POPULARITY
97 episodes with life with herpes
2 episodes with life with herpes
2 episodes with life with herpes
2 episodes with life with herpes
2 episodes with life with herpes
Receiving a diagnosis can be a life-altering experience, especially when it triggers feelings of shame. Shame can create a whirlwind of emotions—unworthiness, failure, guilt, and loss—which compounds the stress of dealing with a diagnosis. These emotions form a toxic cycle that exacerbates the condition, leading to significant nervous system dysregulation. Often, it's difficult to pinpoint this dysregulation because of our innate resilience in survival mode. That's why it's crucial to bring shame into the conversation when discussing diagnoses, and create a dialogue around its impact. In today's episode, Elisabeth and Jennifer are joined by Alexandra Harbushka, who has reclaimed her power after a herpes diagnosis and is actively breaking the stigma through her podcast Life With Herpes. Alexandra opens up about the deep despair she felt upon her diagnosis—the hopelessness, helplessness, and belief that she was unworthy of love. This dark cloud clouded her life until she made the conscious decision to change her mindset. By cultivating self-love and nervous system regulation, she was able to take control of her diagnosis and work through the shame attached to it. Elisabeth and Jennifer also share their personal journeys with mental health and cancer diagnoses, exploring how the emotional journey is similar regardless of the condition. They discuss the steps they took to confront their shame, regulate their nervous systems, and ultimately find empowerment. Shame wreaks havoc on both our nervous and immune systems. It keeps us hidden, isolated, and paralyzed. When you're faced with something as daunting as a diagnosis, healing the shame around it can seem like an insurmountable task. But it's possible. By connecting with others, regulating our nervous systems, and expressing our emotions, we can shift our perception of a diagnosis from something to be ashamed of to something that can be embraced as a gift. This episode offers practical strategies for overcoming shame and regulating the nervous system in the face of a diagnosis. If this resonates with you, don't miss it! Topics discussed in this episode: Alexandra's herpes diagnosis story The small steps Alexandra took to move beyond her “Eeyore phase” The role social survival plays in reinforcing shame Community as a healing antidote to shame surrounding diagnosis How self-sabotage manifests after a herpes diagnosis The cycle of fight, flight, and freeze responses in the face of diagnosis How shame shows up in the body and its physical manifestations Ways to regulate the nervous system and move through shame How shame hides through protective behaviors Uncoupling your identity from your diagnosis Why discernment in sharing your diagnosis isn't the same as shame REWIRE RETREAT www.rewireretreat.org This spring, gift yourself the transformative experience of our Trauma Rewired Retreat in the tranquil gateway of Texas Hill Country. To connect with Alexandra, head to her Instagram page here: https://www.instagram.com/alexandraharbushka Check out Alexandra's podcast Life With Herpes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/life-with-herpes Learn more about the Neuro-Somatic Intelligence Coaching program and sign up for the next cohort now! https://www.neurosomaticintelligence.com Get started training your nervous system with our FREE 2-week offer on the Brain Based Membership site: https://www.rewiretrial.com Connect with us on social media: @trauma.rewired Join the Trauma Rewired Facebook Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/761101225132846 FREE 1 Year Supply of Vitamin D + 5 Travel Packs from Athletic Greens when you use my exclusive offer: https://www.drinkag1.com/rewired This episode was produced by Podcast Boutique https://www.podcastboutique.com Trauma Rewired podcast is intended to educate and inform but does not constitute medical, psychological or other professional advice or services. Always consult a qualified medical professional about your specific circumstances before making any decisions based on what you hear. We share our experiences, explore trauma, physical reactions, mental health and disease. If you become distressed by our content, please stop listening and seek professional support when needed. Do not continue to listen if the conversations are having a negative impact on your health and well-being. If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, or in mental health crisis and you are in the United States you can 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. If someone's life is in danger, immediately call 911. We do our best to stay current in research, but older episodes are always available. We don't warrant or guarantee that this podcast contains complete, accurate or up-to-date information. It's very important to talk to a medical professional about your individual needs, as we aren't responsible for any actions you take based on the information you hear in this podcast. We invite guests onto the podcast. Please note that we don't verify the accuracy of their statements. Our organization does not endorse third-party content and the views of our guests do not necessarily represent the views of our organization. We talk about general neuro-science and nervous system health, but you are unique. These are conversations for a wide audience. They are general recommendations and you are always advised to seek personal care for your unique outputs, trauma and needs. We are not doctors or licensed medical professionals. We are certified neuro-somatic practitioners and nervous system health/embodiment coaches. We are not your doctor or medical professional and do not know you and your unique nervous system. This podcast is not a replacement for working with a professional. The BrainBased.com site and Rewiretrail.com is a membership site for general nervous system health, somatic processing and stress processing. It is not a substitute for medical care or the appropriate solution for anyone in mental health crisis. Any examples mentioned in this podcast are for illustration purposes only. If they are based on real events, names have been changed to protect the identities of those involved. We've done our best to ensure our podcast respects the intellectual property rights of others, however if you have an issue with our content, please let us know by emailing us at traumarewired@gmail.com All rights in our content are reserved
About The Eavesdrop Podcast: The Eavesdrop Podcast is a women's wellness podcast The Eavesdrop is a Women's Health Podcast that was created to educate, inform, and empower women to take charge of their physical, spiritual, and mental health. While the platform was created to discuss women's health concerns, no topic is ever off limits! Enjoy all inclusive conversations that will explore social issues affecting women, relationships, fashion tips, pop culture, and so much more! About This Week's Episode Life after receiving a Herpes diagnosis can take a bit of a challenging turn for some of the 1 in 5 people who will receive their diagnosis. This is due to the stigma and common misconceptions that have been placed on the infection throughout it's existence. The truth is many people can have a healthy and bountiful life with Herpes! This week on the Podcast we have Alexandra Harbushka, Founder of Life With Herpes Organization and Host of the Life With Herpes Podcast. Join us as we discuss the herpes simplex virus, what it is, what it is not! We will address common myths and misconceptions about it, we will answer common questions about HSV, and we will discuss how women and men who have herpes can still live a whole and bountiful life! About Alexandra Harbushka Alexandra Harbushka is the founder of Life With Herpes – an online community dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. In addition to helping her community members overcome the emotional struggles of their diagnosis, Alexandra also founded Secret Society Wellness, providing a full line of self-care products formulated with HSV-fighting superpowers! Outside of work, Alexandra is a mother to her son, Clinton, and wife to her husband, Bill. She lives an active, health-conscious lifestyle, and loves traveling, shopping, cooking, and going on epic family hikes! Show Mentions Connect With Alexandra: IG @AlexandraHarbushka Linktree: linktr.ee/alexandraharbushka Follow and Learn more about The Eavesdrop The Eavesdrop Instagram : IG @ therealeavesdrop_podcast The Eavesdrop Website: www.theeavesdroppodcast.com The Eavesdrop Twitter Follow @ Drshalonnab Women's Health Telemedicine Services. Perfect Harmony Telemed www.perfectharmonytelehealth.com Perfect Harmony Women's Health Telemedicine: IG @perfectharmony_telemed
In this episode, join Dr. Amy Brenner as she sits down with Alexandra Harbushka, founder of Life With Herpes, for an inspiring and candid conversation about her journey living with herpes and overcoming the associated stigma. They discuss what it means to start the journey to overcoming the herpes diagnosis. When Alexandra received her diagnosis, her world was turned upside down. Suddenly, she was confronted with fear, uncertainty, and a sense of isolation. But instead of allowing herpes to define her, Alexandra turned her experience into a mission. Determined to shatter the stigma surrounding the condition, she founded Life With Herpes—a vibrant online community offering support, resources, and a safe space for others navigating similar challenges. From her corporate career to her role as a wife and mother, Alexandra shares how herpes has shaped her perspective and fueled her passion for advocacy. With authenticity and resilience, she discusses the importance of normalizing conversations around sexual health and empowering individuals to reclaim their sense of self-worth. Throughout the episode, listeners will gain insight into Alexandra's journey, from the initial shock of diagnosis to finding strength and purpose in her advocacy work. Her story serves as a reminder that living with herpes is just one part of a larger, multifaceted life—and that by sharing our experiences, we can break down barriers, foster understanding, and build a more inclusive community. Join Dr. Brenner and Alexandra Harbushka for a compelling conversation about resilience, empowerment, and the power of community in overcoming stigma. like and subscribe! Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/amybrennermd/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/DoctorAmyBrenner YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/c/AmyBrennerMD Special Guest - Alexandra Harbushka: Life with Herpes Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona, a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling.
On this Full Frontal we speak to herpes advocate, educator and wellness specialist, Alexandra Harbushka. She has a Podcast, YouTube show and full wellness website called “Life With Herpes” where she helps others work through struggles and challenges that come with a herpes diagnosis. We discuss her diagnosis, stigma and shame as well as taking control and finding a path forward with health and happiness. Join us for this deeply personal and vulnerable conversation. check out her website here lifewithherpes.com
Linda Kreter and WiseHealth Radio is joined today by Alexandra Harbushka to discuss living with herpes. With 80% of people carry the virus, and whether it's HSV1 (cold sores, oral) or HSV2 (genital herpes), unless tested, know exposure may spread it. Alexandra brings knowledge about outbreaks, reducing transmission, and most of all, communicating with your partner. Living life with herpes is best managed with knowledge and this show will give you lots of information. Helping people thrive!
Linda Kreter and WiseHealth Radio is joined today by Alexandra Harbushka to discuss living with herpes. With 80% of people carry the virus, and whether it's HSV1 (cold sores, oral) or HSV2 (genital herpes), unless tested, know exposure may spread it. Alexandra brings knowledge about outbreaks, reducing transmission, and most of all, communicating with your partner. Living life with herpes is best managed with knowledge and this show will give you lots of information. Helping people thrive!
