Are you looking for the best herpes forums? We’ve got you covered.
Why would anyone join a herpes forum? What’s the purpose?
Well, struggling with anything – an STD, a terminal illness, the loss of a loved one – can make you feel like you’re split in two. It can make you feel like you never want to leave your room.
Sometimes it isn’t easy to talk to the people who are closest to you; sometimes there isn’t anyone close to you to talk to.
Internet communities and online forums give you a chance to connect with others who are going through the same problem as you.
Whether you’ve been recently diagnosed with herpes or you’re a veteran, a herpes forum will give you a supportive environment in which to express yourself.
And, no matter how supportive your friends and family might be, the internet is there 24/7, always ready to listen and lend a helping hand.
Here are the 3 best forums for people struggling with oral herpes and/or genital herpes:
The 3 Best Herpes Forums
1. Honeycomb forum
With almost ~70k followers, ~500k posts, ~71k topics and growing, the Honeycomb forum is the world’s largest herpes support group.
New members to Honeycomb herpes forum are invited to post in a number of different subforums:
- Just Signed Up. Introduce Yourself.
- Newly Diagnosed.
- Herpes Veterans.
- Personal Experiences with Herpes.
- Connect with Other Herpsters.
You Can Use Honeycomb to Connect with People Close to You
Of those subforums, the one that stands out the most – to us, at least – is “Connect with Other Herpsters.” As the world’s largest community of people struggling with either genital herpes or oral herpes, Honeycomb offers people around the world the opportunity to connect locally. If you live in a big city, there’s a chance that someone near you is on Honeycomb, and sometimes, when you’re discussing serious personal problems, you want the intimacy of in-person conversation, not a glowing screen – and that can only be achieved through a local meetup.
The sub-subforums of “Connect with Other Herpsters” also break people down into different age groups. A 14-year-old struggling with a recent herpes diagnosis probably isn’t going through the same problems as a 59-year-old herpes veteran who’s been diagnosed for thirty years. That doesn’t mean those people don’t have the opportunity to connect in other parts of the forum, but it’s nice that Honeycomb understands that sometimes you want to talk to someone like you.
Tip for using Honeycomb
With a herpes forum like Honeycomb, you get a good mix of anonymity and closeness.
Tip: Before you start an account, check out Honeycomb’s privacy policy.
Their privacy policy expertly lays out everything you need to know about keeping your identity safe and your personal information private. It’s clear that, even though Honeycomb is a public forum that is regularly indexed by search engines, they deeply care about your anonymity.
2. Pink Tent Support Forum
The Pink Tent Herpes Support Forum is an online support group on the website for Dr. Kelly Voshell Martin Schuh, an Amazon bestselling author of the book, Live, Love, and Thrive with Herpes. She was diagnosed with genital herpes at 23 and, since then, she’s been helping women all around the world come to terms with their own highly stigmatized STDs – whether herpes or something else.
Naturally, with a name like “Pink Tent,” this is one of those herpes forums that are specifically for females. If you’re a man with herpes, you aren’t barred from the forum, but you might not find very many other men to relate to.
Still, the Pink Tent herpes support forum offers a more intimate, targeted community than what you might find on either Honeycomb or our next herpes support forum, Herpes Opportunity Community.
And, if you’re a fan of Dr. Kelly Voshell Martin Schuh’s work, then you’ll be even happier to join a herpes forum in which she occasionally posts herself.
3. Herpes Opportunity Support Forum
“It’s not a dealbreaker. It’s an opportunity,” reads the banner of the Herpes Opportunity Community’s – (h)Opportunity’s – website. It’s an uplifting and motivating statement, a refreshing take on genital herpes and oral herpes.
(h)Opportunity flips the traditional STD script on its head. Instead of letting you wallow in self-pity, (h)Opportunity challenges you to view your diagnosis as a chance to embrace deeper vulnerability and openness with others.
If that sounds like something you’re interested in, (h)Opportunity might just be the place for you.
It has a thriving community of almost 70k posts and 10k topics, making it a strong contender for the title of the world’s largest online support group for people with herpes.
What about an Oral Herpes Forum for People with HSV-1?
All of these herpes support forums – Honeycomb, Pink Tent, and (h)Opportunity – offer assistance for people struggling with both genital herpes and oral herpes. If you’re someone who’s struggling with oral herpes (like anywhere from 50-80% of America according to Johns Hopkins), every one of these forums will be happy to answer any questions you have about dealing with it. What better place to go to learn about how to prevent oral herpes from developing into genital herpes? A lot of these people have been through the same issues, and they’re more than happy to give advice.
In fact, there are often sections (like in Honeycomb), where people are encouraged to ask if they could have herpes or cold sores – so it isn’t even restricted to people who know that they have HSV-1.
Conclusion: The 3 Best Herpes Forums
- Honeycomb is the world’s largest online support group for people with herpes. You can even use it to connect with people locally and by age group. It has a little bit of something for everyone.
- Pink Tent, on the other hand, is targeted more toward women. Even though men aren’t necessarily discouraged from posting, it might be hard to find other men to connect with on their forum. If you’re a fan of Live, Love, and Thrive with Herpes, the best-selling book from Dr. Kelly Voshell Martin Schuh, this might just be the place for you.
- And, finally, there’s the herpes opportunity support forum, (h)Opportunity, which aims to flip your herpes diagnosis on its head: it isn’t a deal-breaker, it’s an opportunity for you to embrace vulnerability and openness. If you’re a positive thinker, (h)Opportunity is a great forum for you to engage with other people with herpes.