Question:
My doctor just called and told that indeed do have herpes:( She said that the swab test came back negative but the blood test came back positive. I just broke down and cried, I can't believe this!!!

Answer:
Dearest Candy,

I think that I can speak for the MAJORITY of people on this board when I tell you that your reaction to your new diagnosis is absolutely NORMAL. I cried for weeks. I stayed in bed for hours at a time. I didn't eat properly. I felt I was dying. I thought it was over for me. No - I KNEW it was over for me. I missed school. I started counseling. I obsessed over finding information on the internet about it. I was miserable. I was alone. It kept hitting me like it was brand new information everytime I thought about it so it was like being diagnosed OVER AND OVER again - for days. That went on for dayssssss! You will most likely go through all of this too and it's OK.

HSV is no easy pill to swallow. You will NEED to go through the pain so that it won't build up inside and lead to something worse. So cry. Cry to your heart's content and then one day...

Maybe not tomorrow or next week. Maybe not even next month. It may take 3 months. It may take two weeks but one day, you will wake up and you won't break down crying when you think about it. You may shed a tear. You may feel the urge to break down but you won't. You'll start the road to recovery and acceptance.

I personally have realized that HSV is not exactly the end of my life but it was the end to foolish things that I didn't need to be doing anyway. I'm still trying to grasp this concept, but someone once told me that it was a "blessing" in disguise. It's something that you can live with and won't kill you. It's something that opens our eyes and forces us to make wiser decisions about our relationships and sexuality. It doesn't make it any easier to accept right now but I promise you my bank (and I have a lot of money in it, lol) that it will get easier in time.

This board is excellent for therapy and support. Consider counseling and talking to someone who is close enough for you to confide in and not judge you so that you won't be alone physically.

I wish you the very best on your road to recovery...