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Jade | Herpes Support

@essentiallyprepped

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Diagnosed w/ HSV2. Built the toolkit I needed.
I help you navigate disclosure, dating & shame — without the spiral.
↓ Start here: Dating after Herpes

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The day before July 4th, I got a blood test.

On July 5th, I packed up 25 years of my life in Alabama and drove 10 hours to Florida to start over — no job lined up, already in the middle of my first breakout (before I officially knew it was a breakout). I knew exactly one person there: my new roommate.

Somewhere in between unpacking boxes, leaving my corporate job behind, and trying to build a life in a place where I didn’t know a single soul, an email popped up. It confirmed what I already knew after weeks of Googling symptoms at 2AM: I had HSV2.

When the breakout wouldn’t clear up on its own, I ended up at a walk-in clinic in a city I barely knew yet, hearing nothing I hadn’t already researched a million times for the weeks prior.

No friends to call. No familiar doctor. No job to structure my days. Just me, a diagnosis, and a city that didn’t know my name yet.

But that diagnosis became the biggest catalyst for change I’ve ever had.

I’d already been doing the inner work for years. This just pushed me to go deeper — to actually prioritize my health, my confidence, and my self-acceptance in a way I never had before.

Essentially Prepped was born out of that.

Because I know what it feels like to Google every question at 2AM, alone, in an apartment that doesn’t feel like home yet.

I know the fear of wondering if anyone will want you — or if you’ll ever feel desirable again.

And I also know the freedom that’s waiting on the other side of the shame.

I was you. I am you. I have space for you. 🫶🏼

Everything I’ve got — the free guide, the course, a space to talk it through — is one click away in my bio. by @essentiallyprepped

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4

a month ago

Nobody warns you that the diagnosis is the easy part — it’s everything after that nobody teaches you.
Sharing this because I needed it two years ago and didn’t have it — proof that people were thriving with HSV and I wasn’t alone.

Ready for support? — link in bio.

#herpes #livingwithherpes #datingwithherpes #hsv2 by @essentiallyprepped

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a month ago

Nobody paid me to figure this out. I just kept seeing the same thing over and over until I couldn’t not build it.

Living with herpes
Dating with herpes
Herpes
Break the stigma
HSV HSV1 HSV2 by @essentiallyprepped

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a month ago

Go ahead and request HSV 1 & 2 on your next test, because they aren’t typically included in your “full” STD panel.

And if a doctor tells you no…ask them what harm it is doing for you to pay for a test you’d like to know. Don’t let them gaslight you 💋 It’s YOUR body and YOUR right to know.

The more you know.

Herpes, herpesawareness, living with herpes, datingwithherpes, herpessupport, knowledgeispower, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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13 hours ago

In this corner of the webs we don’t let anything stop us from achieving our goals and living the best life we can…especially herpes.

Herpes, living with herpes, dating with herpes, HSV, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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2 days ago

National Herpes Awareness Day

Because no one taught us how to live with a manageable virus or just how common this really is.

You are NOT your diagnosis.

If you want help walking through this and learning how to live a full life after diagnosis — book a free clarity call — link in bio.

Herpes, herpes support, herpes coach, living with herpes, dating with herpes, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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2 days ago

We GET to choose who we have in our lives and don’t. We GET to choose what we believe.
We KNOW ourselves deeper than anyone on this planet.
We KNOW what we want for our lives.
No dream is too big, no thought is too small and if you want to achieve them you have to be SO intentional about who is in your life, what you consume (in every aspect of life), and what you do daily.

I BELIEVE that having $e❎ual health conversations are evetremely important.
I BELIEVE educating yourself so you can be as informed as possible wether or not you have HSV is extremely important.
I BELIEVE INFORMED CONSENT is everything
I BELIEVE we shouldn’t shrink ourselves due to a COMMON manageable virus that is intermittently contagious.
I BELIEVE WE ARE NOT THE VIRUS

Herpes, HSV, herpes support, living with herpes, dating with herpes, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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3 days ago

Plot twist: I already have

I care way more about where you end up and I KNOW what’s possible and want you to get there too.

If you’re ready to see it differently, DM me 🫶🏼

Herpes, living with herpes, dating with herpes, herpes support, HSV, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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4 days ago

What if herpes isn’t what’s keeping you stuck…but, the shame you’ve attached to it is?

Silence -> stigma -> fear -> isolation 🔁 repeat

That’s the shame loop and the longer you stay in it, the more those fears start feeling like facts.

Here’s the thing: you can’t change a pattern you don’t recognize.

It starts with awareness of what you’re looping in your mind. Acceptance is the way to stop fighting yourself. And empowerment is where you CHOOSE differently.

This diagnosis is very real, but the story you’ve built around it…that can change.

Book a free clarity call with me to see where stuck and get you out of the loop. Link in bio.

Herpes, herpes support, living with herpes, dating with herpes, HSV, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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5 days ago

Let’s just meet people in real life and nix all the false feel goods, mmkay?

Especially as someone with HSV. I want to see how someone shows up, how they talk, how they make me feel in the room. That’s the person you could be choosing for the rest of your life, so why are we vetting them through a screen?

We’re all on our phones and we’re communicating less because of it, and we’re missing the real feel for someone.

And how are you supposed to get comfortable with rejection, with having the conversation, if you never practice it in real time? You can’t build that muscle through a message thread.

So go do the thing you love. Go where life is happening. Meet people there.

Heroes, herpes support, living with herpes, dating with herpes, HSV, fyp by @essentiallyprepped

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5 days ago

Life lately.

Digital vision boards
Finding my ring!
Trying something new: watercolors
Delicious nutritious meals
Succulents are my fave
Wall clouds on the coast
Choose it again and again until it sticks
Makeup documented
Bright & cheery
Sunset heaven
Iconic lighthouse in tsunami city
My photographer eye by @essentiallyprepped

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6 days ago

Before you start thinking about everything you need to do next week… what are you proud of THIS week? 👏🏼

I’m still celebrating that I built a MF campfire by myself on the wet Oregon coast 😂🔥

But I’m also celebrating standing up for myself. Being open. Making an effort to meet people. Staying consistent.

Some wins make great pictures. Others are moments only you know took courage.

We’re so quick to notice where we fell short. I want us to get just as good at noticing where we showed up.

Because you’re the one who knows what it took. Give yourself some damn credit. You deserve to hear yourself say, “I’m proud of me.”

Every Friday, take a minute and make your own “Proud of this week” list. Post it to your story and tag me @essentiallyprepped so I can clap with you. I want this to become a weekly thing we do together.

Start here: what’s ONE thing you’re proud of this week? 👇🏼 by @essentiallyprepped

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7 days ago