Can Stress Cause Herpes?
Many of us have heard the classic hypothetical about the chicken and the egg. Which came first — the chicken or the egg? A new hypothetical may now be emerging about herpes and emotional stress.
Is emotional stress the cause or the result of a herpes outbreak?
The answer is not conclusive in either direction. Though there is speculation about emotional stress causing herpes outbreaks, as well as some herpes infected people claiming stress is certainly a trigger for them having an outbreak, there isn’t definitive evidence that stress causes herpes outbreaks. On the other hand, while not all herpes infected people experience emotional stress about having herpes, some certainly do.
Stress reactions that are present seem to differ between herpes infections. For people with cold sores — which is a herpes infection (HSV 1 to be precise) in spite of some people not being aware of this reality — the emotional stress is typically most significant during an outbreak. In other words, people who get cold sore outbreaks feel emotional stress mostly when cold sores are in place. No cold sore outbreak often means no stress… even though, outbreaks or no, they remain herpes infected.
Those infected with genital herpes tend to experience emotional stress on a more regular basis, something that isn’t particularly impacted by the presence or lack of an outbreak. This isn’t to say that genital herpes outbreaks don’t cause stress. On the contrary, they often do if for no other reason than genital herpes outbreaks serve as a reminder of a genital herpes infection.
People with genital herpes however tend to remain aware of their condition regardless of outbreak symptoms being in place. This is quite likely due to the stigma of genital herpes, and the notion that a genital herpes condition may be a reflection of one’s character or even worth. The reality is that no form of herpes gives any consideration whatsoever to a person’s character, and beliefs that herpes and personal character or personal worth are connected is totally false.
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