Herpes is SO common, so why isn't this publicized??

[JenPhoenix40]

I had no idea that this was such a common STD. I'm well educated, successful, was in gifted program all through school....I'm a smart girl. Yet I had NO CLUE that herpes was so common. One in four women have it. I was just diagnosed a week ago, and received the test results confirming it this morning. Type 2, recent infection. I can't wrap my head around why some non profit ad council hasn't taken this issue on and gone viral with a campaign to better inform everyone. Is it because it truly is such a minor skin issue? While this is true, the stigma is much more hurtful than the effects of the virus. Maybe I'm thinking out loud. Maybe I'm just rambling. I truly had no idea how widespread this is though, and now I'm stuck with it.

[WCSDancer2010]

@JenPhoenix40

 

Honey, we've ALL asked that at some time or other! And the truth (as far as I can tell) is that yes, to THEM, it's just a nuisance skin condition in a really inconvenient place that won't kill you. What the authorities have failed to understand is that the stigma (which was immensely exacerbated by the drug companies advertising campaigns and some really BAD journalism in the 80's by magazines like TIME and Newsweek) causes alot more emotional pain than the virus itself will cause physically for most people.

 

And you are FAR from alone. You are a perfect example of how this virus doesn't care if you are smart or intelligent, in fact it RELIES on people being uninformed and the CDC and other health bodies have done nothing to help that...

 

AND ... we ARE working on that here ... there are things in the works/planning stages... so hopefully there will be more information out there in the future. And ... there are more and more of us who are OUT and who are putting our faces and experiences out there to educate the public in the meantime ... @Adrial, @MissKellyRenee, myself, @SweetCicily, and the badass Ella Dawson (google her!) are blogging and chipping away at the stigma ... I'm sure there are others too ... I'm working on a project of my own that I will be putting out there soon ... so stay tuned. Perhaps you can join us in stamping out the stigma, once and for all :)

 

(((HUGS)))

[JenPhoenix40]

I'm inspired by those of you who are out of the "closet". That really is the best way to address it. I applaud you for having the guts to do it. I tell myself I don't care what other people think of me, but this has set that mantra on its ear. I told my best friend 2 days ago. She was my first in-person disclosure talk. As soon as I said the h-bomb she had a fleeting horrified look on her face. She quickly hid it, but it was so obvious that she, like me, thought this didn't happen to people we knew. Our friends circle. This is just a virus of poor, promiscuous folks who are completely irresponsible. It's a shame that it takes aquiring it to realize the truth about it.

 

I'm so grateful to have found this forum, and the wealth of info that comes with it. It helped me quickly accept it. I'm an optimist by nature following a near death experience in 2007. Between the forum and that attitude, I've quickly flown past any depression and self loathing. It really is ok, and I'm glad I have something so minor. Could've been worse. I just wish I had known!

[WCSDancer2010]

I think you will like these links... and they may help you to get even further along with your acceptance ... you had a near death experience (I've had one too) ... you know you are a mortal .. but you also know that there are far worse things out there ... so that really does help to put things in perspective.

 

Ash Beckhams Closet Ted Talk

 

Kirsty Spraggon Ted Talk “You are only as Sick as Your Secrets

 

Vulnerability

 

 

[JenPhoenix40]

Just finished the last of the links, and they were all inspiring. A closet is just a hard talk. So true.

 

My other best friend (of 36 yrs) has known since I had the first symptoms. She has shingles and has an incredibly stressful life lately. Her shingles are constant because she doesn't take care of herself, and she even has a scar on her cornea from them. She made me laugh until I had tears in my eyes when she said, "You won the herpes lottery!". She went on to explain that hers is very visible and very painful. No way to hide it, or even an oral cold sore, for that matter. HSV2 is easily hidden, and manageable. It doesn't scar, and she has numerous scars from shingles, even on her forehead. No one has to know unless I choose to tell them. It did put it all into perspective.