Genital herpes

Cannot stop checking myself

Diagnosed three months ago. I look at myself with a mirror several times a day and I have started finding things that turn out to be nothing. This is taking over.

evening_ferry 5 months ago

NoteMember experience, not medical advice. Symptoms overlap between infections and only a test can tell them apart.

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slow_thaw 5 months ago

I did exactly this and the checking itself made it worse. Constant inspection irritates the skin, and irritated skin produces more things to find, so the loop feeds itself.

What broke it for me was a rule: look once a day at most, and only go to the clinic for something that is still there the next day.

oak_table 5 months ago

Worth naming what this is. Checking compulsively is an anxiety pattern with a known shape, and it responds to the usual approaches for that rather than to more information about herpes.

held_note 5 months ago

Tell your clinic. Many sexual health services have or can refer to psychological support, and the distress after diagnosis is a recognised part of what they deal with. It is not an unreasonable thing to bring up.

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