Does everyone in your life know you have herpes? Struggling with identity / disclosure to friends.
I was diagnosed with hsv2 about a month ago. I've told about 6 people (friends and family). All have been supportive, but I'm struggling a bit with how to label myself going forwards. I'm going to see a friend today (who I havent told) and when I mentioned it to my best friend she asked 'are you going to tell them?'. It's an innocent question, and my answer was no, but it's just had me thinking.
I don't want to be the herpes girl to everyone, and I don't want this to be something that defines me. I want to go about a normal life unless I need to disclose to someone intimately. With that said, at the moment it really does define me. Since my first outbreak i've already had another, i'm constantly trying new treatments, i've decided to start suppressive aciclovir but i can still feel tingling in the background and I'm worried it wont work. If this continues then I don't know what that means for me.
Does everyone in your life know you have herpes? Do your friends see you with that in mind all the time? Is the first month always disruptive? I've read so many stories where people get one outbreak and not another for months, the two in a row has got me down. I also was rejected by my fwb immediately after getting it, just blocked and ghosted. I'm not without hope, and feel okay most of the time, but I'm just a bit unsure.