Do you see herpes as a dead weight in your life? Is herpes dragging you down with each step? If we don’t put awareness into how you think about herpes, it will drag us down, much like if you were to strap a few hundred pounds of dumbbells to you and walk around life denying the weight’s existence. You’re liable to eventually just want to give up out of sheer exhaustion.
But let's flip this metaphor on its head; let's ask what else are weights good for? In what ways do people actually seek out weight in their lives? Those people who want to get stronger. If you go to the gym with the intention of getting stronger, you will approach heavy things from a much different perspective. You will appreciate that initially lifting the weight may be difficult because it’s new. But you know it will serve your health and quality of life. Eventually lifting weights will become easier as it becomes installed as a positive habit in your life. You become stronger and it becomes easier with every rep you do.
And here's where we bring it home: Reframing herpes is like mental weightlifting. If you have the mentality that this thing called herpes can make you stronger if you use it in a positive way, then it will. Each time you disclose to a partner, each time you have a herpes outbreak and don’t let shame overtake you or reinforce shameful stories about you, each time that you act with courage and integrity, that is strengthening your character. These are all reps in the gym of life.
It’s a simple law of nature: issues avoided become greater problems; issues that are taken head on with a positive attitude help you grow and become a better version of yourself. It’s no different with herpes.
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