I’ve been really struggling with obsessing on the though that I somehow got exposed to rabies without my knowledge. I live in an older home and my mind keeps telling me somehow a bat got in without my knowledge, even though I have no reason to believe so. I also own a cat and I’ve also been struggling with what if he got exposed because of this “bat”.
I dealt with Rabies fear for a long time. Best advice I can give is to sit in the discomfort unless you actually see a bat
@Lucy Van Pelt This is currently my obsession as well. Yesterday during the day I took a group photo infront of someone’s garden and my legs were pressed against a shrub. Now I’m beyond stressed and worried there was a bat in there and it bit me. When I left I noticed a red spot on my leg and I spiraled.
@bailey B I understand this all too well. I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t go outside. As hard as it was to accept I had to be okay with the idea that I could have been bit or I could be exposed to Rabies and not know and do the things I wanted to do. It’s very hard to accept that uncertainty but my choses were to give up the living life or accept that I could get it. Ultimately you can’t know everything and bad things will happen you just have to decide what you’re willing to give up to “stay safe”.
@Lucy Van Pelt Did you ever get the shots ? I’m at the point of asking my doctor once I give birth in September for the shots which I know sounds absolutely ridiculous I feel so embarrassed even telling my husband or others my fears because I know they sound so far fetched but in my brain it feels like such a threat. I have so much guilt for how my anxiety is taking my mind off my pregnancy.
@bailey B No, I didn’t but I did talk to my doctor about my concerns with Rabies. I know it is so hard and feels so big. It’s not ridiculous. Are you in therapy?
@Lucy Van Pelt No I am currently not in therapy I live in Canada and I don’t really have money to be throwing around at the moment. But I have a good support system in place. I talked to the doctor about my previous rabies concerns and they wernt worried but I haven’t mentioned this one. Does this sound like something that is safe for me to move on without fear ? My mind has a hard time separating real threat from made up threat and I spiral. Like I said i didn’t see or hear a bat nor did I exactly feel a sting or bite. The shrub was against the back of my legs and when I found the mark on my leg after I absolutely spiralled.
@bailey B I wasn’t there so hard to say but what I know of bats they really aren’t out during the dark and the fly so I doubt they would be anywhere on the ground. They hang upside down when they do land. If you saw one I would be more concerned but not seeing it it’s likely just OCD the “what ifs”. You also probably didn’t see a mouse but you aren’t worried it was a mouse. But certainly if you aren’t sure you could call your doctor have them weigh in.
@Lucy Van Pelt Yeah I’ve definitely thought about how many times someone likely goes into their gardens or stands infront of a bush for a photo and it doesn’t seem like a risk so I’m going to try and keep my mind comfortable with being uncomfortable. I didn’t see a bat and I feel if this was a threat we would all need the shots all the time. Thanks I appreciate your response it’s nice to hear I’m not alone in these what if thoughts. Especially about this specific topic.
@bailey B Oh course love! You are definitely not alone! But you are strong too and you’ve got this 💪
Are you looking for reassurance or advice?
Are you able to afford to see a ERP ocd therapist or currently seeing one ?
My ocd has been at an extreme all time high the past 2 weeks and I am in dire need of some relief. I’m not sleeping right anymore. for context: I live in the south and found a springtail on my sheets about 2 weeks ago. This was like 2 days before our bug guy came and sprayed (it’s a normal maintenance thing here) so it’s a common bug down here and I’ve found them all over different areas of the house before. Finding it in my bed sent me on a bit of a spiral bc I started to doubt if it even was a springtail and that i was wrong and that it was a bed bug, not trusting my brain. It was a bad, sleepless night and carried over continuing feelings. Typical ocd stuff. Well two days later, I’m a nurse and I had a patient that actually had bed bugs. This wasn’t the first day they were here and I did not see any myself but it still freaked me out. There had one 2 founds after visitors came the day before. Of course I wore PPE in the room (coveralls shoe covers and hair net) going in and took everything off before exiting the room. When I came home I stripped in my garage and bagged everything down to my shoes. Threw everything in the wash and did multiple cycles. There were no other steps I could take but I still had a terrible night. Hours of ruminating and going back and forth about tracing my tracks, thinking of new ways I could’ve taken one home with me. Just checking everything. I was already on a spiral from the springtail. Having two such back to back triggering events for me so closely related has made me deteriorate significantly. I was already doing bad with my normal OCD and starting therapy here. I obsess over the thought of having bedbugs constantly and haven’t been able to sleep. I am constantly checking my bed while in it and can’t settle down. My bed is heavy too and I keep hurting myself lifting my mattress to check. But I need to check. I’ve become obsessed. I check everything and go down Reddit rabbit holes looking for new things. And of course, I talk myself into it every time. I can’t take it anymore, it’s bleeding off into other parts of my life like friendship and marriage because I am so high anxiety right now. I need relief so bad. I’ve never felt this unstable to be honest. I feel like even someone without ocd would be really struggling with this topic, nevermind me, with ocd to a point where I just started treatment. These aren’t even my normal intrusive thoughts and compulsive acts. It’s just taken on a life in the last week and I can’t find any sign that it’s going to slow down. when I think rationally I know I did everything right to prevent but I can’t shake it. 💔
Hi everyone, this is giving me so much anxiety even saying this out loud because my OcD is telling me that somehow someone will know who I am on here and report me this goes with what I’m about to say about my irrational stuff. Since my baby was born I’ve had a lot of majorrr anxiety about him getting sick. From there my postpartum ocd spiked. I had this irrational fear someone would falsely report me as a bad mom and I’d get my baby taken from me. I’ve NEVER had anyone tell me I’m a bad mom, as a matter of fact, almost every day I get praised for how good of a mom I am. My child is so loved and taken care of. So why did I have that fear? it CONSUMED ME. Obsessively cleaning my house in case a social worker came. Stopped posting myself having occasional girls nights out for dinner because I thought one of my followers would think I’m a bad mom for getting a break. Not being able to talk about ANYTHING or send pictures of my baby to family and friends to update them since we live out of state because somehow I thought I would say something wrong or do something that would make someone think I’m a bad mom. I was convinced my baby was gonna be taken for zero reason. I still sometimes catch myself over analyzing myself and what I say because I don’t want to say the wrong thing and someone think I’m not a fit mom. I would even replay every scenario I remember and then second guess myself if that really happened or if I said something or not and freak out and spiral from there. with driving, if I go over a speed bump I have to double check it wasn’t magically a person. Then I panic even though I know for a fact it was a speed bump. I hate living like this. I feel crazy. I don’t open up because I feel like I’m the only person in the world. The one time I opened up about driving it was used against me. I feel like I’m drowning and I’m failing as a mom. I don’t even open up to a therapist about my irrational fear about baby being taken bc I don’t want them to think I’m a bad mom. It just doesn’t stop.
I posted here before but I picked up a kitten like a week ago on the road. The kitten is completely fine health wise and I can’t stop thinking I have rabies. What’s happening right now is I’ll take a drink and since I looked up that ppl with rabies have a hard time drinking I convinced myself I’m having a hard time swallowing and then that makes me panic then when I also read it makes ppl hydrophobic I’m turning that panic of thinking I have rabies into thinking I’m scared of water which furthers my obsession that I have rabies. I told my mom about all this and she told me I definitely do not have rabies just like she told me yesterday and it’s not helping and it won’t help. I’m thinking of doing the rabies shot that you get before you show symptoms in case i haven’t actually showed symptoms yet. I’m so scared I don’t want to die. I keep drinking water to prove to myself that I can swallow it. And the fact that you cant have a definite answer if u have it until you die is rlly rlly rlly freaking me out.
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