Something Positive for Positive People

Erin Devost hosts the Herp A Derp Podcast whose purpose is to empower the community to break the herpes stigma. She shares her experience that led her to openly discussing her experiences after her HSV diagnosis in hopes of assisting others in navigating their own experiences. Having never been in a relationship, now having to disclose gave her less hope of being in one. Here's how she got to where she is now.

Listen to Herp A Derp Podcast on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvDpnhUVksIxQhYFj2SgPPQ

Follow the Herp A Derp Podcast Facebook page and Erin is on Instagram @herpaderppodcast

I'm on social media @HOnMyChest!

*Trigger Warning - We are continuing the discussion with Genie from Part 1 of episode 64, Understanding Abuse. In this episode's conclusion, we see how justice was served for our survivor who used her HSV-2 (primarily genital herpes) diagnosis as fuel to get out of a bad situation.

Thanks to Sex Positive Families for providing useful resources to help us navigate challenging conversations around sex especially with our families and youth. A useful resource on this is: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-talk-to-kids-sexual-abuse_us_5c3fac5ee4b027c3bbbdb667 Please follow @sexpositive_families on Instagram for much more info.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline's website: https://www.thehotline.org/help/help-for-friends-and-family/

Please if you are a survivor of domestic/sexual violence/abuse DO NOT feel like you have to listen to this episode or part 2. It was important that this be easy to listen to and that we see an example of a survivor coming forward and having justice served.

I'm on social media @HOnMyChest!

Stay Positive!

*Trigger Warning - This interview was bumped up in light of the Surviving R. Kelly documentary. @VRFreeny shouted out the podcast on January 5, 2019 just saying for people to check it out. I haven't watched the documentary nor do I plan to. Genie, (this guest) and I had been talking about setting up a recording for after the pending episodes have been posted, but she and I both felt compelled to get together as soon as possible.

Part 1 of this episode helps us understand Genie's abuse. Part 2 is where we see justice served.

Thanks to Sex Positive Families for providing useful resources to help us navigate challenging conversations around sex especially with our families and youth. A useful resource on this is: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-to-talk-to-kids-sexual-abuse_us_5c3fac5ee4b027c3bbbdb667 Please follow @sexpositive_families on Instagram for much more info.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline's website: https://www.thehotline.org/help/help-for-friends-and-family/

Please if you are a survivor of domestic/sexual violence/abuse DO NOT feel like you have to listen to this episode or part 2. It was important that this be easy to listen to and that we see an example of a survivor coming forward and having justice served.

I'm on social media @HOnMyChest!

Stay Positive!

KellyAnne and I recorded this podcast around a time we were both doing some deep healing with traumatic events in our lives and the timing couldn't have been more perfect as we both share how we've been able to work through our healing. I took time to grieve the passing of my grandmother who's funeral was on my 13th birthday. The feelings that continued to emerge around that time of year for me had gone unchecked and I finally took responsibility for how to respond to my emotions.

KellyAnne is a herpes activist who does so much cool spiritual work and can be found on Instagram @ v_for_vibrant.

She's also a member of HANDS (Herpes Activists Networking to Dismantle Stigma) which more episodes featuring members are to follow.

I'm on social media @HOnMyChest!

Stay Positive!

Self Love Coach, Danielle Bryan (@Daniellebryanxo on Instagram) shares so many gems from her experience navigating the darkest time of her life and learning the ongoing lessons from that time to apply that to helping others. She remains committed to learning her own magic and guiding women to their own as well.

Be sure to call in or DM @Datingpositives to answer this week's question; "What is the most awkward conversation you had about sex?" 833-YAS-LOVE That's 833-927-5683

We're growing ya'll! Thank you for the feedback! Thank you for your engagements with the show helping us get to this point.

I'm on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Reddit @HOnMyChest!

Stay Positive!

There is no known cure for herpes at the time of recording of this podcast. This is me sharing my experience in how a sense of community has played a huge role in my own healing process. It hit me when I read Sex At Dawn by Christopher Ryan and Cacilda Jetha. Originally I was seeking it for its content on nonmonogamy and the word community really resonated with me and I realize in hindsight just how useful it was for me to have a community, and how I see it as a tool for healing among so many others after their diagnosis.