The topic of STIs is often accompanied with shame. It is also accompanied with the idea that a person was careless and promiscuous. However, that is not how STIs work. Sexual Health Education in our country is starting to change for the better, but is still very far behind in the aspect that we are not making it widely available, nor is it always accurate. This is one of the topics Kara talks about with Alexandra Harbuska, founder of Life with Herpes. Alexandra talks about the myths around STIs and herpes and sheds light on to what we can do to change the conversation and help support those who do have an STI, which affects a lot of people. We need to let go of the stigma associated with STIs and recognize they are a human experience. Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona (Bear Down to my fellow Wildcats!), a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling. Learn more about Alexandra YouTube - Life With Herpes www.lifewithherpes.com www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes
Alexandra Harbushka was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like herand to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona (Bear Down to my fellow Wildcats!), a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling. Alexandra Harbushka Vroom Vroom Veer Stories Grew up in La Jolla near San Diego CA, she was a cheerleader and a "good girl" meaning she went to the parties but never drank because she didn't want to lose her driver's license Graduated from the University of Arizona, but started college in San Diego and studied abroad in Spain; got a Spanish lit degree Accidently got a Master's degree in Theology because she started taking college classes for fun during lockdown, then the college told her she was only five classes away from a Master's After her diagnosis with Herpes, she felt like she needed to stay with that boyfriend because she didn't think anyone else would be with her; after 2 years she decided that she need to move on with her life and not settle for someone she felt stuck with Her husband encouraged her to share her story with herpes while speaking publicly at a podcasting conference; probably the most fear inducing idea I can think of doing Close to 80% of people are positive for the herpes virus and don't know they have it; it is a close cousin to the chickenpox and Shingles virus and both hide out in the nervous system You can have "genital" herpes anywhere in the area of the nerves in and around you genital area not just in the genitals themselves; tailbone area, inner thighs People are contagious definitely during an active breakout oral or genital but also you can be contagious without any outbreak Connections Website
Alexandra Harbushka is a founder & Podcast host of Life With Herpes founder and Sexual Health Expert. She has inspired people around the world through sharing her personal stories.. www.outbreakremedies.com Follow Alexandra at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-XqkVAvdl4QFGUzDcZEZg https://www.tiktok.com/@lifewithherpes https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ https://www.instagram.com/alexandraharbushka/ https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/ More episode like this visit: https://www.getunstuckmethod.com/podcast
Wanting to live your life authentically and actually doing it is not something a lot of people execute. Sex and sexual health and wellness is still a subject that is still ripe with stigma for adults in the United States. But Alexandra has made it her mission to educate all within reach regarding a sexual health and wellness STI, herpes that affects many adults, teens and children, some in the most emotionally harmful ways. It doesn't have to be that way. Listen in as she educates us all on how anyone can live a full life with herpes and without the heart crushing stigma and shame. Alexandra Harbushka Bio: Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona (Bear Down to my fellow Wildcats!), a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling. Stay up to date with Alexandra Harbushka: Website: www.lifewithherpes.com Instagram: @lifewithherpes Instagram: @alexandraharbushka Tiktok: @lifewithherpes Youtube: @lifewithherpes Stay up to date with Sisters of Sexuality: Website: www.sistersofsexuality.com Email: sistersofsexuality@gmail.com Instagram: @sistersofsexuality Facebook: @sexysostour Twitter: @sistersofsex Visit our sponsor OrganicLoven.com for all of your organic intimate body needs, sex and relationships courses and coaching. If you liked this episode, LEAVE US A REVIEW! LIKE SUBSCRIBE SHARE SUPPORT --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sistersofsexuality/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sistersofsexuality/support
Pumped Up Parenting | The Best Advice that NO ONE ELSE GIVES YOU about Raising Kids in Today's World
Today I talk about what most people won't talk about, "Herpes", with my guest Alexandra Harbushka, Founder of Life With Herpes. We discuss the shame so many feel and so many project to others, address what life looks like with Herpes and most importantly, how your life can move forward as planned in relation to a partner, becoming a parent and reaching your goals. To reach out to Alexandra, please visit her at LifewithHerpes.com Listen to her podcast on all platforms, Life With Herpes And download her free information by going to outbreakremedies.com ++++++++++ Join our 21-Days to Stop Yelling at Your Kids Program... go to QuitYelling.com Thank You for listening! Here are some great ways we can connect! 1. Need more help? Let's grab some coffee or tea and talk. Go to TalkWithCelia.com and choose the time that works for you. 2. Looking for a manual for parenting your child (now in English & Spanish)? It's finally here and you can grab your copy of my latest parenting & children's books today! 3. Become a Member of my TRANQUILITY TRIBE and STOP YELLING Once & For All. 4. Read my latest article to find out how to stop yelling...https://celiaArticle.com 5. Looking to be part of a fun free and informative FB community (without all the bitching)?... join us in Pumped Up Parenting 6. Love YouTube? Do you know there are lots of parenting videos, story time videos for you and your kids, as well as some great family workout videos? All on Pumped Up Parenting with Celia Kibler 7. Follow me on Instagram and TikTok 8. Join me on my newest platform PEANUT: Connecting women across fertility & motherhood 9. Join us on THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CALM, April 5th, 2024, Take the Pledge, Sponsor our Mission & Help build our school in Uganda, Share the Day, Take one of our Calm Classes and feel great! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/pumped-up-parenting/support
Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, YouTube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona (Bear Down to my fellow Wildcats!), a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling. Follow her on social media: https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/ https://www.tiktok.com/@lifewithherpes https://www.instagram.com/alexandraharbushka/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-XqkVAvdl4QFGUzDcZEZg If you get value out of the Loving Without Boundaries podcast, then consider becoming one of our patrons! Not only will you enjoy exclusive content made just for you, your support will also help us continue creating educational content while helping more people have a deeper understanding of consensual non-monogamy and healthy, sex positive relationships in general. https://www.patreon.com/lovingwithoutboundaries
Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. In this episode, we cover: - how Alexandra overcame her "Eeyore phase" after diagnosis - myths and stigmas around herpes and other STIs - how sharing her story supported her instead of shaming her - finding community & a relationship with a stigmatized disease ... and more! You can connect with her over on Instagram @lifewithherpes Learn more about Alexandra's work on her website: lifewithherpes.com and download her A-Z Guide about Living with Herpes at outbreakremedies.com You can learn more about me by following on IG @imperfectlypaigewellness or by checking out my blog, freebies, and offers on my website: https://imperfectlypaigewellness.com Please share with #PaigeTalksWellness to help get the word out about the show - and join the Imperfect Health Fam over on Facebook.
Let's dive into the prevalent stigma surrounding STDs and specifically Herpes, exploring the challenges of dating openly and honestly while living with this condition. It's a topic that many shy away from, but we'll address it head-on. It's common to feel like your world has collapsed, experiencing a whirlwind of emotions that shake your self-esteem and make you question your own value. Our special guest, Alexandra Harbushka, bravely shares her personal story of being diagnosed with Herpes. She'll reveal how she managed to transform her own narrative and life, channeling her experiences to support others going through a similar STD diagnosis. Join us for a heartfelt conversation in this podcast episode where we tackle the emotional journey of receiving a lifelong STD like Herpes. Get ready for an authentic and open discussion that will shed light on the realities of living with Herpes and provide valuable insights on reclaiming your self-worth and finding love amidst the challenges. Don't miss this candid episode filled with empathy, understanding, and hope. Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona (Bear Down to my fellow Wildcats!), a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling. Grab her ebook here: outbreakremedies.com Take the "Discover Your Love Avatar" QUIZ! You'll learn about your super power, the love blocks that hold you back and how relationship ready you are. Go to: http://midilifeloveoutloud.com/lovequiz If you'd like some one-to-one coaching with Junie, apply for a complimentary 30-minute Love Breakthrough Session here: https://calendly.com/juniemoon/lbtsession today so she can support you on your love path. And don't forget to subscribe to Midlife Love Out Loud so that you don't miss a single episode. While you're at it, won't you take a moment to write a short review and rate our show? It would be greatly appreciated! To learn more about our previous guests, listen to past episodes, and get to know your host, go to https://midlifeloveoutloud.com/ and don't forget to join the FIND FABULOUS LOVE AFTER 40 group on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/findfabloveafter40
Wanting to live your life authentically and actually doing it is not something a lot of people execute. Sex and sexual health and wellness is still a subject that is still ripe with stigma for adults in the United States. But Alexandra has made it her mission to educate all within reach regarding a sexual health and wellness STI, herpes that affects many adults, teens and children, some in the most emotionally harmful ways. It doesn't have to be that way. Listen in as she educates us all on how anyone can live a full life with herpes and without the heart crushing stigma and shame. Alexandra Harbushka Bio: Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless and with a new mission, to share her story with people just like her and to let them know that their feelings are normal, natural, and that they are not victims. With that mission in mind, she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America with roles ranging from Ralph Lauren to selling new home construction to being a mortgage loan officer. Her education includes a bachelor degree from the University of Arizona (Bear Down to my fellow Wildcats!), a postgraduate certificate in Ministry, and is currently working on a masters in Theology. She is also an ordained minister and provides ministry counseling. Stay up to date with Alexandra Harbushka: Website: www.lifewithherpes.com Instagram: @lifewithherpes Instagram: @alexandraharbushka Tiktok: @lifewithherpes Youtube: @lifewithherpes Stay up to date with Sisters of Sexuality: Website: www.sistersofsexuality.com Email: sistersofsexuality@gmail.com Instagram: @sistersofsexuality Facebook: @sexysostour Twitter: @sistersofsex Visit our sponsor OrganicLoven.com for all of your organic intimate body needs, sex and relationships courses and coaching. If you liked this episode, LEAVE US A REVIEW! LIKE SUBSCRIBE SHARE SUPPORT --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sistersofsexuality/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/sistersofsexuality/support
Join Heather as she speaks with Alexandra Harbushka, the founder of "Life with Herpes," a supportive community aimed at shattering the stigma surrounding herpes. Alexandra shares her personal story with herpes, how she got over the stigma and how she got SO FREE of shame and stigma that she turned it into a public-facing career helping others! In this episode, you will learn:Why even married/monogamous people need to know about Herpes. Testing for Herpes isn't automatic when you get an STI panel--how to get checked!Why Herpes is more of a nuisance and really isn't the end of the world (and we need to stop stigmatizing it).How common HSV 1 and HSV 2 are and where in the body each strain can be located. Smart precautions to take and factoids to help you be more risk-aware.LINKS & RESOURCES:Book a no pressure $1 discovery call with Heather (to learn about potentially working with her as a coach!)LET'S CONNECT! FIND HEATHER HERE ⤵️:Heather's WebsiteHeather's InstagramJoin Heather's free “Ask A Sex Therapist” Facebook GroupHeather's YouTube - Check out the video version of this podcast & more!WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALEXANDRA AND HER LIFE WITH HERPES COMMUNITY?Alexandra's Website The Secret Society (Herpes Support Community) 21-page Guide on Herpes w/8 Natural RemediesAlexandra's YouTube Channel RATE & REVIEW US!Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating here. You want to leave a review, but you're tech challenged? Here's a YouTube video of how to rate & review on Apple (iPhone/Mac) and here's one for Spotify/Android.All Apple written reviews are eligible to win a 3-book bundle of books (or audiobooks) from Heather's Amazon Storefront. Listen to the podcast to win and if you hear your review read, email us at AskASexTherapistPodcast@gmail.com to claim your prize!This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacyPodtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp
Alexandra knows what it feels like to get a call from your doctor saying, “you have Herpes;” and how to manage the physical, mental, and emotional rollercoaster ride that comes with a diagnosis. When you're first diagnosed with an STD, it's important to immediately educate yourself on what herpes is and what the misconceptions are. Herpes is a virus that the majority of the population has and outbreaks happen when you're stressed or your immune system is stressed. There's no cure for herpes, but herpes won't kill you and can be managed. Being diagnosed with an STD or STI can feel like the earth is breaking, but you can still live a wonderful and fulfilling life: you're more than a herpes diagnosis. Alexandra shares her experience with how to get diagnosed with herpes, manage herpes outbreaks, and communicate about STDs and STIs with future partners: from dating to getting married. We cover topics like: 3:00 How to talk with others about herpes 5:00 Coping with the emotions of an STI diagnosis and feeling shame 7:50 How to start enjoying life again after being diagnosed with herpes 14:00 Dating with herpes and how to communicate your boundaries 26:45 What to do after being diagnosed with herpes 29:30 Resources if you're concerned you have herpes or have been diagnosed Alexandra Harbushka is the founder of Life With Herpes – an online community dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. In addition to helping her community members overcome the emotional struggles of their diagnosis, Alexandra also founded Secret Society Wellness. RESOURCES: Free sex and pelvic pain resources https://drsusieg.com/resources Online Pelvic Pain Relief Program for Men https://drsusieg.com/pelvic-pain-in-men-online-program Herpes resources: https://www.cdc.gov/std/herpes/stdfact-herpes.htm https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/stds-hiv-safer-sex/herpes https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/herpes-simplex-virus CONNECT WITH ALEXANDRA HARBUSHKA: Website: https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ Email: alexandra@harbushka.com IG: https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lifewithherpes CONNECT WITH ME (DR. SUSIE): Website: https://drsusieg.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.susieg/ Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of a healthcare professional with any questions you may have regarding treatment, medications/supplements, or any medical diagnoses. This information is intended for educational purposes only and is in no way to substitute the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.
