WATCH: Two Poz Men Talk About Their Diagnosis 30 Years Apart

The saying is true: the more things change the more they stay the same. 

The BBC got two men, Jonathan Blake and Luke Alexander, to talk frankly about their diagnoses that happened 30 years apart. The two swap stories of how they dealt with the news of their status, showing a difference in reaction. Blake was suicidal while Alexander felt better about coping with the disease. 

"Back in my day, it was terrifying. It was basically a terminal diagnosis," says Blake. "I always used to say that this is what people must have felt like in the trenches of World War I, that people were just dying." 

Their reactions show the progress we've made in terms of treating the disease but from there the conversation shows how little has changed in actions. Both discuss the lack of safe sex practices and testing within the gay community as well as the poor education about HIV in society at large. 

"I find now that my generation don't think about safe sex very often," says Alexander. "It's all because we've been brought up with this mindset that if you are unfortunate enough to get an STI you just go to the clinic and take your antibiotics and it's gone." 

Watch the video below to see how their experiences compare to each other and to yours.