You’ve got to live through and suffer a most annoying and uncomfortable virus. A virus which makes you want to hide yourself away more than strive to be the best and most confident you that you deserve to be. This attitude is completely understandable and it’s your only method of coping, at least you think it is.
Fellow Herpes sufferers can tell you that living in this way is just plainly and simply, depressing. But how can you change your attitude towards this when you’ve lived in the same way for such a long time? A good option, and there are many, is making some positive affirmations to change your perception of yourself with the virus.
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How will making positive affirmations help me?
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Positive affirmations help you to discover the real negative beliefs that you hold related, in your case, to the Herpes virus, and let’s face it, you have many. These core negative beliefs can always be changed, you just have to know how to go about changing them. By identifying your negative beliefs and allowing yourself to envision hope, and speaking to yourself using positive talk over negative talk, you can work on breaking down the negative side of your attitude towards living with the this virus. This is the side of you that blocks out the positive light, and makes everything appear dark and gloomy, when in reality it’s not.
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What are the steps to making positive affirmations?
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Discovering these will involve making a strong positive affirming statement about who you are. For example: My name is X and I am living with herpes but I am a strong and successful individual who works with children and makes a difference in the world. Don’t worry if you don’t work with children, you make a difference in some other way.
When you have this statement on your piece of paper, write it down in the same way, ten times. While you are doing this your mind will try to convince you of something different, something negative. These ‘blurts’ are the barrier to releasing your positive attitude.
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How do I tackle my negative beliefs?
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- The evil ‘blurts’ that challenge your positive statement about yourself need to be listed and dealt with. So, as they come into your head, write them down.
- You have now created a list of negative thoughts about your Herpes that are starting to blur the first positive statement you made.
- Don’t worry about how ugly each statement looks, it’s meant to look this way.
- Finally, look at each ugly statement in turn, and counter it with something positive.
Below is a great guide for how to turn those ugly ‘blurts’ into positive factual information:
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Herpes makes me look and feel disgusting!
° Herpes actually makes me take more care of my body.
I don’t ever want anyone to see me looking like this!
° My friends love me for who I am, not what I look like.
There is something wrong with me!
° I am a successful person living a life like anyone else.
People will think I am infectious!
° The people in my life are not that ignorant.
Nobody understands!
° A huge proportion of society suffer some strain of the virus.
Everyone thinks I am a leper!
° My friends and family think I’m brilliant.
I want to hide away in a dark room until it goes away!
° Hiding in a dark room will limit my amazing potential.
I can’t face my partner like this!
° My partner absolutely adores me.
I feel so uncomfortable all of the time!
° There are so many pain relievers out there nowadays, I’m incredibly lucky.
There are days I just don’t want to exist!
° It’s just a viral skin condition so don’t make it more than that.
I deserve to sit in my room all day and hide!
° Life is short and I deserve to live it to the best of my ability every day.
It’s my fault I have this!
° I don’t blame myself or anyone else for having this.
I have some positive affirmations, now what?
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- Reading them aloud to yourself everyday will help you to remember them.
- Breathe into it as you are saying it. Really get behind those words.
- You could even get a friend or family member to repeat them for you.
These positive affirmations are what get us through life with our heads held high and smiles on our ever-expectant faces, and so not holding onto them, not believing in them, will limit your potential in a world that is frankly filled with endless opportunities. Whether you are an occasional sufferer or they plague you monthly, Herpes is something that can’t be changed, you, on the other hand, can. To make yourself really believe the positives and change the perception of yourself with Herpes takes time and a lot of affirmations, but you’ll soon see the light at the end.
Read the next article: Living with Herpes – Making Positive Affirmations. Part 2