Forty-eight-year old Lali has been living with HIV for 11 years and through the stress of living with her diagnosis, she also developed mental health issues. These issues were apparent for a couple of years before she heard about the local mental health services through her neighbour and then went to her local health facility to get counselling. Instead of being prescribed medicine, she was advised to join the Psychosocial Support Group (PSG) where she could share her problems with others.

In Lali’s village in Doti District, there is a PSG running through the help of UMN’s project*. The PSG meets every month, and among other activities they do relaxation exercises. Lali has been attending this group and found the relaxation exercises very helpful. Through this group she realised a lot of people struggle with the same kind of issues as her.

This, together with the relaxation exercises, made her feel capable of managing her stress better. She also experiences more support from her family (daughter, son and daughter-in-law) and is very grateful to the local NGO and staff that have been helping her and including her in their activities. Lali now feels like she is back to her normal self and she accredits this improvement to the Psychosocial Support Group.