I didn't edit this. Emily and I spoke in authenticity ;) this excuses my stutters and umms lol. I hope you enjoy!

Stay Positive!

There comes a time where we spend so much time being drained by negative emotions that we just get tired. In that space we begin to discover something inside ourselves, a desire for change. Devin shares just how her being tired led to her discovery of her own power through one of the most uncomfortable things we can do being HSV+ and that's publicly disclose.

Devin is on Instagram @lovealwaysdev and is the founder of Love Profound, a resource for women who want to tap into their courage to find peace and freedom after battling the shame of an STI diagnosis.

As always, I'm on Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr and Reddit @HOnMyChest. To show support for the show you can always leave an anonymous 5 star rating and review. Please support our sponsors so we can continue to provide better audio quality and seek more high profile guests to have on the show.

Stay Positive!

Jenelle Marie Pierce, the Tatted STD Warrior herself, founder of The STD Project and the Herpes Activist Network HANDS is such a wealth of experiences having done so much work in the Sexual Health community. We talk about rejection as an opportunity of reflection, putting ourselves out of jobs by ending the stigma, and what can be learned from the LGBT+ community about advocating for one another even if you aren't in the community.

The shame/stigma is perpetuated by our unwillingness to free ourselves from the lies we allow to be told about us by people who don't have or more accurately, don't know if they don't have herpes being more vocal about what they DON'T know than us being more vocal about what we DO know. Let's change this now please.

I'm on social media @HOnMyChest and Jenelle is @tatted_std_warrior on Instagram and can be found through The STD Project!

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Stay Positive!

Functional Medicine Consultant Dr. Lacey Chittle shares information with us to best use our greatest healing tool, our body, to ease the symptoms of illnesses. This does include ways to boost the immune system to combat HSV expressions through the physical body. We're not talking about cures here by any means. We're talking about giving the body the best chance to keep illnesses at bay which happen to include herpes outbreaks. Dr. Lacey names off various supplements to help and those will be mentioned below:

*DO NOT DIVE IN TO ADDING THE MENTIONED SUPPLEMENTS INTO YOUR DIET WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING YOUR DOCTOR OR PHYSICIAN

Supplements for herpes: Lomatrium (herbal antiviral), Monolaurin (lauric acid from coconut works as an antiviral), lysine (an amino acid from protein)

Supplements for general immune support: Vitamin D3 sources are sunlight, mushrooms, salmon, liver, egg yolk and supplements, vitamin C sources are fruits and veggies such as acerola cherries, rose hips, sweet and spicy peppers, black currants, guava, oranges, kale, broccoli, papaya, strawberries. Supplement sources are ester-c, liposomal vitamin C, ascorbic acid, buffered vitamin c/ascorbic acid. Best absorption is with liposomal vitamin C or ester-C. Zinc (food sources include seafood, meat, eggs, beans, nuts, seeds and soy. Supplemental zinc best absorbed form is zinc picolinate.

Connect with Dr. Lacey Chittle on Instagram like I did @Drlaceychittle. If you have questions or want to reach out for a consultation, email her at: [email protected] and visit her website: www.drlaceychittle.com

I'm on social media @Honmychest. Follow me and the hashtags #Somethingpositiveforpositivepeople as well as #spfpp.

For more of these useful episodes, please just leave us a review and subscribe to the podcast. That credibility and the numbers allow us to keep getting higher profile and useful guests on the podcast.

Thank you!

This episode has two very important parts. Many questions come in about disclosure to a non positive partner and many of us have been depressed or have been depressed about our diagnosis. This episode will definitely assist you in navigating some of those questions from the couple we interview here.

I'm on social media @HOnMyChest where you can keep up with the latest updates on the podcast. If you're concerned about the association of the podcast with your followers and think they'll assume you have an STI for listening to these amazing stories then you can follow the hashtags instead: #spfpp #somethingpositiveforpositivepeople

Stay Positive!