Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Herpes Is a Blessing, Not a Curse

I talk to many many women and men daily.  We cover all sorts of topics, but recently a woman came to me with the Herpes questions.  She is divorced and hasn't done much dating except a short series of one night stands, which you guessed it, she contracted Herpes.  Now she wonders when to tell and if she should tell any potential partners.  She is looking for a lasting relationship by the way.  She is seriously considering not dating at all because of it.  I say nonsense.

I don't know the actual statistics, but do know they are pretty high.  A large percentage of the population does have this virus.  The good news of course is it can be controlled. The bad news is it causes often great shame in those that have it.  I hope today to turn around some of you thoughts or feelings of shame on this subject.

It's a fine line of when to tell your partner something so very personal.  It's not first date conversation.  Many fear telling of this sooner rather than later because it will scare off the potential mate.  First off, to tell your new partner about this requires great trust.  I am positive that many a person has had this "virus:" thrown back up at them later as ammunition, say in a fight perhaps. There is also the chance of complete rejection.  This is scary stuff.  It makes one not want to tell. but tell you must.

So how is this a blessing and not a curse.  For starters you have your own built in relationship pacing mechanism.  You will tend to move more slowly into relationships and build up a foundation of trust before jumping.  You simply must trust him prior to sharing such personal information. You very well may also abstain from having sex too soon, that thing that puts us as women into the bonding mind frame where we attach, sometimes sooner than we should.

You also now have very own separate the wheat from the chaff measuring stick.  If a man or woman for that matter dumps you because you have herpes, well he/she is not for you anyway.  Also if your partner sticks around after learning of this, well chances are good he is a keeper.  Sure you may lose a few because of this, but if he runs, he didn't have staying power in the first place.

Another blessing in this is showing your vulnerability.  Tell a few guys about this and see how much easier being vulnerable can become.  To prosper in relationships, we must learn to be vulnerable.  

What I am suggesting is that you embrace it rather than feel shame towards this virus that many suffer from.  It is not the end of the world.  It can be controlled and your life does not have to change.  Sure you have a responsibility to your partners, but don't discredit the responsibility that you also have to yourself.  The responsibility to trust yourself and the partners that you choose to share with.

Living with Herpes.

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