I have had HSV for thirty years. It has been such an insignificant part of my life.

It is 2 am where I am. I am not up late thinking about the H. I am up late tonight and many nights because I am alone. This is the Secret to our Success area and though I am starting this post with not such a successful tone please here me out. I am not alone because of the H. I am alone because someone that committed to a lifetime of trust, love, and commitment let me down. I stumbled upon this H site and I hope that I have helped people here because I have had HSV2 for thirty years. It has been such an insignificant part of my life. I have been in two monogamous relationships with this virus in those thirty years.

If you are having your first outbreak or are still very new to having this virus hitching a ride on your body, don’t despair. It is not you. It is not a part of you. It is a foreign critter that has hitched onto you, like maybe a tick.

As I think about what has been very important in my life, and what will be very important in my life, sex is near the bottom of the list. Loving my children, my family, my parents, my friends, my world, and my pets is what stands out. I was just looking at some old pictures and remembering, and the long hugs stand out to me. I lost my father several years ago from a sudden heart attack and so I learned many hours after the fact that he was gone. If he had not left suddenly and I could have been at his bedside during his final hours just holding his hand I would have traded years of sex with my wives for those final hours with him.

Your capacity to love is not lessened in any way by this virus. Your capacity to receive love is not lessened in any way by this virus. Sex is one way for people, who pair up and who love each other to express it.

So many stories on this site are from people who got this virus from people that did not love them. Participating in sex so often and with relative strangers is a big reason this mean little H critter and his dangerous cousins have been able to spread so rapidly and widely.

I will not be alone for long. I know that there are many women of character, who are filled with love, and can be trusted that are looking for men like me. Sure the physical attraction will play it’s part and sex will come into play. But first and foremost I am looking for genuine love and compatibility. And then this little H jerk will also be relegated back into the nuisance category of my life, like other body issues that you have in your life.

So give love. There is no stopping the amount of love that you can give.

Comment originally published on the Honeycomb Herpes Support forums.