Things I Wish I Got Told Right After Diagnosis

Hollie
Hi lovelies. 
I got diagnosed with genital HSV 1 in July. I thought my world was ending completely😫. I waited months to tell any of my friends🤥. And do you want to know what their average responses were? "oh.. I'm hungry what do you want for lunch? I should probably go get checked too! Wanna spend the night? Omg can you come with me to the STD clinic tomorrow?" 🤔It was  sooo casual!! Like I was telling them I watched tv last night. Now we all joke around and call my herpes: Hank! 😂
Moral of the story is it's not as life shattering as you think and people won't judge you. 😘
You are not disgusting. You are not dirty. You are not ugly. You are fucking amazing. ❤❤❤❤❤
Taking the pills everyday becomes so natural you won't even think twice about it🙅🏼. I go days without even thinking the word herpes or HSV. I even bought a cute little wood box to put my pills in 😍 so the ugly orange container isn't just sitting next to my bed. 
Meditating and yoga helped me control it a lot when I first got diagnosed. It will also help you find some zen in your life. 😌 
Pay attention to what you eat and drink🍽🍸, and see if you have any consistent correlations between outbreaks and what you eat. For my it's beer🍻! I could have 3 beers one night and the next morning I will have a little outbreak. So now I avoid beer🙃 it's all about knowing your body and paying attention to yourself. 
When you're having an outbreak make sure you keep your lily nice and clean. But wash gently! 🌸I use non-scented head and shoulders shampoo. I know it sounds weird 👽 but it is very cleansing, not a lot of chemicals but most of all gentle! Just use your hands, not a scrubber. I usually sleep without underwear and in sweats, the drier you keep it the quicker it will heal. 🤞🏼
Essential oils
I'm obsessed with them😍. I work for a company called doTerra and so I immediately started researching once I got diagnosed. Here's what I do now: when I feel even the slightest amount of tingle or itch I will put 3💧💧💧 drops of oregano and malaluca in a veggie capsule and take it 3x a day for about 3-4 days. I also apply clove bud and Melissa to my tail bone 🍑every morning and night. (The herpes virus lives in a little pub near your tailbone!)They are incredible for keeping Hank at bay. 😉
YouTube:
There is a vlogger named Laureen HD and she talks a little bit about living with HSV. Belize Samuel talks about it in her channel too. Basically if you look up Living With Herpes / HSV you'll find a lot of feel good videos. 👀👀
Educate! 💡
Try and know everything there is to know about herpes. 🔍 All of the types! If you're well educated about it you will understand what's going on in your body. Medical Journals. Videos. Dr. Oz. Google. Just keep researching. Know the statistics inside and out. 🤓 when you're talking about it or telling people it will make it a lot more understandable. 🙂
Dating:
Will I ever date again? Yes. 👫👭:
Will anybody ever love me? Yes, absolutely. ❤
I'm not sexy anymore: UM YES YOU ARE BABE 😍🔥💣
Sex will never be the same: ohhhh yess it will. Don't you worry honey bunny.🍑 👅🍆
Okay so I struggled with this one too. It takes time. Be nice to your body. 💆🏼 Don't rush into anything that may make you feel uncomfortable. Take some time for yourself, though. You need to be okay with your situation before you bring other people into your life. 
This one taugh me that the guys that aren't okay with it, aren't worth it. If they can't accept you for this small bump in the road (no pun intended 😂) then when something far more serious happens in your relationship down the road, he'll bail. If they freak out, he's not worth it. 🙅🏼
Don't get this confused with him needing processing time. 👨🏻‍💻 He'll want to do his own research. Maybe talk to his doctor (encourage him to do this). 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 the first time I told a man I loved that I have herpes he needed time to process. And I freaked out. 💥 Completely broke down, it affected his processing period severely. 👎🏼🙁 
There's a dating website called PositiveSingles. My doctor told me about it and at first I was really skeptical😬, but I gave it a shot. There's really nice guys on there and even some cuties. 😏I met a lot of good friends on there. A lot of guys will message you and tell you that it sucks to start out but gets better. And if you have any questions then you can ask them. 🤷🏼‍♀️ it was overall a really good experience. 
I guess in conclusion, don't beat yourself up🤦🏼‍♀️. Dry your tears👸🏼. And adapt💁🏼.  The more you know the better you'll feel. You're not at all alone. You are still you. 
The biggest thing I did after I found out, after about a week, was get out of bed😭. Shave everything🙂. Pluck my eyebrows.🤳🏼 But on some makeup💄. And just go out and be me💃🏻. I would look at myself in the mirror and say "you're still the same old Hollie. You're you. Not an alien. You're you."