Hooking up again

So a little backstory. I haven't had sex in the past 2-3 months so i was doing alright until I started texting this guy and we decided to hook up that same day we've hooked up a few times before, I was the bottom. After that, I was feeling fine but in like 2 days or so, I started to feel pain around my butt at first i thought i was just sore cause i tend to lift heavy on leg days but as the days went by the pain got worse. I couldn't pee normally i had to push really hard just to pee and i wasn't able to have bowel movements so I made an appointment at the clinic and found out I have Herpes simplex virus (HSV). I was in shock since im still young and to know i have this infection, i couldn't believe it. I was given meds at least but knowing i will have this for life really brought me down.

Back to the present im able to have normal bathroom function and pain gone and im kinda nervous to start being intimate again probably not soon but in the near future and i know I've got to be more safe now, im going to use protection from now on. And if wondering why I wasn't wearing protection well i used to but since I've hooked up with this person a few times i didn't think much of it and just went raw. Did it hurt trying to be intimate again the first time? How long should I wait to get intimate again? Can anyone else relate or have similar stories? How'd you deal with this infection and move on? My head is kinda like going everywhere since i found out that I have HSV. Really would appreciate the advice thank you