Scared of rabies following holidays

[Ruby777]

Hello everyone,

I am really struggling today , either my health anxiety is really bad or I am actually ill .

I came back from holidays in Mexico on June 7 and started being sick on that day (fever, diarrhea, cramps etc). I went to see the doctor, did some tests and was told it was campylobacter , a type of bacteria that causes food poisoning . I was not getting better so they prescribed me antibiotics. The diarrhea subsided, but I keep feeling unwell.

I started having a lot of muscle twitching and I feel like my head is in a fog and I’m so exhausted . I also feel like my face is getting numb. Now I’m terrified I got bit by a bat without knowing it , and I can’t stop thinking about rabies.

I haven’t had such bad health anxiety in a while , and I am so scared at the moment .

[Fishmanpa]

And another rabies thread :doh: There are no such things as invisible ninja bats capable of breaking and entering hotel rooms and biting people undetected and painless. :lac:

Positive thoughts

[ServerError]

I swear certain threads breed more threads. Rabies is spreading like wildfire on here at the moment. At this point I'm actually a bit anxious because I don't have rabies!

[Ruby777]

I understand this seems irrational, but I feel so weird at the moment . I feel spaced out and get twitches everywhere and I feel weak. I had so many mosquito bites in my legs and I’m scared one of those may be a bat bite . I’m so terrified I don’t know what’s happening to me

[Fishmanpa]

I’m so terrified I don’t know what’s happening to me

What's happening is an obvious spiral of panic and anxiety. With it comes the irrationality. I have no doubt you're feeling symptoms but I have 100% confidence in saying this is 1000% anxiety.

Other than the tried and true ways to treat it, I don't have any magic words, just logic and reality :shrug: Hope you feel better soon.

Positive thoughts

[Ruby777]

I do agree it is a spiral of anxiety, most probably. However, I still have continuous symptoms that make me so afraid. I started feeling a numb and tingly patch on my knee yesterday, and I read that is one of the first symptoms. Obviously this stresses me a lot. Plus I could not sleep last night, which is not like me..I read insomnia is another common sign. I am really trying to stay calm, but I must say I am not managing very well, especially with the twitching all over my body. Any advice?

[Fishmanpa]

Any advice?

FREE CBT (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=211324) self help or real life professional help. There are no magic words to alleviate your worry. This is something that has been ingrained in you and needs to be worked on in order to recover.

Positive thoughts

[ServerError]

Stop reading about rabies. And if you do read about rabies, stop selectively only paying attention to the stuff that keeps your fear going.

[ankietyjoe]

Rabies is spreading like wildfire on here at the moment.


Would you care to reword that.

Just incase :whistles:

[textsfromthemoon]

Hi Ruby! I'm sorry you're struggling right now, I'm a HA sufferer who has overcome the rabies fear in the past so I understand what you're feeling right now, like everyone else said please stop reading about rabies online, I know easier said than done but I promise it really does help, my rabies fear became so much more manageable when I forced myself to stop googling things about it.

Being tired and feeling foggy are not uncommon feelings to come with food poisoning (and anxiety as well), especially with diarrhea, that can be very dehydrating, make sure you're resting and getting plenty of water!

Also, Fishmanpa thank you for linking the CBT ebooks thread, I'm going to check those out myself now :)

[AMomentofClarity]

If everyone who went to Mexico and got sick had rabies, the US population would be decimated. It’s very common and nothing to worry about.

[Ruby777]

Fish mania; thank you for the link I will definitely look into it . I have had professional help for years but in the past two years I was doing better overall , so I stopped seeing my therapist.

Textsfromthemoon : you are right I have to stop googling . It’s so hard not to but I know that’s what I have to do

Thanks everyone else for your replies I do appreciate the support

[ServerError]

"Fish mania"! :roflmao::roflmao: