What exactly is shingles? i was just diagnosed with it. should i be worried?

Zoster reactivation: Shingles (herpes zoster) is caused by reactivation of varicella zoster, the chickenpox virus, which lives in your nerve cells. It's painful, but if you have a healthy immune system it will get better on its own, and faster if you take anti-herpes drugs quickly. The main complication is post-herpetic neuralgia, chronic pain in the area of the lesions, which is more likely to occur in older people.

Chicken pox: Shingles is a reactivation of Varicella Zoster, the virus that causes chicken pox. It lays dormant in nerves and comes out with advancing age, stress and lowered immunity. In order to get shingles, you must have already had the chicken pox.