- Username
- Z_ROJO
- Date posted
- 1y ago
Scabies Scare
I went to use the bathroom at work today before leaving. I went into one of the stalls and noticed what looked like dead skin flakes. I was just plain grossed out by it and went to another stall. 20 minutes pass, nothing till I get in the car and then a thought occurs, the dreaded "what if" question, which came at first from curiosity and devolved to obsession. I wasted 30+ minutes in my car going down a rabbit hole freaked out at the possibility that this person had scabies, following with more obsessive "what ifs"; like what if the previous person there did have scabies and one or more got loose on the floor with the fallen dead skin and some how latched itself to my shoe, and now my shoes and/or clothes are contaminated, and now my car probably is too. Exhausted from the associated anxiety, for those first 3 hours or so, I knocked out in my car for 2 hours while my girlfriend was working; and it helped clear my mind a bit, but I still can't shake the "what if" still lingering in my mind. I almost don't wanna go back in my house or touch anything, especially my books. I feel like an ass over this, especially since I used to work in emergency medicine, and ought to know better about this and not allow myself to be so irrational. And I have had patients who have had scabies and did not freakishly obsess then like I did all this afternoon...... Anyone else go through something similar? I feel like OCD may latch onto this for a while now. Thanks for listening/reading.