In today's episode, we talk with Alexandra Harbushka, a former corporate America turned entrepreneur, podcaster, youtuber, blogger, advocate and founder of Life With Herpes. With Alexandra, we discuss about Herpes, what types of Herpes exist, how to come to terms with a Herpes diagnosis, and more generally how to live with it, but most importantly we want to debunk some of the misconceptions around this illness that keep the stigma alive. You can reach Alexandra at: Website: https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.harbushka Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandraharbushka/ IG Community: https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-harbushka-a4063b20/ Podcast: https://www.lifewithherpes.com/podcasts Get in touch with us at the Forgive and Thrive podcast: For feedbacks and comments on the Forgive and Thrive podcast, send us an email at forgiveandthrive@gmail.com using #feedback in the subject line. If you want to share your story on the Forgive and Thrive podcast, send us an email at forgiveandthrive@gmail.com using #story in the subject line. We appreciate your review on Apple podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/forgive-and-thrive/id1567444243 Follow the FnT podcast on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/forgiveandthrive/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/forgiveandthrive/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/forgiveandthrive/ Music by Caffeine_Creek_Band from Pixabay. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/forgiveandthrive/message
Mariah is joined by Alexandra Harbushka, who took her diagnosis of genital herpes and created mission-driven resources, community, podcast, and wellness products to support those who are experiencing the same thing. Don't think this episode it for you? Think again, 1 in 3 adults have herpes virus and not all of us show symptoms. Today is the day to find out more and not let the fear and stigma keep us from living full and happy lives. Learn more about herpes and how to live a full life with it at lifewithherpes.com We are proud to keep our show ad-free with the help of our generous patrons. Become a patron today at patreon.com/saltysexcast and get even more content! #spotify #sexualeducation #herpes
-Herpes simplex virus (HSV) 1 vs. HSV2-You might be living with herpes but not have any active symptoms-”You can use your story to connect with others”-”I'm not going to let it control my life”-Practice forgiveness-Take responsibility for your actions-Fight, flight, or freeze reactions to adversity-Sex ed should happen in schools and in the home-”Educate yourself and find a community”-Celebrate being feminineConnect with Alexandra Harbushka:Website: https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ IG @lifewithherpes TikTok @lifewithherpes What did you think? I want to hear from you!Email me: emily@nfppharmacist.comInstagram: @nfppharmacistFacebook: NFP Pharmacist
How can you turn a terrible experience into a mission driven purpose? It starts with being vulnerable and sharing your story. My guest Alexandra Harbushka's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. Shaking, feeling like her life - her goals, happiness, and desires - had all just gone up in smoke, she was left scared shitless but with a new life path and mission. She founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes. Before founding Life With Herpes and becoming a mother to her son Clinton and a wife to her husband Bill, Alexandra worked in corporate America. In this episode we talk about: - Why is there a stigma around herpes? And where did it come from? - Sexual health and living with herpes - How sharing your deepest secret can lead to your life's purpose. - The power of vulnerability Find Alexandra here: https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-XqkVAvdl4QFGUzDcZEZg @lifewithherpes
Of all the STIs, why does herpes carry such a heavy stigma? When did it become the sexual boogeyman? Suzanna Brusikiewicz is determined to change that. In 2021, she came out publicly about having HSV2 and has been working ever since to spread awareness as well as unconditional love and self-acceptance. Alongside her work as a sensual guide, Suz works to help people reclaim their sensuality and let go of society's judgements. See more from Suzanna here: https://www.suzbub.com/ Follow Raya: Instagram: @rayacarmona Twitter: @rayacarmona TikTok: @rayacarmona To watch the podcast on YouTube: Raya's Channel Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: http://bit.ly/WTGFYPod If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: http://bit.ly/WTGFYPod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
#herpes #herpesawareness #herpesvirus In this conversation Alexandra and myself discuss life with herpes. The types of herpes, symptoms, getting a diagnosis, not letting herpes define who you are, and more! Alexandra is founder of "Live with Herpes", where she provides community, support, and valuable information for people living with herpes. She is an advocate for not letting a herpes destroy or determine your life. Enjoy and please leave a comment and let us know what you think! :) Find more about Alexandra here; Web https://www.lifewithherpes.com/ IG https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/?hl=en Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/life-with-herpes/id1247691746 Please share with anyone you feel might benefit from this, and if you haven't subscribed already... well you know the drill. ;)
Breaking the fear, anxiety and stigma of a viral infection so prevalent in society that 1 in 2 Americans aged 14-49 already have HSV-1, and 70-80 out of every 100 Australians have also contracted. Today, Adam answers a question from a long time supporter on if, how and when he should disclose his “cold sores” i.e. Oral Herpes to his current sexual partner - in addition, detailing his own disclosure stories and mentalities towards the perception of Herpes. References: How many Americans currently have herpes?https://ro.co/health-guide/how-many-americans-have-herpes/CDC U.S Herpes Stats https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db304.pdf South Australia Herpes Referencehttps://shinesa.org.au/herpes-isnt-as-bad-as-you-think/Ellie - Comfortable In My Skinhttps://www.instagram.com/comfortableinmyskin_/Bek Antonuccihttps://www.instagram.com/bekantonucci/ Money & Gifts Sex Podcast Reference How to Handle Women Who Trade Sex for Gifts | Social QNA Live! S5. Ep #57 This episode is brought to you by bowldojo.com where you can book 1on1 Skype Coaching, pick up The Eternal Energy Guided Meditation and dive into the Resources of Wisdom.
In this week's episode I interviewed Alexandra Harbushka. Alexandra is the founder of, Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, a website, Youtube channel, wellness products to support those with the skin condition and an online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living with herpes.We covered✨ De-bunking the misconceptions about Herpes✨ The stigma connected with Herpes and why it's down to sex being considered taboo✨ How to protect partners from contracting Herpes✨ How to disclose your Herpes status to new partners✨ Medical and supplemental solutions to Herpes✨ Alexandra's journey to becoming an advocate for those living with HerpesYou can find out more about Alexandra here:https://www.lifewithherpes.com/https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-XqkVAvdl4QFGUzDcZEZghttps://www.tiktok.com/@lifewithherpesIf you enjoy this episode, please rate and review it so others can find it too XConnect with Caoilfhionn: https://www.caoinicc.com/about-me-invitation-to-1to1-coaching Instagram: @Caoilfhionn.nic.conmara Facebook: @CaoiniccJoin her mailing list and download her Free Great Sex Guide here: https://mailchi.mp/f30c2254bf30/greatsxguide
We have an awesome guest on this podcast today! We have talked about this topic before, with Coutney Brame where he took us through his herpes journey and gave us a lot of guidance around all the things. Alexandra reached out to me recently and asked if she could share some more light around this topic. Alexandra's life was sent into upheaval when she received a call from her doctor diagnosing her with herpes. She was left scared shitless and with a new mission; to share her story with people just like her, and to let them know that their feelings were normal, natural, and that they were not victims. With that mission in mind she founded Life With Herpes, an online community consisting of a podcast, website, YouTube channel, wellness products to support the skin condition and and online community that provides support, all dedicated to shattering the stigma of living life with herpes. You hear all the time if you're careful, you're not going to get an STI, but sometimes that's just not the case. Herpes spreads from skin to skin contact, and that is what we do as humans. It's just part of living, it really doesn't have anything to do with being careful. It's common that people don't even know they have herpes, so the only way to completely avoid it is to make sure you and your partner test before having any sexual contact. What are the different types of herpes?There are two types.Type 1 or HSV1 is most commonly known as oral herpes, cold sores, fever blisters. 2 out of 3 people have this virus, and it most commonly like the oral region, but that doesn't mean it stays oral, it can move to the genitals.Type 2 or HSV2 is most commonly known as genital herpes. 1 out of 6 people have HSV2 and it most commonly likes the genital region, but it can move to the oral region. Getting Tested They don't test for it on the regular panel, so you have to ask for it. They don't have it on the regular panel because so many people have it, and it's not life threatening. So the aftermath of learning you have herpes ban be far more severe than someone who's asymptomatic. 90% of people who have HSV2 will never be diagnosed. The majority of people are asymptomatic which means you have the antibodies, you can spread it because of asymptomatic shedding, but you've never had an outbreak. There can also be people who have so few and far between breakouts, or breakouts that don't look or seem like blisters, or blisters that aren't on the vagina or penis. Life With Herpes"I was floundering, I was struggling. There's no reason to be that, and there's no reason to feel alone. All the feelings that we feel are very valid. And there's a way out of it, there's a way to live with it, and there's a way through that herpes journey. It was very important to provide information that wasn't sterile. Making a community that embraced this over ostracizing it. It's confidential, secret, and to become a friendship. There's been people who have dated in the community, and there are people from all over the world. We all have our unique story, but the topic is the same thing. Let's detach ourselves from that stigma and continue living your beautiful life. " - AlexandraBe compassionate, be understanding, and don't judge somebody. You don't know what they're dealing with. Connect with Alexandra!Website: Life With HerpesInstagram & Toktok: @alexandraharbushkaYoutube: Alexandra Harbushka Connect with Rachel!Instagram: @The_Rachel_MaineWebsite: https://linktr.ee/WellnessSexpertiseFacebook: Rachel MaineEmail: therachelmaine@gmail.comSupport the show
When I was first diagnosed with herpes I'd wondered what life with herpes would look like for 11 years. At the time, I didn't think that a happy life was even possible. I mean, I had herpes. In today's video I walk you through what it's like living with herpes 11 years later.
