Blog
Herpes 101
The Secret Society: An Online Support Group for Herpes Community
Finding out you have herpes can be a difficult and isolating experience. When Alexandra, the founder of The Secret Society was first diagnosed, she felt alone and without support. That's why she created The Secret Society, an online support group for people living with herpes.
The Secret Society is a place where people from all over the world come together to find support, make friends, and talk about their herpes journey. It's a safe space where people can be open and honest without fe…
What to Do If You Were Just Diagnosed with Genital Herpes
When we are diagnosed with genital herpes or oral herpes our hearts sink. We feel totally alone and like nobody understand what we are going through. This was exactly how I felt when I was diagnosed with genital herpes back in 2011.
Something that doesn't help us with this 'alone feeling' is that when we are alone we can go down a rabbit hole and start creating worry which leads to depression or anxiety. I call this phase of just being diagnosed with herpes the Eeyore phase. When we are dia…
Asymptomatic and Living with Herpes
What does asymptomatic mean and how does this relate to living with herpes?
Let me assume that you are either reading this because you just found out you have herpes but have never gotten an outbreak. Or you've had one outbreak and haven't had any more outbreaks in years. The unique thing about the herpes virus is it has the ability to go dormant in our system, thus making the person living with herpes asymptomatic.
According to Oxford's dictionary the definition of asymptomatic is, "(of…
Is Herpes Always Genital or Oral?
This is such a great question. I still get people who are shocked at the fact that both HSV 1 and 2 can go to either location.
If that came as a surprise to you let me then explain.
Traditionally we believed that HSV1 was only oral herpes and it could only be oral herpes and that was the good type of herpes. At the same time we believed that genital herpes was always HSV2 and it would only stay in the genital region and it was the bad kind. Firstly, there is no good or bad kind of herpes. An…
How I Spent My 4th of July with a Herpes Diagnosis - Oh Sh*T Anniversary Pt. 7
Everything feels so out of reach when you are first diagnosed. Everything comes crumbling down and you feel like you're never going to be able to come up for air. It's suffocating and terrifying at the same time. Would love to tell you after I was diagnosed I picked up and was able to straighten my life out right away. That wasn't the case and I did not have a rebound in one day or even the week later.
Back when I was diagnosed I was really struggling. So now it's the 4th of July. I had pla…
You Have Herpes Questions, the Top FAQ's Answered - Oh Sh*T Anniversary Pt.4
One of the things I distinctly remember when I was in the waiting period and wondering if I had herpes I also began to ask myself questions about living with herpes. I mean, what if I had herpes? How would my life look differently? How would I ever date again? Would I have to marry this guy that I was dating? Would I just be having constant outbreaks all the time or would I never get another outbreak ever? Literally, there were so many questions.
So I can imagine that if you were just diagn…
What Doctor Said when I Went for My Physical: Oh Sh*T Anniversary pt.3
In case you missed it, we're in the middle of the Oh Shit Anniversary. It was 11 years ago I was diagnosed with herpes. This is the exact day 11 years ago....
Now it's Tuesday and I know something is wrong. This is the same day as it was eleven years ago. By now the blisters had fully shown up and I was in unbelievable pain. I felt so sick and could not imagine what was going on. Today was supposed to be just a regular physical but instead it turned into the day to go to the doctors and get…
What You Need to Know about Herpes in 2022 - Oh Sh*T Anniversary Pt.2
As I've mentioned before I've had herpes for a long time. I was diagnosed with HSV1 oral in 2003 and then with HSV2 genital in 2011. So it's safe to say I've had my ups and downs as well as I've dealt with lots of stigma over the decades.
I think back in 2003 and in the early 2000's herpes was something that really wasn't talked about. I mean if you go cold sores you most likely didn't know they were contagious and considered herpes. Back then, we for sure didn't associate the idea that ora…
Something Was Wrong but I Didn't Think It Was Herpes - Oh Sh*T Anniversary Pt.1
This week we're going to do something different.
Eleven years ago I was diagnosed with genital herpes.
This year in 2022 falls on the same days of the week as in 2011. I've shared things here and there but I've never walked you through exactly what I did and how I felt. Share what I can remember and the good, the bad and the ugly. My intention for this week is to bring awareness to herpes: your life moves on and you forget how big of a deal it is. Talk you through the exact week 11 years…
If I Were Diagnosed with Herpes Today: 3 Things I Would Do Differently
I was diagnosed with herpes in 2011. That doesn’t sound like it was too long ago and that we haven't had to many changes but really, when you think about it we’ve had a ton of technological changes. Let me take you back to 2011. There was google, but it wasn’t what it is today. There was Facebook and Instagram, but neither had the impact that they have today. So what I’m trying to say is that there wasn’t the information out there that there is now. When I googled herpes, or who had herpes bac…