On her way to a trip where she planned to end her life, Reese fortunately had that plan interrupted by her involvement with a car accident that made her rethink her decision. Coming so close to death, Reese decided that wasn't for her since she was given a second chance. She dug into her faith and began to work on herself.

One major takeaway here is to trust your intuition! When you see a red flag, it's better to explore it than ignore it. Reese talks about overlooking a 'pimple' she noticed on her partner.

This episode was a reminder of why this podcast was started. When we are diagnosed, we genuinely can get to a place where we believe our lives are over. Our lives aren't over upon diagnosis because an std doesn't make that choice for us. We do. We live in a world where having an std is physically the most manageable it's ever been. The physical pain isn't going to kill you but the mental/emotional pain can deplete your desire to live. When I started this podcast it was to prove to people that herpes doesn't have as much of an effect on your life as you'd think. For anyone contemplating suicide, please reach out to someone close for support. Those thoughts are not your own, those thoughts come from the stigma, isolation, boredom, shame, embarrasment, all negative emotions that you didn't choose to experience. Take that control and allow yourself to accept yourself. Seek support, find people who energize you. Get out of that state of loneliness. Omelettes can only be made when you break the eggs. Think of herpes as that impact that cracks the egg open for you allowing all your wonderful yolkiness to veg out into a nice warm skillet. Then top yourself with some spinach, mushrooms . . . okay it's almost 10am and I think Im going to go break some eggs myself now haha.

Please leave a review thanking Reese for her story and bravery. She plans to share this podcast with a few people close to her so please encourage her and let her know she has your support. I speak on behalf of all our guests when I say you have ours as well.

At this point, we've broken the 5k downloads mark and I'm so thankful for everyone continuing to share the podcast with others as well as leaving us ratings and reviews for the podcast. The more reviews, the more exposure. The more exposure, the easier it is for those who think they're alone to connect with us and gain access to the resources they need to help them through their diagnosis so please keep it up you all. I can be found on Instagram @CourtneyBrame

Stay Positive!

Arvinder Vilkhu, Saffron Nola: Blending Flavors of India and New Orleans