So there are two types of herpes. Well, actually there are way more but in this setting we really only care about two types. Herpes type 1 and herpes type 2. So what are the differences and why is it important that we talk about it?
In this podcast, Alexandra Harbushka from Life With Herpes interviews Damon Sununtnasuk from Natural Cure Labs about Monolaurin and other ways to support your immune system with fighting Herpes outbreaks and other viral infections. To Connect with Alexandra - https://www.instagram.com/alexandraharbushka/ Read More on Life With Herpes HERE For Detailed Show Notes click HERE Subscribe to the Life With Herpes Newsletter click HERE
Laura Chakir features on this episode. Genital Herpes is the topic discussed within this episode. Laura Chakir has HSV1 on her genitals and discusses with Emily the impact that this has had on her life. Topics discussed: - What is Herpes? - The experience of being diagnosed - The signs and symptoms of Genital Herpes - The stigma of Herpes - Dating with Herpes - Treating Herpes - Testing for Herpes -Overcoming the stigma of Herpes FOLLOW US on instagram @thatsorgasmic Send your comments, questions and stories to: emilyduncan@thesealedsextion.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We chat with our new Co-Host, Alexandra Harbushka about: working for Ralph Lauren, being in the Mortgage Industry, and finding her calling by creating, "Life with Herpes". Watch on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msN7AivHcs4&feature=youtu.be Follow Alexandra https://linktr.ee/alexandraharbushka #lifewithherpes #vegaspodcast --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/robert-condol/support
[content warning: suicidal ideation] Transformational Life Coach Shannon Parsons shares her recovery from childhood pain and loneliness, how observing another family gave her valuable perspective, and how she raised her children according to her values. Email Shannon Mentioned in this episode: Improv for Entrepreneurs class, through O.Improv Wonder Women Networking events by Liz Myers Humboldt State University On the Spot Improv at the Arcata Theater Lounge Humboldt Orientation Program - teaches people to say “I don’t know, but I’ll get back to you” Confidence Cat Zine: coloring worksheets for confidence, problem-solving, and career decision-making Idea: Draw your Inner Belief Child Tip - to minimize criticizing your ideas, think of them as Throwaway Ideas and let as many out as you can Try the Hatch notebook for tracking ideas and moving forward with some of them Feeling perfectionist even when you’re brainstorming? Try the word “Brainsprinkles,” to further take the pressure off. Do It Scared (take action even when it’s scary, if that action is important and thoughtful) Growth mindset: don’t feel limited by the skills you currently have Confidence Cat demonstration of Growth Mindset Drafty draft: an even lower stakes version of a rough draft NEVER judge your drafty draft A drafty draft can be scribbles on a paper, a super rough outline, just starting a blank document and naming it, a mind map, or a brainstorming session Tip for authentic networking: Instead of handing out dozens of business cards at a networking event, try: 1) ask questions about the other person instead of trying to show why you’re impressive 2) create a podcast or YouTube channel to have great conversations without small talk 3) try to find what you have in common with different people you meet throughout your week Tip: Instead of assuming you suck, see if there are resources that can address your current roadblocks Tip - When you’re faced with something difficult or embarrassing, think “Whatever I go through, I can destigmatize.” Note: This tip doesn’t fit everyone, but is a helpful mindset for people who like to share about their experiences. Even if that’s not you, this may help when you find yourself in a situation where someone opens up to you I forgot to mention when we were talking about my experience getting cold sores (which is caused by HSV or herpes simplex virus): The Life With Herpes podcast Disability After Dark - NSFW (not safe for work) Possibly useful resources: Inside the US: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8255 International: List of suicide hotlines around the world Growth mindset drawing: ———————————————————————— Discuss this episode or learn about hiring Masha for workshop (about making progress on goals that matter to you using antiperfectionism and authenticity) at BoldAdulting.com! Follow BoldAdulting on Twitter or Instagram. Email: masha@boldadulting.com Masha’s personal social media: Twitter & Instagram All coaching sessions and interviews are included by permission and with the level of privacy requested by each guest. Bold Adulting season 3 episodes were recorded over a year ago. To hear updates or to learn what podcast guests have been up to since then, reach out using the contact information if provided. Host: Masha Evpak Sound Editor: Bart Cameron and Masha Evpak
Life with Herpes w/ Co-Host Alexandra Harbushka & Gaia Morrissette on “My Orgasmic Life” podcast EP. 84 Holistic Sexual Wellness Specialist, Gaia has a very honest conversation with my dear friend and colleague Alexandra Harbushka about Herpes Content Warning : Swearing, Laughter, Sexuality, STI, STD, HerpesGaia Covers on today show: *What is Herpes 101*Herpes 101*How to communicate about Herpes*Letting go of shame*Changing the stigma around Herpes *Resources for support *******To keep exploring and expanding your learning with online courses visit https://succulent-living.teachable.com/ Seat back and get ready for a wild ride…Join “My Orgasmic Life“ Podcast on Spreaker or Spotify or Apple podcast or Google Podcast or iHeartRadio or on your favourite podcast platform. You can also listen on my website https://www.succulentliving.com/blog/categories/my-orgasmic-life-podcast There is a whole world of playful, educational, healing and safe experiences to be discovered at www.succulentliving.com and come frolic with Gaia on Social Media under Gaia Morrissette For all of your BDSM education, exploration and surrendering needs come visit Empress Gaia at https://www.empressgaia.com/ To get to know and spend time with Alexandra Harbushka Alexandra Harbushka is the creator of LifeWithHerpes.com and she is on a mission to educate, entertain and connect the underserved and often ostracised community of people living with herpes. She is the host of two top ranking podcasts in iTunes, Sex, Money and Food and Life With Herpes. Alexandra is an entrepreneur, a speaker and is breaking the stigma when it comes to Herpes. Before branching out on her own, she was in corporate America for over a decade within the realm of real estate and mortgage. It was when she was the marketing director for the top mortgage company in the US that she learned the ins and outs when it comes to marketing, promotion and just plain old hard work. Alexandra has created an online community for people living with herpes where she provides support, security and educational materials. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/ Instagram Handle: @lifewithherpesFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lifewithherpespodcast/ Facebook Handle: @lifewithherpespodcastFacebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.harbushka Facebook Handle: @alexandraharbushkaTwitter: https://twitter.com/AHarbushka Twitter Handle: @aharbushkaYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-XqkVAvdl4QFGUzDcZEZgWebsite: www.lifewithherpes.com Sponsored by Tickle.LifeTickle.Life is An inclusive content led market space for people and professionals to discover, connect and learn everything around sexual wellbeing www.tickle.life#herpes, #alexandraharbushka, #letstickle, #ticklelife, #happytickling, #pleasure, #gaiamorrissette, #holisticsexualwellness, #myorgasmiclife, #Orgasmicliving, #sex, #sexcoach, #sexshame, #succulentliving, #myorgasmiclifepodcast #relationship, #Relationshipadvice,#SexEducation,#sexual, #sexualwellness, #sexualwellnessspecialist, #shame
Life with Herpes w/ Co-Host Alexandra Harbushka & Gaia Morrissette on xe2x80x9cMy Orgasmic Lifexe2x80x9d podcast EP. 84 Holistic Sexual Wellness Specialist, Gaia has a very honest conversation with my dear friend and colleague Alexandra Harbushka about Herpes Content Warning : Swearing, Laughter, Sexuality, STI, STD, HerpesGaia Covers on today show: *What is Herpes 101*Herpes 101*How to communicate about Herpes*Letting go of shame*Changing the stigma around Herpes *Resources for support *******To keep exploring and expanding your learning with online courses visit https://succulent-living.teachable.com/ Seat back and get ready for a wild ridexe2x80xa6Join xe2x80x9cMy Orgasmic Lifexe2x80x9c Podcast on Spreaker or Spotify or Apple podcast or Google Podcast or iHeartRadio or on your favourite podcast platform. You can also listen on my website https://www.succulentliving.com/blog/categories/my-orgasmic-life-podcast There is a whole world of playful, educational, healing and safe experiences to be discovered at www.succulentliving.com and come frolic with Gaia on Social Media under Gaia Morrissette For all of your BDSM education, exploration and surrendering needs come visit Empress Gaia at https://www.empressgaia.com/ To get to know and spend time with Alexandra Harbushka Alexandra Harbushka is the creator of LifeWithHerpes.com and she is on a mission to educate, entertain and connect the underserved and often ostracised community of people living with herpes. She is the host of two top ranking podcasts in iTunes, Sex, Money and Food and Life With Herpes. Alexandra is an entrepreneur, a speaker and is breaking the stigma when it comes to Herpes. Before branching out on her own, she was in corporate America for over a decade within the realm of real estate and mortgage. It was when she was the marketing director for the top mortgage company in the US that she learned the ins and outs when it comes to marketing, promotion and just plain old hard work. Alexandra has created an online community for people living with herpes where she provides support, security and educational materials. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifewithherpes/ Instagram Handle: @lifewithherpesFacebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/lifewithherpespodcast/ Facebook Handle: @lifewithherpespodcastFacebook Personal: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.harbushka Facebook Handle: @alexandraharbushkaTwitter: https://twitter.com/AHarbushka Twitter Handle: @aharbushkaYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-XqkVAvdl4QFGUzDcZEZgWebsite: www.lifewithherpes.com Sponsored by Tickle.LifeTickle.Life is An inclusive content led market space for people and professionals to discover, connect and learn everything around sexual wellbeing www.tickle.life#herpes, #alexandraharbushka, #letstickle, #ticklelife, #happytickling, #pleasure, #gaiamorrissette, #holisticsexualwellness, #myorgasmiclife, #Orgasmicliving, #sex, #sexcoach, #sexshame, #succulentliving, #myorgasmiclifepodcast #relationship, #Relationshipadvice,#SexEducation,#sexual, #sexualwellness, #sexualwellnessspecialist, #shame
Welcome to the LIfe With Herpes show. Today I sat down with one of our Life With Herpes Secret Society members, Jenna Roberts. This was a huge deal for both of us and probably a bigger deal for Jenna. This is the first time I’ve had one of our community members on the show (yay) and this was Jenna’s way of stepping into her power and owning her herpes diagnosis! Jenna talks about her herpes diagnosis and how she was emotionally devastated when she got the news from her doctor. She says she was mortified and filled with shame and embarrassment. In her mind there was no way she was ever going to get over this shameful secret and there was no way she’d ever be able to tell anyone that she has herpes. Jenna talks about how she tried to ignore that she had herpes by covering up her emotions which created a destructive lifestyle and the misery just continued to build. Hear about her journey to acceptance and empowerment and more! To Connect with Alexandra - https://www.instagram.com/alexandraharbushka/ Read More on Life With Herpes HERE For Detailed Show Notes click HERE Subscribe to the Life With Herpes Newsletter click HERE Oh and don’t forget to subscribe to the Life With Herpes Show
