Now what do I do?

hi All.. 51 y/o widow.. made some stupid choices about unprotected sex and now I have hsv2... and to add insult to injury.. so many male friends are not responding to my messages.. had a guy not real comfy about it on a date the other night. I refuse to not tell people and still have much to learn.. so ..here...I go.. as if I needed this on top of widowhood..sigh..

The only thing that makes me feel any better are the percentages. I realize so many may have it and not know.. just as I did.

Glad you're all here.. ty

This site is a huge resource. I also listened to Adrial's podcasts which are helpful. The more you an educate yourself on the topic and the more that you value how amazing it is that you're able to be honest and vulnerable, and you'll find someone who values and respects that one day is pretty darn awesome. It took me a while to feel comfortable and I realized I felt like a different person with herpes. Like when I got diagnosed even the amazing pleasures of things like running or treating myself to manicure/pedicures didn't seem like I was worth it. I treated myself differently and when I realized that I realized I allowed others to treat me differently.

Taking the time to re-find myself and re define my values and get back to the things that I enjoyed, my strengths as an incredible unique individual was something I needed to do before anyone else could love me or even value starting something new with. Hang in there and continue to do some research, do positive loving things for yourself and remind yourself of who you are. At the end of the day we all have baggage and vulnerabilities and that's about it. But you also have to love and accept yourself first which is a big step in the process. Redefine your values, redefine how you see yourself, because you're pretty great and it's good to be reminded of that! All the best!

P.S. I found that the more I shared with girlfriends that I had Herpes the more they shared deeply vulnerable "secrets" I had no idea about. It actually brought some of my friendships closer!!

Thank you CM I appreciate your comments