What your GYN doesn’t tell you about Herpes

I talk to a lot of women’s health doctors, nurses, and midwives about Herpes. They are always so happy to hear that I specialize in working with women who are coping with Herpes. They tell me how much my work is needed.

I tell them about the calls and emails I get from women all over the world trying to find someone that specializes in Herpes and that it’s not easy to find. What I also know is the behind-the-scenes of my internet content and search words used to find my stuff. The women who don’t call but are looking at my website and blogs for more information.

They aren’t looking for information about the physical side of Herpes, that’s pretty easy to find on the many women’s health-focused pages or even from talking to their Gynecologist when they receive the diagnosis. They are looking for something that their women’s health provider may not be able to help them with. And they definitely don’t have the time to.

What your gynecologist (or women’s health provider) does not tell you is that there’s this whole other side of Herpes, the emotional side. The shame and disappointment of having a virus that doesn’t go away and one that rears its head when you may or may not be prepared. It forces you to have more vulnerability earlier on in relationships and puts you out there for perceived rejection. Unless you are made of steel, that is really hard to cope with.

SO what helps? Being surrounded by people who understand. Seeing someone who knows about the emotional side of Herpes and can provide the right support. Someone who lets you grieve the old you that didn’t have Herpes and get your big girl panties on and deal with it. The truth is…. you are going to have to sooner or later.

I created a Women Coping with Herpes course because I also understand that people don’t always want a therapist to meet with them every week. They want to devour information and use tools in the privacy of their own space to come to grips with their diagnosis. To process what is coming up for them and how to move forward. I know that there can be a lot of shame involved and it’s something they worry about speaking to their friends, family, or romantic partners about.

I get it. It’s not easy to talk about. I also know it won’t always be this hard.

This is why I created the self-paced online course so that you can get to work on dealing with and using your diagnosis as an agent for change or an opening for a breakthrough in learning to get sturdier with yourself and who you are, what you have to offer, what you want, and how to move forward. You can work directly with me if you’d like, but most people want to do some work on their own before choosing to do more work with me. It also has a community component with other people who are also there because they have a diagnosis and want to do the work too.

My hope is that my Women Coping With Herpes course can be the part of the support that is needed after diagnosis… support for the emotions that come up when you find out you have Herpes. To help you track your health challenges that lead to an outbreak as well as process the shame and apprehension that sometimes come with a Herpes diagnosis. I hope that you still can hold onto hope if you aren’t in a relationship and I hope that you can be empowered to continue to put yourself out there. It’s important. Just because you have Herpes does not mean that you are destined to be alone for the rest of your life. The statistics just don’t back that fear up. There are people who will want to get to know you. To date you, to have sex with you, to start a family with you. I’ve seen it time and time again.

So if you’ve been sitting on the fence about my course, reach out. I am happy to answer questions and provide you with more information. My approach is open, positive, and hopeful. It’s best to start my course when you want to feel hopeful and you want to believe that this is something that can be a part of your story, not the whole thing. I promise it’s not always going to be this like forever, it gets better.

>> Learn more about my course, Women Coping With Herpes