Need Hope!

So I just very recently got out of a 2 year relationship with the guy that accidentally gave me HSV1 down there. I am very scared and not very hopeful about my future with guys. I don’t like talking to new guys because I feel that I am just deceiving them and leading them on and I am just very nervous about telling a guy about what I have. To me it is no big deal, it is just a virus that many many people have but when many guys here the word STD or herpes they freak out and will assume I am ‘dirty’. I just need some hope from people in similar situations. I am also only a sophomore in college so going about meeting a guy is 10x harder because many of them just want to hook up...

Welcome, @hi123. If you haven’t already done some research on basic facts about herpes, I strongly recommend the may resources available on this site, as well as a short handbook written by a herpes expert here: https://westoverheights.com/herpes/the-updated-herpes-handbook/

Here’s what we know.....we can’t change other people or control how they might react to a disclosure. What we can do is educate ourselves about HSV, continue to live an awesome life doing the things we love to do, and continue supporting each other. There are lots of great success stories here on this forum, including both casual hookups and committed relationships. Some guys will walk away. Others won’t. We’re not being fair to ourselves if we assume everyone we meet will think we are dirty. That’s just the stigma talking. Once you’ve spent some time over in the success stories category of these forums, you’ll see what I mean. :)

thank you!! @HikingGirl

Big deal. HSV 1 is as common as a cold. My wife infected me with both type 1 and 2. She told me up front that she had it . I got tested and had neither. 19 years into our marriage I have both and could care less. Ya it can be a pain but there are worse things in life. Everyone needs to get on with life.