One of the common questions I get from the community has to do with oral sex. Oral sex is kind of left out of the equasion when we’re talking about sex, sex education or sexual health. Typically what comes to mind when we talk about sex is just the plane old hederosexual vaginal sex. And then when we talk about safe sex or even in sex ed classes, oral sex is kinda just left out. It’s like it’s not really considered sex. Ok so here’s the deal, you can get herpes from having oral sex! This might be an oh sh!the moment for you or it’s a moment that explains it all. Regardless we need to talk about oral sex and how herpes is just as contagious with oral sex as it is with regualr old sex. Before you panic I’m going to cut to the point and say that yes, you can still give and recieve oral sex with your herpes diagnosis but here’s the deal you’re still putting your partner at risk. Let me explain. Just a quick herpes 101, so herpes is contagious by skin to skin transmission. That means that if someone has herpes on their mouth, either HSV 1 or HSV 2, and they use their mouth to come into contact with someone who does not have herpes then they have just potentially transmitted the virus. The same goes for genital herpes, if someone has genital herpes, either HSV 1 or HSV 2, and their genitals come into contact with someone who does not have the virus then they have potentially put their partner at risk. Here’s how herpes is NOT transmitted. If someone has oral herpes and does not use their mouth to come into contact with someone. So basically you can have vaginal or anal sex you are not putting your partner at risk. Or the flip if you have genital herpes you can use you rmouth all you want and you are not putting your partner at risk. Just because you have the herpes virus in your body it doesn’t mean that your entire body is contagious. It’s just the area where you get outbreaks. Also, this is very important to bring up that just because you have HSV 1 it does not mean that it’s oral herpes and just because you have HSV 2 it does not mean you have genital herpes. I go into details here about it. So back to oral sex and herpes. Let’s be clear and break it down. If you have oral herpes and perform oral sex then you are putting your partner at risk of getting genital herpes. On the flip side if you have oral hereps you can recive oral sex and not worry that you will transmit it to your partner. Here are ways to have oral sex even though you have herpes. First and foremost you need to tell your partner. Cold sores are herpes and can be transmitted to your partner and you can give them genialt herpes. After you’ve talked about this with your partner then the both of you can decide what you want to do moving forward. To protect your partner and yourself for that matter you guys can decide to use dental dams or condoms to reduce the transmission risk Once you have talked to your partner and you both have a game plan then enjoy. In my personal relationship with my husband we both give and recive oral sex and do not use condoms or dental dams. It’s because we’re both aware of the risks and we’re both ok with the outcomes. If I’m feeling like maybe something is up then we don’t do it, it’s as simple as that. Here's the deal and why I want to talk about this. It’s not to scare you and make you feel like you can never give or recieve oral sex again. Please don’t put yourself in that position. It’s not fair to you or your partner. What I want you to know is that oral sex is sex and you can give or recieve STI’s wich includeds herpes just as easily as you can having sex. Infact, in my opinion you’re more at risk with oral sex becase we’re not taught about this in sexed and when we don’t have a condom we typically turn to oral sex for an alturnative. I want you to know the facts so that you and your partner can move forward with safe sex practices that work for the both of you. Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
The quick answer is no! You can absolulty have unprotected sex even if you have herpes. Before we dive deep and go into explanation on this let’s talk about how this is a huge myth and is one of the drivers for the stigma. When we are diagnosed and told that we have herpes we automatically think that we’re going to be forced to use condoms for the rest of our lives, even when we’re married. Yuck! And this is not true. Yes, condoms are great! They do a great job at preventing pregnancy and they do an okay job at preventing the transmission of herpes. Condoms definitely have their pros and thank goodness we have them. But let’s face it, there comes a time in a relationship when you don’t want to “have to” use one. I get it. Here’s the deal with condoms. Like I mentioned before they are great at preventing pregnancy in fact they’re 98% effective when used correctly. And when it comes to preventing herpes transmission they are 30-50% effective when used correctly. So this great news but it also explains why if you always used a condom why you still got herpes. Condoms don’t cover all of the body parts. I mean you’re pretty exposed still and herpes doesn’t just show up in the areas that are covered by the condom. Herpes can be on a mans scrotum, at the base where the condom doesn’t cover or in any area around the genital region. Same thing for women, herpes is not just in the vaginal canal or around the opening. It can be anyplace in her genital region. The best method out there for reducing the risk of transmission is actually when the person who’s infected takes the antiviral. Yep, the antiviral cuts down on transmission by 48%. This is far more effective than a condom because the antiviral keeps the herpes virus dormant in your system. So, what this boils down to and what this means in reducing the risk of transmission is you need to have a conversation with your partner about having herpes. They need to know and they need to make their own decision about when the condom comes off. Really this conversation needs to be had with our without herpes but we’re specifically talking about herpes. You and your partner need to talk about what precautions you’re going to take to reduce the transmission and what you both feel comfortable with. Go out there have fun and talk to your partner!!! Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
This is one of our biggest fears when we find out we have herpes. The last thing we want is to pass it to someone else and have them experience what we went through. I mean it’s physically painful and emotionally painful. One of the aspects I like to bring up is normally when we’re diagnosed with herpes it came to us by surprise. Either our partner didn’t tell us or our partner didn’t know. Either way it’s a surprise. So when we’re diagnosed we’re in shock wondering how this happened, we’re physically in pain and want some relief and then we’re pissed! We’re so angry at our partners for not disclosing or not telling us. Moving forward when we’re in a new relationship and going to become sexually active with a partner who doesn’t have herpes the transmission is a huge fear! I get it and it’s a valid concern. Personally, I’ve never given a partner herpes so I can’t speak from personal experience. But I do know that this was something I was extremely worried about in a past relationship. I can remember taking the antiviral before going over to his house because I’d get so worried that if I felt something or a tingle then it would be the onset of an outbreak. I would totally stress myself out over it. Maybe it was because it was my first relationship with a new partner or maybe it was because he and I didn’t communicate that much about it. I’m not too sure. Here’s what I’ve learned going forward with my husband as well as what I tell members in our community. My husband, Bill, is very aware that I have herpes. I mean it’s what I do for a living so clearly he knows. Lol. But in all seriousness he knows what the risks are, he knows what herpes is all about and he trusts me to have a conversation with him letting him know if and when I have an outbreak. The bottom line is it’s his decision to have sex and it’s his dicision to take that risk. This is what I want you to work with. If you’ve disclosed to your partner and he or she knows that you have herpes and you both were in agreement of the best ways to prevent transmission for example condoms or antiviral etc and the transmission still occurred then you have to let go of that guilt. You told them, you both decided on the best method and it still happened. At the end of the day it was their decision and you didn’t make it for them. I like to use the analogy of a car. So let’s say you’re the perfect driver. You get you oil changed, you have new tires, your car is cared for and up to the safety standards. Then you as the driver wear your seat belt, are not under the influence, not using your cell phone and following all the traffic rules. Just because you do all of that does not prevent you from getting in an accident. Yes, you were doing everything you could do to reduce your risk but it’s still possible for a car to run a red light or a car to forget to stop or whatever. Basically this is the same as the possibility of transmission of herpes. You’re doing everything you can to protect your partner but he or she took on the risk and the transmission still happen. Forgive yourself, communicate with your partner and know that it was their choice. Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
These herpes myths will surprise you. I know they sure did for me. The reason why there’s a stigma against herpes is because of all the myths out there. We say that someone was irresponsible and that's why they have herpes. We say that people were promiscuous and that’s why they have herpes. We think that condoms will protect you from getting herpes and so on. Really what this all boils down to is the lack of education about herpes and the snickering that continues about herpes and STI’s. The truth is that 84% of people have herpes. You can’t say that 84% of the population were irresponsible or promiscuous or that their sex life is over. The truth is that we as humans get herpes by enjoying life and by spending time with other people. You don’t have to have sex to get herpes and you really can’t tell who has it. I want to break down the 10 most common myths that are associated with herpes. If you have herpes you should keep reading and if you don’t have herpes you should keep reading also. Chances are there’s someone out there you love and care about who has it. Herpes is not included in the STD panel This is not true. You actually have to ask for a herpes test. Other STI’s like chlamydia and gonorrhea and HIV are included but not herpes. There are many different theories and reasons for this. Some doctors feel that the aftermath of knowing you have herpes is far worse than the actual outbreak. Others feel that it’s so common so why test. Regardless, you have to speak up and ask for the test. Promiscuous people get herpes This idea of being promiscuous or a slut or sleeping around really needs to be put to rest. I mean yes the more people you come in contact with the more exposure you have to the virus. However, that thought or stigma does not apply to everyone with the herpes virus. Most of the people I talk to who have herpes got it from a committed relationship. Most of the time the person with herpes did not know they had herpes and unknowingly passed it to their partner. Oral herpes is different than genital herpes This particular one really erks me. Herpes is herpes! HSV 1 is herpes and HSV 2 is herpes. There is no good herpes or bad herpes. You did not do something right or wrong. HSV 1 is typically oral herpes however HSV 1 is becoming really common in the genial region. What this means is the majority of people with oral herpes think they’re different or put in a better category because they don’t have the “bad herpes”. This is total BS! Antiviral will cure your herpes The good news and bad news about viruses is that they are in your body for life. So in some cases this is great, like with a cold or the flu. In other cases this is annoying like with herpes. So taking an antiviral will not “cure you” or get rid of herpes for good. What it does is the antiviral works really well at keeping the virus dormant in your body and prevents outbreaks as well as lesses the chance of transmission. I talk more about antivirals here. So at the end of the day you’ll have this virus for the rest of your life and you will be contagious when the virus is active. Your sex life is over This is a big one and most of us think this when we’re diagnosed. It’s totally not true and you can absolutly have sex again and be in a loving relationship. Herpes has nothing to do with it. Having herpes does require you to discuss your diagnosis with a partner and it might require some extra protection or communication but that’s it. If you're in a relationship and just found out you have herpes then it means that your partner cheated on you. This is always what we think and having a conversation with your partner is crucial. Here’s the deal, typical transmission occurs within 2 weeks however that’s not always the case. You can become infected with the herpes virus and it can lay dormant in your body