Bat or Not a Bat?

Hey, everyone!

This is my first time posting here. I usually just read and lurk, but I’ve found that the reassurance and advice given on this website has really helped me through some intense panic attacks. (Usually, I find someone who had an experience similar to mine, and then take the advice of the commenters.)

I also find that writing out my worries and having others read them really helps me calm down. I begin to realize how outlandish it sounds after that because, when it just festers in my head, I convince myself that it somehow makes sense.

Basically, what happened is my husband was working with my dad in the garage on a car around 6pm (sunset here is 5:15pm) and I went out there to see how they were doing. As I opened the door, I saw a black flash out of the corner of my eye. I turned and looked around to see what it was, but didn’t see anything flying around. (Mind you, this was INSIDE the garage, not outside.) I did, however, see the black seat of a bicycle hanging on the wall. I figured that the seat was probably what I saw, since it was in the corner of my vision, and it probably seemed like a flash because I was moving.

I’m trying to overcome the fear, but my OCD is creating false memories and making me think I saw a bat and it escaped the garage without being spotted somehow. (Note: neither my husband nor my dad report having seen a bat in the garage while working.) I’m trying to trust them and my own rational mind, but I’m really struggling. I’m jumping from one thing to another: I first thought it was a bat, then I worried it was flying around my husband without him knowing, and then I worried it bit him without him knowing.

I’ve been worried about bats since June of this year and I haven’t been able to shake it completely. I know it’s November now and, like, 35 degrees Fahrenheit outside, but I still look for bats around every corner. I’m terrified of my husband getting bit by one. (Ironically, LOL, I don’t really care about my own safety. Just his.)

It’s completely irrational to think I saw a bat, right? If there was one in there, it probably would have been spotted by someone other than just me, right? I remember my husband looking at me when I opened the door and came into the garage, so I have to assume he would have seen it and said something if it flew by me.

Thanks for any help!

What is your worry about bats?

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Originally Posted by nomorepanic

What is your worry about bats?

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I’m worried about them biting my husband without him noticing. I’ve had a phobia about unfelt bat bites since 2014, but it recently got really bad over this summer. (In 2014, I got stuck in a cave full of bats in China, LOL. Been terrified of them and rabies ever since...)

ahh ok rabies - I will move your post to the relevant forum and please read the sticky thread.

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Originally Posted by Nile

It’s completely irrational to think I saw a bat, right?

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If you've been lurking and read some of the rabies threads, you know full well the answer to that.

Positive thoughts

A sudden black flash past us over here as it's going dark, usually accompanied by a shrill shrieking, is a blackbird on his way home for the night.

Aside from all the logical stuff which I'm sure you already know, consider this is of massive importance to you. Your subconscious is seeing a potential threat and reacting as it has learned to from observing your building fear (conscious reaction shows a fear is important and subconscious knows to reinforce it from there). So, you are on the lookout for associations to your fear, and your subconscious is too, and it's common to see things out of the corners of our eyes that we can't quite make out. Like you said, you have a bicycle seat that colour in that place so it could easily be that flashing through the edge of your vision.

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Originally Posted by nomorepanic

ahh ok rabies - I will move your post to the relevant forum and please read the sticky thread.

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Thanks! Sorry, it was my first time 😓

---------- Post added at 02:30 ---------- Previous post was at 02:29 ----------

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Originally Posted by Fishmanpa

If you've been lurking and read some of the rabies threads, you know full well the answer to that.

Positive thoughts

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Yeah... It’s just nice to hear it from someone else, though. I tend to distrust my own judgement so much. 😓

---------- Post added at 02:34 ---------- Previous post was at 02:30 ----------

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Originally Posted by MyNameIsTerry

A sudden black flash past us over here as it's going dark, usually accompanied by a shrill shrieking, is a blackbird on his way home for the night.

