I was 16 when first diagnosed, it was my first girlfriend and I was devastated when I found out. It honestly fucked me up mentally and emotionally, I had lost the little confidence I already had in myself thinking I would never find someone else and constantly be rejected. I'm now 20 and have finally really come to terms with my diagnosis. Throughout the years I've had herpes I've only told my family and very close friends. My friends and I joke around about it sometimes now that I'm comfortable with it and have gained some of my confidence back. The downside is that I just recently told a girl I just started seeing that I have herpes and the reaction dropped me down a peg. This being the first girl I've told I expected it to be awkward. Her reaction seemed typical, she asked questions about it such as what are the odds of it transmitting to her, and if I'm on medication, which I am and have been for 4 years. Now I did do research when I was first diagnosed, but more for myself to be educated not expecting to have to educate others since I had lost the self esteem to be in a relationship. So after telling her I asked if she still wanted to see me, and sadly the answer didn't really come to me as a shock. She had made it seem like if she were to continue to see me it was going to ruin her life, and I get it, that's how I felt when I first found out but at the same time my ex-girlfriend had never told me she had herpes. But like I said before after 4 years of being single and thinking I was less than what I am, I finally found someone worth telling and I'm starting to slip back into that rut I was once in. Hopefully I can explain to her that I'm not expecting anything intimate from her right away, I want her to get to know me and then decide whether or not we should continue to see each other.