for weeks, months or even years. So in this situation, your partner or spouse could have come into contact with it years ago and it just now it popping up. Condoms fully protect you from herpes I’m all about using condoms as protection so I’m not discouraging you from using them. But a condom only covers a portion of a man’s genital area and during sex there’s more square feet that’s coming into contact. You know what I mean? Also, we don’t always use the condom during the entire sexual experience. There’s foreplay where there’s not a condom used and also oral sex where condoms are typically not used. Basically what I’m saying is there’s lots of opportunities for skin to skin contact and herpes to infect a partner. It’s obvious to tell if someone has herpes You can not tell if someone has herpes. It’s not like a look or a classification or a smell or anything for that matter. The only way you’d be able to tell is if they had an outbreak happening however even with that it might look different than what you’re thinking or be in a funny spot where you can’t really see it. So in other words, doing body check before you have sex doesn’t work. The only way to know is if the person is diagnosed by a doctor. You’re only contagious when you have an outbreak This was what we originally thought back in the day when it came to herpes. However, now that we’ve done so much more research on the virus and have a better understanding we know that there’s this thing called viral shedding. When this occurs we’re contagious and can transmit herpes to a partner. The catch is we don’t know when the virus is shedding because there is no sign or symptom of the virus. I talk more about viral shedding here if you want to know more. If you don’t get herpes outbreaks then you don’t have herpes This is another huge myth out there and one of the reasons why herpes is being transmitted so often. The majority of people with herpes are asymptomatic which means that they don’t get outbreaks. Lucky them right!?!? But here’s the catch, they’re still herpes positive and can still transmit the virus to a partner. Back to the viral shedding thing. The other downside to this is that if you don’t have outbreaks then you’re probably not getting tested and don’t know you have it. So you’re unknowingly exposing your partner to herpes. So as you can see there’s tons of myths out there that we all play into or believe what we want to believe because we it helps our situation. It’s so easy to believe that if you always use a condom then you won’t get herpes or it’s easy to put yourself in a situation of not finding a partner because you have herpes and think that nobody will want you. It requires you to educate yourself on the herpes virus and have conversations with your partners. Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished I knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
Ok I’m sure you’re reading this going...what are you crazy!?! Before you start wondering about transmission and how this is going to work out let me calm you down and explain. Sex doesn’t have to mean vaginal sex. That’s typically what we think of when we hear the words sex. It’s pretty conventional and socially we’ve been programed to think of sex as vaginal intercouse. Well, there are many other ways to be intimate with your partner and avoiding your outbreak. Let me talk about my relationship for a bit. As of writing this, my husband and I have been together for 5 years, we have sex regularly and he does not have herpes. Me having herpes, does not get in the way of our relationship, our marriage, or our sex life. We’ve found ways to get around it when I have those pesky outbreaks or when I feel like they’re coming on. In case you’re wondering how I haven't transmitted herpes to my husband I attribute it to being very open when it comes to communication. I let him know if I feel like something is going on or if I have an outbreak and when it’s all healed up. We do not use condoms nor am I on the antiviral so it really boils down to communication. I talk about the best methods of reducing transmission in other episodes so if you’re interested in that topic you can go here. But what I’m wanting to get at here is that there are other ways to be intimate that doesn’t involve vaginal intercourse. There’s oral sex, there’s masturbation and there’s the use of toys. Let’s quickly review how transmission occurs. It’s skin to skin transmission with the location of the outbreak. So here’s an example, if you have oral herpes and have an outbreak on you mouth then would want to refrain from using your mouth and coming into contact with someone who is not infected. In other words, if you have an oral outbreak you can have vaginal or anal sex and receive oral sex but not perform oral sex. Make sense? Kissing or performing oral sex on your partner would put them at risk of contracting herpes. Another example, if a man has an outbreak on his penis then he would want to prevent his penis from coming into contact with his partner. So in this case, he could perform oral sex on his partner and depending on where the outbreak is located he could potentially masturbation. So do you get where I’m going here? You have to get creative and sometimes that can be different and fun. It gets you out of your normal sex rhythm and forces you and your partner to communicate and get creative. Yes, maybe it’s not sexual penetration but hey, you’re still intimate with your partner and you both can still share in the fun and pleasure. Outbreaks only last for a few days and they go away, don’t let an outbreak dictate or get in the way of you and your partner enjoying one another. Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished I knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
You probably have herpes and you’re not alone. When you get diagnosed with herpes you feel like you’re all alone and the only person in the world with herpes. Well guess what!!! You’re now the majority. Yes, the majority of people have herpes. In fact 84% of the world population has herpes. Let’s break that down for you... First let’s talk about the United States and people with herpes. I pulled up numbers from the census and data from the Center of Disease Control to get as exact as we can. Unfortunately the CDC only had numbers of people from the ages of 14-49 with herpes. Now we know that there are plenty more people with herpes that are over 49 but we have to go with the numbers and data that’s provided. In the US there are 112,806,642 people in the US between 18-44. Of people aged 14-49 in the U.S., 47.8% have HSV-1 and 11.9% have HSV-2. Or if you want to total the percentage of people with herpes both type 1 & 2 it’s 59.7%. That’s a lot of people and remember we’re not even including people 50 or above. Here it is broken down into numbers instead of looking at it as a percent. There are 53,921,574.90 people with HSV 1 and 13,423,990.40 people with HSV 2. This totals to be 67,345,565.30 people with HSV in the US between the ages of 18-44. Again that’s a ton of people! I’ve also included graphs and more data breaking it down to type 1 & 2 as well as the age, race, and sex. I found this pretty fascinating and I think you will. Data from the CDC Ok so now let’s talk about the world population with herpes. The information that I can find on numbers are that ⅙ or 17% of the population has HSV 2 and ⅔ or 67% of the population has HSV 1. This means that 84% of the population has HSV either HSV 1 or HSV 2. Unfortunately there are no cool graphs and data on this that break it down so I had to look at this with some rough numbers. There are 7.53 billion people in the world. So that means that 17% or 128,010,000 have HSV 2 and 67% or 504,510,000 have HSV 1. This totals to 632,520,000 in the world with either HSV 1 or 2. These numbers are astonishing. You are so not alone. The only reason why you feel alone is because nobody is talking about it. We’ve been made to feel like we are carrying an awful secret or we’re bad people for living life. As you can see from these numbers that the majority of the population has herpes. Feel free to use this information while disclosing or sharing it with others. Educating people on herpes is the best way to stop the stigma. Don’t let having herpes stop you from living your life and following your dreams. Go out and crush it!!! Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished I knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
You get the call from your doctor saying you have herpes and they’ll fill your prescription. Eek… right? Here’s the deal. Take the antiviral. Chances are you’re in pain and feel horrible and all you want is for your outbreak to go away. Getting that antiviral in your system ASAP is the best thing you can do. In fact, the soon you get it in your system on the onset of an outbreak, the sooner your outbreak will clear up. I’ve heard of people being too embarrassed to go to the pharmacist to pick up the antiviral, don’t be. Seriously they medication will be a god send and get you feeling better. A quick note, however, you don’t need the antiviral to recover. Unlike having say strep throat or some other type of bacterial infection where you need an antibiotic to get better you don’t need the antiviral your outbreak will clear up on it’s own but it will take a lot longer. Also, a quick disclosure, herpes is a viral infection so you will never get rid of it. Taking the antiviral does not “cure” you or get rid of herpes. It just clears up the current infection you have right now. If you want more information on herpes you can go here where I break it way down. Let’s cover herpes medications and break them down into 2 categories. A pill and a topical cream. The Antiviral Pills: Acyclovir (brand name Zovirax): The oldest antiviral medication for herpes is acyclovir. It has been available since 1985 in pill form. Acyclovir has been shown to be safe in people who have used it continuously (every day) for as long as 10 years. Valacyclovir (brand name Valterx): A newer drug, valacyclovir, actually uses acyclovir as its active ingredient. This medication delivers acyclovir more efficiently so that the body absorbs much of the drug, which has the advantage of taking the medication fewer times during the day. Famciclovir (brand name Famvir): Famciclovir uses penciclovir as its active ingredient to stop HSV from replicating. Like valacyclovir, it is well absorbed, persists for a longer time in the body, and can be taken less frequently than acyclovir. The Topical Antiviral: Acyclovir ointment (brand name Zovirax®) Penciclovir cream (brand name Denavir®) Both work to speed up the healing process and reduce the viral activity. These topical drugs are put directly on the lesions themselves, but can also be used at the onset of prodrome. As you’ve seen me mention “branded” and “generic” basically what that means is the brand name was typically what the drug companies came out with when the drug came on the market. And the generic has the same ingredients and works in the same way but does not carry the brand name. Usually branded drugs are more expensive and generic are less expensive. It doesn’t really matter which one you take and they will do the trick. Of course, if you’re having side effects or issues with one drug or the other then you’ll want to talk to your doctor and have him or her prescribe another option. Also, other questions I get are about why one drug over the other drug etc. A lot of time it has to do with your insurance and which one they will cover as well as which one your doctor prefers. Again, if you have issues with one or your outbreaks are not clearing up then talk to your doctor and see what can be done. The good news here is that you have options! Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
