Friends make comments regarding my herpes diagnoses
I've made the careless choice to tell a few friends that I have genital hsv-1. my goal in telling them is to gain empathy or understanding, but it never really ends well. My friend, Emily (not real name), knows and is supportive however sometimes it feels like she's making unintentional jabs. for example at parties we will drink. we dont share drinks as i dont want to run the risk of spreading it and she doesn't want to get it. however she will share her drinks with random people at parties and will ask them if they have herpes or anything like it. she will ask them right in front of me so it feels personal. i understand shes asking others out of cautiousness, but it still feels weird. the easiest thing to me would be just not share drinks because people could unknowingly have it and spread it. shes also said she would give anything to have my life *except for having herpes* she explicitly said she would NOT switch lives if it meant she would have it. i found this to be weird too because theres no need to say it, like what is the purpose.
Posted Sep 14, 2026, 8:03 PM UTC