meMovingForward

Hoping this finds you doing well today. I don't get time to get on here as often as I would like but I do check in every couple of weeks. I know what you are talking about when you say you "future trip" as I have been "future-tripping" a lot lately. Why do we do that to ourselves? It serves no purpose except to give us anxiety about things that may never happen and make us scared to move forward again. Anyway, I just wanted to reach out to you, see how you are doing and let you know that it's going to be fine and you are going to find a person who will accept all of you. I'm sure of that. Hopefully, you are doing fabulous and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Thank you so much for being so supportive of all the people on this forum. I know you may not realize just how much that means but I am convinced that without that support, I wouldn't be moving forward. I would still be stagnating in the grief. What you do here is very important to everyone and I want to say a HUGE "Thank you" to you for your acknowledgment, unconditional support and positive encouragement. Thank you so much.

Nice to meet you Annie. My heart is breaking for you. I'm so sorry that you have had to deal with this situation. You are not alone though. I'm also in my mid 50's and have been dealing with this for the last 5 years (and dealing very poorly, I might add). I'm still in the relationship that gave me this but because of this forum I have reached out for the professional help that I have so desperately needed. I'm not alone in this anymore and that is a great and empowering piece of knowledge to have. I don't know where my life is heading at the moment but I'm sure that I will survive whatever comes along for me. I recently went back to school and obtained my Associate's degree but haven't really been able to put it to use yet. I just recently started therapy and I'm feeling stronger and healthier now. I hope we can become friends on this forum and keep updating and supporting each other. I'm sending so much love to you and hope for nothing but the best for you.

Just wanted to give a short update since last time. I have had two therapy sessions since finding this group. They are helping but I want you to know that I may not have gone to therapy if I hadn't found this group and realized that I was NOT alone in this. This forum IS important in ways people may never realize. I'm now on medication for depression and it's helping a lot. I'm getting motivated to do things I once couldn't find the energy to do. Because my therapist wanted me to see a physician for the anti-depressants, I also found out that I am deficient in vitamin B and that my thyroid wasn't working properly. I am now on thyroid medication and taking a multivitamin daily. I'm not sure which thing is making me feel better and I really don't care which one it is because the important thing is that I AM feeling better. I'm still looking for work in my chosen profession but now I have hope that the right position will come along and I am preparing for when that time comes along. I don't want to make this too long but just wanted everyone to know that things can and will get better if we just keep trying. Although this is a terrible thing to have happen, it's not the end of the world. I might not have realized that without reading the stories of others in the same situation and I might not have sought the help I so desperately needed. Thank you for that. I feel like this forum is helping me to move forward and make some positive changes towards the life I want to have and deserve to have. Thank you, meMovingForward (one baby step at a time)

This is a good place to find some support. I am feeling the same way. I reached out here first and now am on my way to getting counseling for what I think is depression caused by the whole having HSV2 and staying in the relationship long-term. Go ahead and vent. There are many others here going through the same thing so know that you are not alone. It's life changing, I agree, but it's not life ending. You are a very strong person and will get through this and live a normal life again. I'm sure of that.

Thank you very much! I needed that. To just have someone acknowledge my distress means so much to me. Thank you again. I am making an effort to continue going forward to get to a point where I can make a new life for myself. I have a long way to go but I am making the effort. It's been a long time in this situation and it's going to take baby steps to get through it. After finding this site and reaching out in the forum, I did make a call to see about some mental health counseling and am awaiting a return call. Thank you again so much.

Don't give up. I had my first eye outbreak three weeks ago. It's not fun but it gets better with time.

I'm sorry that you are having to go through this but it does get better with time. I've been living with it for five years now and though it is devastating in the beginning, you will be able to have a normal life again. My first outbreak was my worst outbreak. I don't have outbreaks very often and antivirals take care of them when I do. I only take the antivirals when I have an outbreak due to unrelated kidney problems. You can get through this. I fully understand not knowing how to move forward, but we will figure it out as long as we keep trying.

Long story short, I am in my mid 50's, have been a stay at home wife for 26 years, and my husband has cheated on me on numerous occassions during our marriage. During this time, he has given me genital herpes (among other std's). I stayed with my husband for financial and family reasons. I made the choice that I thought was best for me at the times, so please don't judge me too harshly. Five years ago, I found out he gave me herpes. He has admitted that this was his fault but that doesn't matter to me right now. This is about my inability to move forward through the depression, the added health problems of the breakouts, and the basic fears of what's to come next. When I found out, I spent a week crying (in private), not sleeping, and being terrified to have sex with him again. On the rare occassion that we do have sex, I make him wear a condom and take precautions to not get anything else from him. I haven't done much since then. I did manage to go back to school and get my Associate's degree because I knew that I might need it one day. I've just begun to look for a job but my age and lack of continuous work history are real obstacles. I still can't sleep for more than a couple of hours at a time, I'm depressed, too broke to see a professional, isolated out in the countryside (so no friends that I can talk to about this) and this week I had a really painful outbreak that has left me feeling hopeless that this will ever get any better. I'm not suicidal but I am lost and don't know what to do to get back to my normal self but I know I have to do something to try. Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.