@pickeringfitness: 6 lies you still believe about your diagnosis. 1. That you got it because you were reckless. Most people having sex are exposed to the exact same risk whether they know it or not. Protection reduces it, it does not eliminate it. You can get herpes from your first partner or sleep with a hundred people and never test positive. The only difference between you and half the population is that you know. 2. That the diagnosis makes you less of a partner. The shame does. Not the virus. I made a conscious decision after my diagnosis to become more self aware and more intentional. I am a better partner now than I was before. The diagnosis gave me that. 3. That disclosure is a confession you have to survive. It is a mutual conversation about sexual health between two adults. The moment you stop confessing and start conversing your energy shifts completely. That energy gets a better response every time. 4. That people will react as badly as your anxiety tells you they will. Most won't. The ones who do just filtered themselves out before they had months to damage you. 5. That knowing your status makes you a liability. Most transmissions come from people who don't know and don't take precautions. You knowing makes you the safer option. Not the consolation prize. 6. That life was better before. This is where it starts. Not as a cope. As a choice you get to make right now. I built a roadmap that helps people unlearn every single one of these. My clients are dating confidently again and having disclosures go well. DM me the word BEGIN if you are ready to do the same. #herpes #hsvpositive #herpesdiagnosis #datingwithhsv #herpesstigma
