Five Steps to Herpes Empowerment

1. Acknowledge your power. You are largely the master of your own
destiny. You can master being a fearful victim to herpes or you can
master living a herpes lifestyle that includes a strong immune system.
a fulfilling ethical and safer sex life. with little or no sign of
herpes symptoms. The choice is yours.
2. Understand your disease. Understand that herpes is a life-long viral
infection. which is unlikely to be cured in your lifetime. Understand
that herpes is simple disease to manage without drug-therapy by being
on the right diet. living a balanced lifestyle and having an empowering
attitude about being a person with herpes. Understand that the herpes
virus prefers to stay dormant unless triggered. Discover your triggers
and you can avoid having outbreaks and protect your loved ones from
being infected with your herpes virus.
3. Challenge yourself. Like being a visible minority or having a
physical handicap. you can challenge yourself to not buy into the false
stigma attached to herpes and to not live the life of a victim.
Challenge yourself to tell those important to you that you have herpes-
you would if it were any other disease and you need the support and
understanding of those who truly love you. Challenge yourself to
practice safer sex with an anti-viral gel and a condom/dental dam so
that you can date whomever you want and don't ghettoize yourself by
only dating others with herpes. Challenge yourself to not feel ashamed. 4. Live a life of integrity. It is immoral and unethical not to tell
those you are intimate with that you have herpes. For those who have
cold sores which is herpes of the face and mouth it is necessary to
tell even those who you plan to kiss on the mouth that you have herpes.
The best and most empowering time to tell of your herpes status is as
soon into the relationship as possible. Why not tell even before the
first date? Get it off your chest. put your cards on the table. It's
important to ask if the other person has had a blood test for herpes
because few people have and it's the only way to tell if they have
herpes also. Up to 70% of people who have herpes don't have outbreaks
that they can recognize. 60% of the population has herpes simplex type
1 or type 2.
5. Make peace with the herpes virus. I've written before that herpes
is like an uninvited guest in your body's motel. That guest can be
unruly. making your life miserable. But if you make sure that your
motel is in good repair and running smoothly and if you make a peaceful
understanding with the herpes virus it will transform itself into a
well-behaved guest who will stay in it's room almost all the time
causing no significant damage or inconvenience to your body and your
life. It's foolish to fight a battle you cannot win and you cannot
win a fight with the herpes virus but there's no need to fight it
anyways. Make peace with the virus. Make peace with the fact that you
are a person with herpes. a member of the herpes nation and boldly go
and re-claim your life.

It's not empowering to encourage people to believe that they have to be
on an expensive drug with negative side effects indefinately when they
can manage herpes without drug therapy. Asymptomatic shedding is not
how most people transmit herpes to their sexual partners and the
studies showing that drug therapy reduces asymptomatic shedding are
questionable at best. In my opinion the empowering way to manage herpes
is to one make peace with the virus. 2 empower your own immune system
to keep the virus dormant.
I get my information on herpes by being a professional who actually
treats people with herpes in a clinic. I don't rely on second and
third-hand information. Scaring people into believeing that taking an
expensive drug with health risks for the rest of their life is the
best option for treating herpes is not empowerment. Misquoting my post
is unfortunate. I in no way state that there is any foolproof-way of
passing on the virus. It is also extremely misleading to try to make
people believe that herbal treatments for herpes are unproven when
there are scores of studies and clinical experience to the contrary.
There is no magic wand to managing herpes. You cannot manage herpes by
popping a pill alon