Disclosing is one of the things that we fear the most when we’re diagnosed with herpes. There’s so much that we wrap up into dating and wanting to feel desired and now with a herpes diagnosis we are fearful that we’ll get rejected. We either don’t disclose because we’re so caught up in the stigma and with the fear of rejection or we just got caught up in the moment and didn’t get a chance to disclose. Ok this happens...I get it but let’s look at some possible consequences of not disclosing. Here’s what happens when you don’t disclose you have herpes: Your partner is at a higher risk of getting herpes Yep, this is true. Lots of times we think out of sight and out of mind, however that’s not the case with the herpes virus. This virus works a little different. While you are most contagious when you have outbreaks and if you expose someone to the virse with an outbreak you’re probably going to transmit it. But the thing is with the HSV virus is that you can still transmit it when you have no symptoms at all! Yikes! This is due to what’s called viral shedding. We talk more about viral shedding here so go check it out. By telling your partner about your herpes diagnosis your protecting your partner more because you guys can come up with the best plan for safe sex. Without having the conversation you’re just putting your partner at risk without their knowledge and at the end of the day it doesn’t feel really sexy. A Lack of Trust Here’s what I’ve learned in life is that at the end of the day the truth will always come out. And in this particular situation they way the truth can come out is your partner potentially getting an outbreak or they see your prescription for the antivirals in your medicine cabinet or their bff mentions it while they’re drunk. Whatever the situation is, it can happen and then there’s a bigger problem. The bigger problem isn’t that now your partner had herpes but it’s that there’s a huge lack of trust. This can lead to breakups, an unhealthy relationship and your partner wondering what else you’re hiding. None of this is good and it could have been prevented by having the conversation upfront. You Live with The Guilt Here’s the thing, we’re talking about this because I don’t want you to be living with guilt or shame. The last thing you want in your relationship is secrets and feel like you have to keep them. If you’re in the situation of not disclosing to your partner and don’t know how to approach it then the best way is to lead with the truth. I get that it’s a super hard conversation to have. Personally when I’ve been in situations where the truth is hard or I need to apologize for something I’ve done the best way to lead is with your heart and your vulnerability. When the person you care about sees how much it’s eating you up and how much you want to set it right there will be compassion. This is something we talk about almost weekly in the Secret Society weekly Support Group calls as well as if this is something you want to talk about privately then we can set up an Emergency Call. This is all really deep stuff and trust me I get where you’re at. Sending you big hugs and tons of support! Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
If you don’t have herpes then hearing that everyone has herpes virus probably just freaked you out! Well, it’s true that everyone has a herpes virus and it’s nothing to be worried about. You’re going to be just fine. Promise. We’ve been living with these dang herpes viruses for as long as humans have been walking on this earth. The herpes virus want to survive as much as we do and they’ve done a pretty good job at it. Let me explain. There are more than 100 known herpes viruses out there! Yep 100! The good news is that there are really only 8 that infects us as humans. Here’s the list and I’d bet you have more than one of them: herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV) or commonly known as cold sores or fever blisters herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV) commonly known as genital herpes Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) or commonly known as chickenpox or shingles cytomegalovirus is very common and doesn’t really have any symptoms Epstein-Barr virus or commonly known as mononucleosis or mono and the Symptoms include fatigue, fever, rash, and swollen glands. human herpesvirus 6 or commonly known as HHV and infects nearly 100% of human beings, typically before the age of three and often results in fever, diarrhea, sometimes with a rash known as roseola. human herpesvirus 7 or commonly known as HHV has symptoms including acute febrile respiratory disease, fever, rash, vomiting, diarrhea, low lymphocyte counts, and febrile seizures, though most often no symptoms present at all. Kaposi's sarcoma virus or human herpesvirus 8 include symptoms that are lesions on the skin: flat, painless spots that are red or purple on white skin and bluish, brownish, or black on dark skin. Ok so heres the deal. You have 1 or 2 or 3 or many of the herpes virus that are living with us humans. The only one that causes us to freak out or make us believe that we did something wrong is herpes or HSV 1 or 2. So why is it that getting chicken pox or mono doesn’t make us feel like we’re a leper? My guess it’s all a marketing stunt that was put into place to sell the antiviral, valtrex. The pharma companies need a compelling story to convince people that then needed this antiviral in order to continue to live a normal life. And yes, it’s 100% BS. You don’t need the antiviral to live a normal life, yes it helps heal the outbreaks faster but thats really it. But back to the 8 herpes viruses and how we all have many of them and we all freak out about getting genital herpes or oral herpes. It really does get me going when you hear people cringe or have an eww attitude towards people with herpes when I know that they have herpes viruses too. Oh and 80% of the people with HSV don’t even know they have it. The reason why this is important to you, someone living with either oral or genital herpes, is that you can educate the person who stereotypes you or calls you names. Ask them if they have ever had mono or the chicken pox or cold sores. I can guarantee you they’ve had one or all of them. The truth is you have herpes viruses and that’s just fine. Chickenpox or mono doesn’t define you’re life so why should you let HSV 1 or 2 define your life. What? It’s because you feel like nobody else has it or nobody will date you? It’s total BS and all that it is is a stupid virus that gives you some blisters here and there. That’s it! Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
Will herpes impact your child's health? There’s been a lot of parents or people who want to become parents recently asked about their kids. When were diagnosed with herpes were worried that we could potentially pass this to someone we love and of course accidentally to our kids. I want to cover the facts and how you can prevent transmission to your kids. Over the years I’ve had people reach out to me with questions and of course stories when it comes to herpes and their kids. I’ve had parents not hug or kiss their kids because they didn’t want to pass it to their child. Or I had a dad say he never got in the swimming pool with his kids because he was worried his kids would catch it. THe stories go on and on and it truly saddens me to hear that parents are missing out on such tender moments with their children. So let’s get down to it and talk about herpes and your kids. Let's start at the beginning and cover what herpes is and how it’s transmitted. I go into this in real depth here but here's the cliff notes. There’s HSV 1 which is typically oral and HSV 2 which is typically genital however they are interchangeable and they both can go to either region. If your infected only orally then you can not transmit herpes genitally and vise versa. Herpes is most contagious via skin to skin but also the virus can be spread by sharing glasses, utensils, towels and washcloths or anything else that you can think of that would come in contact with the virus and then be shared with someone else. Again. I cover this a ton in other episodes so go check them out. Let’s start at the very beginning of your child's life, and talk about the risks of having a mother who’s infected with herpes. I cover this also in other episodes so you can go here for the full breakdown. If the mother does not have a herpes outbreak at the time of delivery and she delivers vaginally then there’s a less than 1% chance of the baby contracting herpes. The good news is this is very low and it’s important that you communicate your herpes diagnosis with your doctor and come up with a birth plan that works for you. Ok so what happens if the baby contracts herpes at birth? Well it can be dangerous because the baby doesn’t have the immune system and the strength to really fight it. Here’s a list of the complications that can occur if a newborn picks up the virus. They can be severe and life-threatening symptoms, including: Fatal organ damage, including the liver, lungs, and heart Serious viral infections, such as viral meningitis Recurrent sores on the skin, eyes, genitals, or mouth Blindness Deafness Seizures Something to make sure you as a parent are aware of is this is for both HSV 1 & 2. In other words if someone comes to visit your baby and has a cold sore on their mouth and kisses your baby in the hospital your baby has just been exposed to the herpes virus. The best way to keep your newborn safe is ask all visiting relatives to wash their hands and if someone has an active outbreak to ask them to please not touch your baby for the risk of transmission is too high. Now let’s move on past newborn stage and to your kids life. Of course, we don’t want our kids to get herpes nor do we want to be the ones to give it to them but it can happen and guess what. Your kid will be just fine. Yes, it hurts and it’s embarrassing and it’s annoying but let’s face it. The majority of the population has herpes. You can’t blame yourself nor do you want to miss out on normal parental activities with your child. The only risk that is really associated with your child getting herpes is there’s a very low chance the herpes virus can cause Encephalitis. Encephalitis is an inflammation of the brain and it can be quite dangerous if it goes untreated. If this occurs, you’ll want to get your child into see a doctor ASAP. The inflammation of the brain is more common in children and the elderly because they don’t always have the immune system to fight it off. By informing you of this information I don’t want you to feel like you can never become a parent, never touch a child and of course heaven forbid touch your child. That would be ridiculous and just so sad. The point in me clarifying this is to let you know what actually happens so that you’re aware but also know that these risks are so low that it’s not something to be too concerned with. Remember the story about the dad who never got in the swimming pool with his kids because he didn’t want to pass the herpes virus to his kids. Well, in my opinion there was far worse damage done by not swimming with your kids then potentially exposing them. Oh and by the way, you can not pass herpes in the pool. Then remember the mom who hadn't held, cuddled or kissed her child in two years because she was worried about passing herpes. Well again, in my opinion that does far worse damage than potentially transmitting herpes to your kid because you smother them with love and oops they accidentally got herpes. If you’re a parent take this information and make decisions on what best suits you, you’re lifestyle and if you feel inclined, talk to your doctor. I just don’t want you to miss out or feel like you’re not able to love your kids the way you want to. Herpes is just a silly skin condition that has a horrible stigma attached to it. THAT IS IT! Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
