts of HIV/AIDS and with few notable exceptions
(cf. Bolton and Wilk 2004; Baylies 2002) little attention has been given to
understanding how affected individuals and communities themselves perceive and
subsequently experience the epidemic. Research focusing on the more subtle impacts
of HIV/AIDS on emotional well-being has been limited to people who are aware of,
and able to openly discuss their HIV status. Much of this work has been conducted in
‘developed’ countries, amongst users of HIV/AIDS support groups (Wilton 1999;
Friedland et al. 1996) and focus has been placed upon the process of diagnosis and the
subsequent experience of ‘living with HIV/AIDS’.

While the emotional impacts of HIV/AIDS such as grief, sorrow, anger and
shame may impact on people’s sense of purpose and value and ultimately their ability
and resolve to hold their livelihoods and familial responsibilities together (Seeley
2001), little attention has been given to understanding the emotional well-being of
people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries. This is due partly to the
widespread existence of HIV/AIDS-related stigma which discourages HIV testing and
fuels the denial or withdrawal and isolation of people living with HIV/AIDS.
However, it is also reported to result from a general reluctance or perceived inability
amongst those working in ‘development’ to confront such emotional issues (Seeley
and Pringle 2001) as well as a prevailing tendency for research in health geographies
to be confined to select areas of the ‘developed’ world (Kearns and Moon 2002).
Drawing upon fieldwork undertaken in the Caprivi Region of Namibia, this paper
explores how the use of solicited text and visual diaries elicited detailed insight into
the personal experiences and emotions of a sample of people living with long-term

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