Posts tagged genital herpes and
Genital herpes stigma as an opportunity to help
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Guest author from our community: Shannon (SingBlueSilver)
Something fascinating is happening to me … There’s a small seed inside of me. It’s pushing for more attention daily. Changing, growing, morphing. It’s always been there, really, but never nurtured. I’ve been in therapy most of my life trying to coax the seed to gain roots and prosper. In the end, I think I was afraid to make real changes in my life to love myself and be happy because being a victim and sad all the time was easier. Real growth takes work and dedication. So the seed of my inner strength lay stagnant …
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Watch my herpes video diary
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DAY 1
Last week, my girlfriend and I decided to go our separate ways. It’s been the most loving relationship I’ve ever experienced. And I was so afraid to let it go (even though we both knew it was time to let it go). All of the fear that was holding on to about what breaking up would look like ended up not being like that at all when it happened. Ultimately, as it was in our relationship, it has been the most loving breakup I’ve ever experienced, too. We still love each other, still live together until she finds a new place, still committed to the best for each other, and knowing that we aren’t meant to be together, at least not now. And this change has set me on a path of wanting to make sure I take care of myself, too. I have a tendency to feel alone if I don’t stay connected to what matters, if I don’t remind myself of what’s important.
So I have dedicated myself to get up by an alarm clock at 7:00a (which is early, folks, I’m a freelancer!), bolt out of bed, head out the door to start my first hour off with deep breathing, practicing gratitude, getting clear on what I want my future to look and feel like, and reminding myself to feel instead of shut down. I am lucky enough to have a beautiful forest and creek right across the street from me. And I go jogging along the creek during this routine. At a certain point along the path is a beautiful spot that overlooks a bend in the creek where I sit down and record whatever comes up. And I’ve decided to share the first three days of this video diary with you, with our community … More >
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Herpes Simplex Virus 101
This is a guest blog. Original article can be found here.
The most common versions of herpes simplex virus, or HSV, are HSV-1 and HSV-2. Generally speaking, HSV-1 causes cold sores (oral herpes) on the mouth, and HSV-2 causes genital herpes (which is essentially just having cold sores in your genital area, rather than your face). With this in mind, it’s possible to get HSV-1 genitally and/or HSV-2 orally, but not as likely as the other way around. While HSV-1 and HSV-2 aren’t super picky, they do tend to prefer their former positions.
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Herpes coach: You are not alone
Does any of this apply to you?
- Herpes is constantly on your mind, taking you away from living your life fully
- Having herpes has convinced you that you’re completely alone and always will be
- Simply saying the word “herpes” makes your heart sink
- You judge yourself mercilessly, saying things like “How was I so stupid to get herpes?”
- You just had your first herpes outbreak; you feel lost and don’t know what to do
- You’re waiting for a herpes cure to save you from having to deal with this
- You have to distract yourself from remembering that you have herpes in order to just get through the day
- Having the herpes talk (disclosing) scares the crap out of you and you don’t know how you could possibly tell someone “I have herpes”
- You are disgusted — and think everyone else is, too — that you have herpes, so much so that it feels like it defines you for the worst (scarlet letter H)
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Herpes interview with Marcia of Asking for What You Want
I totally enjoyed my chat with Marcia of askingforwhatyouwant.com last night. It was less an interview and more two friends chatting about how people with herpes can totally lead happy, fulfilled lives and learn to accept all the love they deserve.
Here’s what Marcia had to say about our interview last night …
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Herpes and medication
DISCLAIMER: I’m no doctor. (And I don’t even play one on TV.) Any recommendations in this blog post — and on this entire site, for that matter — should be gone over with your doctor prior to acting on it. It’s just the smart thing to do.
There is no herpes cure (like a lot of sheisty websites out there would have you believe), but there are ways to keep the virus at bay. And medication is only the tip of the iceberg. My initial advice about medicating herpes is this: Don’t take it if you don’t have to. It’s a drug. And I try to stay as natural and drug-free as I can. You’d be amazed at how staying physically and mentally healthy can naturally suppress the virus. That said, depending on your body, health and a whole range of factors, taking herpes medication to make you more comfortable or to keep your herpes-free partner safe may be a viable option. Some people are under the impression that if they have herpes, they need to be taking herpes medication. That’s not true. Here are the facts …
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Herpes Opportunity Weekend Seminar
Are you ready to drastically shift your relationship to herpes and yourself for the better? Drop your shame, be accepted, move into the life you want. More >
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Herpes and self-sabotage
A common theme across the board on this herpes blog, in my responses in the herpes forum and support I offer my herpes coaching clients is the fact that most of the roadblocks we encounter around “coping with” having herpes are actually self-inflicted; the way we feel held back has less to do with herpes itself and more to do about how we feel about ourselves having herpes. Yes, there is a stigma, yes, sometimes it stings to get a “you have what?” reaction to a herpes disclosure … but how we react to herpes stigma or a herpes talk rejection ultimately comes down to how we feel about ourselves. Someone judging you about having herpes becomes more about realizing they are judgmental or have a negative association with herpes vs. you being a bad/dirty person. And if we feel ashamed of ourselves and guilty about our situation, we tend to self-sabotage. After all, the first roadblock to our happiness is usually ourselves, not our life circumstances. This isn’t just about herpes. This self-sabotaging tendency applies to other things, too. Like our self-control around eating donuts, for example … Yes, donuts. How are donuts and herpes connected? Good question …
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Herpes help: One magic phrase that can change your life
Did that get your attention? Are you feeling like you’re bashing your head against a wall trying to figure out how to deal with this virus? Are you constantly beating yourself up about where you find yourself right now (“Why did I just have to have sex with that person …”)? There’s one magic phrase that will help with herpes … Here it is (drum roll, please)…
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Herpes and love
[Posted on Valentine's Day] Today the world is celebrating Valentines Day (also known as “Singles Awareness Day.”) There’s a lot of talk of lovers loving together in a warm cocoon of lovely love … almost nauseating, huh? If you happen to be single on this day of love (with herpes to boot), it might feel like a cold, lonely day — like the day itself is rubbing your face in your unfortunate singlehood. At first blush, herpes and love might seem to be mutually exclusive: one wipes out the other. But that’s simply not a fair way to look at it when you just want to be happy. Let’s look at how we can turn this beloved holiday into a positive, shall we?