I get questions all the time about pregnancy and herpes. In fact, this was one of the first questions I asked when I was first diagnosed back in 2011. There are so many myths out there that demonize herpes and make us feel like we no longer have the same rights a people who don’t have herpes. It’s 100% BS and yes, you can have a baby. I talk about herpes and pregnancy in other episodes and I’ll have them linked so you can hop over and check them out as well. But today I want to talk about fertility specifically. It’s so funny right, we spend forever doing our best to not get pregnant and then when we want to get pregnant we have a ton of questions and wonder if we really can. Oh and add a herpes diagnosis to the mix. Personally as a woman, my fertility was something I never worried about. I mean were not taught to worry about it were taught to worry about getting pregnant so why would I worry about “if” I could get pregnant. I’m going to side track to me a bit and right now I’m 4 months pregnant! Yay! But I have to tell you it wasn’t an easy journey and having herpes really had nothing to do with it. It took my husband and I 2 years to conceive and I wish I would have known more about it when I was younger. I’ll get back to my fertility journey but first I want to address how maybe slightly herpes could impact your trying to conceive journey. Frequent Outbreaks This could prevent you from getting it on during the prime fertile time. My husband likes to call it my flower day. If you keep having outbreaks and cant have sex then yes, having herpes can impact your ability to get pregnant. Some ways around this would be to get on the antiviral. This will help reduce your outbreaks so that you and your partner can hump like bunnies. Wanting to Use a Condom There’s a lot of couples who want to use condoms no matter what. And that’s ok if it's your jam. The problem is that the condom is obviously going to prevent the sperm and the egg from meeting. That’s a problem. If you’re in a situation where this is a problem I suggest talking to your partner and looking at the risk versus reward. If you’re a male with herpes and don’t have an outbreak, not taking the antiviral and not using a condom you have a 4% risk of transmitting herpes to your female partner. If you’re a female with herpes and don’t have an outbreak, don’t use a condom and are not on the antivirals then you have a 10% chance of transmitting it to your partner. And then there was this study done in Iran and it was the only study that I could find on fertility and herpes. I’m not saying it's bogus and I’m not saying it's something to focus on. This study says that having herpes may impact the sperm count in men with herpes. I have the link to the article but basically it states that in more than half of infertile men there’s no answer to why they’re infertile. When a study was done they tested sperm from men with HSV 1 and HSV 2 as well as with men who do not have herpes. The sperm with herpes infected men came back with abnormal semen parameters and lower sperm count. Again, I don’t know all the details around the study and what “normal” semen parameters are. If you’re interested, here’s the link to read the study on your own. Again...I want to emphasize this is only 1 study and not something written in stone. And personally I don’t think I’d worry too much about it. Back to fertility and learning how important it is as a woman to know you’re fertility and how your hormones are. This has nothing to do with herpes but after struggling personally to get pregnant I wish I would have tested my fertility in the past. See the older women get, the less healthy our eggs are and our fertility hormones are. I recently was interviewed by Modern Fertility regarding pregnancy and fertility when it comes to herpes. You can read it here. But really what I want to emphasize here is take herpes out of the equation and if having a baby is something that is extremely important to you then check out your fertility profile. Seriously I wish I would have done this before trying to get pregnant. It would have given us information to make decisions based on the information from the test. You can go here to get your own test and we have a special discount for our members. Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
In the Life With Herpes community, the number one question I get has to do with dating. The questions range from will I ever date again, will anyone ever love me, how do I tell my partner and anything in between. So here’s the answers….Yes, you’ll date. Yes, you’ll find love. Yes you’ll get the courage to tell the cute person your dating. And Yes you’ll have sex again!!! PROMISE! There’s good news when it comes to dating with herpes. I’m being serious. The good news is you now are in control of your sexual health. I’ll speak for myself but I’m guessing you’ll fall into this category too. So before being diagnosed with herpes, I knew what herpes was and I knew about STD’s. I was very educated in this because I taught for planned parenthood.However, even though I knew everything I still believed that I was immune to everything because I’d never sleep with anyone who had anything. I believe I’d just know by looking at them. Feel free in insert an eye roll right now! Because we have herpes it’s our wakeup call to be in control. I see it time and time again where people didn’t ask their partner about their sexual health or they didn’t use protection because they were like me and thought it’d never happen to them. Or it was an uncomfortable conversation so they didn’t have it. As we know its all BS!!!!! I’m guessing these things didn’t happen because you were either insecure or trusted that person. And trust me I’m 100% guilty of both things. Like I mentioned earlier I never thought I’d get any type of STD because I would never sleep with anyone dirty or slimy that had it.What a Pollyanna move. All that needed to happen was to have a conversation. All that needed to happen was standing up for my health and lay out my requirements for a safe sexual relationship. Please keep in mind that my requirements may be totally different from your’s and that’s awesome. What needs to happend is to have them and stick to them. Here’s what you need to do… Have the sex talk! It’s as simple and as difficult as that! Have the sex talk prior to having sex with a new partner or a blast from the past. Just because you already slept with someone 6 months ago doesn’t mean that you’re still in the safe zone. Personally I’d sit down and decide what you feel comfortable with. Some questions to ask yourself are; do you want your sexual relationship to be monogamous or are you both exploring other options. Is the sex just causal or are you looking for a more serious commitment. Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you feel you deserve and want. Then when you’ve decided what you want from the relationship its a great way to open the conversation about sex. Bring up that you like them and you want to take this to the next level, so it’s important to have a conversation about it. At this point I’d ask my partner to have an STD test done before getting naked with them. Even if we’re planning to use a condom. Why go to that measure? Because sometimes people don’t know they have an infection, let’s face it people lie and condoms only work 30-50% of the time. So...why take the risk. Your health and well being is way to important. If you don’t stand up for yourself then nobody else will. Sex can still be fun and spontaneous and hot!!! What makes it even better is knowing that you both are being safe and are being responsible. Let me know your thoughts and let me know how you proceed. Watch Life With Herpes Listen To Life With Herpes Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
So the person you like just told you they have herpes. You’re thinking should I date them? What does this mean for me? How’s this going to play into our dating and sex life? Ok so first let me calm you down and let you know what it feels like when you’re first diagnosed with herpes. Seriously, dating or being able to date is the number one fear. We think that nobody will date us and that our life is over! The fear of rejection is a real thing and so telling the person we like that we have herpes is really scary. So firstly before you make an decisions I want to make sure you’re aware that the person you’re dating really respects you. He or she took a leap of faith and told you their deep dark secret. They told you that they have herpes. This was really hard for them so I hope that you give them some credit and acknowledge that it was hard for them. Here are the top questions you’re going to have when dating someone with herpes: Can you still have sex? YES, the answer is yes! You can still have a normal and healthy sex life if you or your partner has herpes! And yes, you can do something to prevent prevention. There are so many stories of people who’ve been together for years and have not yet transmitted it. It really boils down to communication and trusting your partner to disclose to you when they had their last outbreak or if they feel one coming on. Here are 3 ways you can prevent transmission to your partner. Having herpes doesn’t mean they’ve slept around. In general we all have this idea or preconceived notion that people with herpes have slept around and that’s obviously how they got herpes. Well this is 100% BS and false. We all have an idea of the “type” of person who has herpes and clearly because of the stigma it creates this false reality of people who have herpes. You have already been exposed to the herpes virus before meeting them. Of course when our partner tells us that they have herpes it’s normal to freak out and think that you’re automatically going to get herpes too. Well here’s the thing, you’ve already been exposed to the herpes virus weather it’s HSV 1 or HSV 2. ⅔ people have HSV 1 and ⅙ people have HSV 2 so there’s no way you can go through life and not have been exposed. You’ve shared a burger, a cigarette, had a sip of someone's beer or coca cola. It’s just impossible for you to not have come into contact with it. Remember at the end of the day this person really cares about you and he or she has great integrity. They told you that they have herpes because they felt the importance of disclosing and making sure you have the decision. If you have more herpes questions, and probably you do, feel free to check out more videos and this blog. Oh and of course, you can reach out with any questions. Life With Herpes Details: Join the Secret Society HerpAlert (use promo code: lifewithherpes and get 10% off) Shop the LWH Essentials Shop the Secret Society CBD Lip Balm Oh yea, remember to subscribe to the Life With Herpes newsletter and get The 5 things I wished she knew before I was diagnosed with herpes sent directly to your inbox + weekly updates. Xoxo, Alexandra Just in case… Learn about the Herpes Outbreak Toolkit: Need to talk confidentially about herpes? Oh Yea and in case you need Herpes Outbreak Essentials Are you social? Instagram Facebook
Alexandra Harbushka is the founder of Life With Herpes and is on a mission to help break the stigma of herpes and help removed the shame of those with herpes. It is way more common than we think and in this podcast she gives those statistics along with basic things that people should know if they or a loved one has herpes. To contact Alexandra Harbushka, please visit www.lifewithherpes.com. My wish is for you to discover what is at the root of your health & fitness challenges, so you can live the best life that you can live, and fulfill your callings and purpose in life!! Please visit www.TheWellnessTrinity.com to learn about our in office or distant consultations, and the various other services & products we offer. SOME WAYS YOU CAN HELP US SPREAD THE MESSAGE HEALTH -Leave us a comment and/or review -Share the show -Follow The Wellness Trinity on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM
Okay. Brace yourselves. Today we're gonna talk about some subjects that don't always come across as socially acceptable. But this isn't necessarily unusual for this show nor is it unusual for our guest today. Alexandra Harbushka joins us to talk about her new podcast and community: Life with Herpes. Alexandra is special to me because we're business bffs, we're in a podcast mastermind together, AND I'm helping her be brave with this brand new somewhat terrifying new project of Life with Herpes. I think we're all in *some* closet at some point in our lives. So the process of making the big reveal to people whose opinions you care about - that's a really scary and brave thing to do! Without further ado, I give Alexandra Harbuska who will tell out all about it! Brave Take-Aways Today's Brave Take Away is to also drop into the Bare Naked Bravery community and post in our facebook group. What moments have required you to "come out of the closet?" What was that like? How was the news received? I think we're all in *some* closet at some point in our lives. So the process of making the big reveal to people whose opinions you care about - that's a really scary and brave thing to do! Keep in Touch with Alexandra Harbushka www.lifewithherpes.comhttp://instagram.com/alexandraharbushka www.facebook.com/lifewithherpespodcast/ http://twitter.com/aharbushka Keep in Touch with Emily Ann Peterson http://emilyannpeterson.comhttp://instagram.com/emilyannpete http://facebook.com/emilyannpeterson http://twitter.com/emilyapeterson Credits If you're diggin' the music in today's episode, that's because it's brought to you by my friends at Music Box Licensing, a premier creative music agency dedicated to finding and crafting unique soundtracks. To find out more about all the artists, musicians, and other sponsors of the show, please visit barenakedbravery.com/sponsors 3 Ways You Can Support the Bravery! Leave a review on iTunes We would LOVE it if you'd leave a podcast rating or review on iTunes. Simply click here to get started >>> http://bit.ly/bnbrr Share this episode with a friend If you have a friend who might really love/need to hear this episode, what are you waiting for?! Email, text, fb message, snail mail - all great options! Become a Patron of Bare Naked Bravery Every patron gets awesome goodies, super early advance links to Emily Ann's new songs & releases, and so much more! $1 Monthly$3 Monthly$5 Monthly$10 Monthly$15 Monthly$25 Monthly$100 Monthly I'm looking forward to being with you next week. We have some great things in store for you! Until then I have one message for you. It's this: Be yourself. Be vulnerable. Be brave. Because the world needs more of your Bare Naked Bravery.
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