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Hello all! I hope everyone is well, happy, and healthy. I am sitting in my yard right now staring at a large rose bush in my garden. While some see this plant as a plant with pretty pink and white flowers, I see it as a reminder of herpes. The not nice ex who gave me herpes and was not respectful to my body or feelings gave this rose bush to me on Valentine's Day of 2019. The next month I would get herpes. I was 19 at the time. One day I came home and saw my mom had planted this rose plant in the garden. At first it reminded me of the trauma, the tears, the blisters, the embarrassment or walking around my college campus waddling like a penguin, the holes in several pairs of my undies because of the giant rough sores from my first outbreak. However, seeing this rose bush grow into a large blossoming plant has helped me come to peace with herpes. Through struggle we blossom. Through suffering we rise. We are so much stronger than we realize; so much more than our HSV. I hope that this helps people see the light at the end of the herpes tunnel. Love and blessings to all! Let your soul bloom and your spirit blossom ❤️

Hello Hello, beautiful reader 😊 Yes, you are beautiful! And you are worthy of love, of sex, of appreciation! I believe in the power of affirmations, to retrain the mind to think a certain way. For years all of us are told what to think of our bodies, we are taught to believe we need to change, that we are not good enough. Not because we want to think like this about ourselves, but because companies can make money off of our insecurities. THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH HERPES. (I learned that from Herpes Opportunity, *I give thanks to you*) So, let's all write down affirmations we can repeat to ourselves every day. Every morning, every evening, when you feel like shit, when you feel amazing, whenever you NEED it or WANT it. Take note of the ones that speak to you, of the ones you feel you need more of in your life. Because your happiness, your acceptance, your self-worth all start with YOU. And YOU'VE GOT THIS, you beautiful human. This is my affirmation, especially designed for the Herpes diagnosis by Louise Hay. I say it to myself every morning, and it really helps me to get my strength back whenever I need an extra bit of a push, an extra bit of support when I lack it within myself. Here we go: The Universe supports me (Or your version of God) My higher self supports me. I am supported by others. I am normal and I am natural. I rejoice in my sexuality and in my own body. I am wonderful. Please share your affirmation here. Remember to be kind ❣️

Hey! So Im currently dating this guy and he seems lovely, we get on so well and i do potentially see it going somewhere HOWEVER I’m so scared to disclose ! I’ve had this nearly 2 years now and I’ve dated but the fear of having to disclose has always pushed me away and almost shut me off so I either back out or seem uninterested 😩 when in reality it’s the fear of rejection stopping me! As a result I haven’t been with anyone since my diagnosis and at 24 I feel like it’s really impacting me and I’m scared that this is it and I'm just going to be alone ! I try and remain positive about it and I know I have a lot of good qualities etc and I’m not my diagnosis but I just struggle to picture myself having a successful disclosure and it’s making me so anxious about my future! so was just hoping people could post some positive disclosing stories or ways to not let the fear of disclosing ruin any potential relationships! ... anything positive in general would be super appreciated! Also what length of time have people waited to disclose ? I was going to see how the third date went then after that tell him if I decide that I do want to progress things! thanks in advance x

I had two blood test done. Each came back positive for hsv1. First test value was 51.80 two weeks after the second test value was 34.40 why is that?

Hello all ... This is my first post since being diagnosed and since joining this community. I’m 34 years old, was married for 11 years and going through a separation. After spending months in a depressed state I decided to get myself “out there” and date. The second person I slept with during this dating phase gave me herpes. I made the mistake of asking if he had protection and sleeping with him anyway when he said he didn’t. Worst part was I know now that he knew all along that he had this and just wasn’t honest with me. Just ONE careless mistake and my whole world was turned upside down. After my initial outbreak and diagnosis I was completely depressed and even thought my life was over. I had every thought and feeling that each person here experienced after finding out. All I wanted to do was sleep and disappear.... Finding this site and reading all the posts from others in this community gave me such a sense of hope and positive outlook on my future living with this virus. Knowledge really is power and I found solace in reading others experiences. I thank everyone here for sharing their knowledge, their experiences, and for sending positive vibes out there. It’s so true that you never know when sending a kind word to someone how much it can really help. Im finally out of the fog and feelings of total despair. It’s not easy and there is still so much to learn about my body again now that I have this, but I do realize that this virus is not what defines me unless I let it. I will NOT let it define me. I will NOT let it take over my life. And I will NOT let it take away my positive mindset. I will fight for my body and for my health. I will fight for my happiness. And most importantly I know that I can and will live a happy and fulfilled life. People get life threatening and life altering diagnosis’s EVERYDAY... this will not kill me or take away my ability to live a strong healthy life. Perspective and mindset are EVERYTHING. Knowledge is power. And finding this community provided me with another level of comfort. Thank you everyone for reading this, and big thank you to everyone who helps comfort and inform those of us that need it... 🙂

I was diagnosed with herpes but didn't received/ prescribed any medication why is that? If I apparently had a break out. I went for a bump that was located in the pubis mons*pubic hair area.. It was just there no itching no burning no tingling or any of that.. so after being diagnosed I decided to Burst the bump. It bleed then disappear in the next hour or so.. like it never existed. I could've been misdiagnosed