Aside from all the logical stuff which I'm sure you already know, consider this is of massive importance to you. Your subconscious is seeing a potential threat and reacting as it has learned to from observing your building fear (conscious reaction shows a fear is important and subconscious knows to reinforce it from there). So, you are on the lookout for associations to your fear, and your subconscious is too, and it's common to see things out of the corners of our eyes that we can't quite make out. Like you said, you have a bicycle seat that colour in that place so it could easily be that flashing through the edge of your vision.

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Yeah, that makes sense. Definitely. I’m primed to see bats everywhere because wherever I go I’m thinking, “Are there bats here?!” So of course every little flash I see I assume is a bat. Also, the bat cave I was in in China had bigger bats—fruit bats, I guess, since they were the size of large birds—so I keep worrying the bats here in the USA are too small to notice. LOL.

I think you would definitely notice a bat, especially if close. I've been on bat walks at night, been in bat houses at zoos and seen many bats when out on my walks at night. Ours are the common ones and they are small. If they get anywhere near you it's not something you miss as the way they fly isn't like a bird when they zoom past at light speed.

Hey there!

I’m in the midst of an anxiety attack right now. I just got out of the shower and noticed a pile of foamy liquid on the rug. I have an elderly cat that throws up a lot and he was in the bathroom, but he’s usually very loud about it and I didn’t hear him while I was in the shower. Only other thing I can think of is that it’s soap. I may have dropped some hand soap (the foaming kind) on the rug before showering. I tried to smell it (OCD MAKES ME DO SUCH DUMB THINGS, GAWD) and it didn’t smell like anything. I can’t decide it that’s a good sign or a bad sign.

Basically, I’m worried it’s rabid bat saliva. Sounds stupid, I know, but my OCD centers on bats and rabies. I “see” bats all the time and assume rabies is on every surface I touch.

I didn’t see a bat and have never seen a bat in the house before. I have four cats, and the bathroom is connected to the laundry room/litter room, so they go through there a lot—and I find it REALLY hard to believe there could be a bat in the bathroom with me 1) without me knowing and 2) without my cat knowing.

I’m being illogical, right?

Someone tell me it’s probably just soap!

Your thought pattern on this one is really skewed.

How can it possibly be bat saliva - think about it long and hard.

Sorry, I know you are really upset and stressed, but RABID BAT SALIVA ?! How the flip could a bat access your bathroom, then not be seen, then chuck up foamy saliva on your floor, then exit the bathroom. Rabid creatures don't around 'chucking up saliva' anyway. This is beyond imaginable, its even further than fiction. Its soap or cat puke !!!

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Emmz

OKAY NEW ONE. Someone talk me out of this!

My cat was super interested in a curtain for some reason (he was basically trying to climb on it and sniffing it like crazy) and I, being a bat-phobic idiot, worried he was acting like this because there was a bat on the curtain. I checked the curtain (it was in a closed room, so the hypothetical bat wouldn’t have anywhere to go) and didn’t see anything. I put it on the floor for my cat to check out, and he just kept sniffing it and tried to pee on it! LOL, so after that I assumed he had smelled one of the other cats on it, since the curtain was on the back of the couch for a few days.

But a few minutes later, my ear started to burn and sting, so I worried that a bat bit it while I was checking. I tried to check behind my ear, but couldn’t see a bite. And on top of that, I never even saw a bat!

This is totally in my head, right? No reason to worry?

You need to try and work through this yourself and tell yourself how impossible all of this sounds because it is.

We can't keep reassuring you that these aren't bats because it is something you need to get clear in your own mind.

Are you getting any help for the anxiety?

Please could you reply to the PM which I have sent you this evening?

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Originally Posted by nomorepanic

You need to try and work through this yourself and tell yourself how impossible all of this sounds because it is.

We can't keep reassuring you that these aren't bats because it is something you need to get clear in your own mind.

Are you getting any help for the anxiety?

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I have a medication, but I can’t afford therapy right now. 😕 I usually take a day to get over it and have someone talk some rationality into me. Works for me for right now, until I can get CBT.

I know the situations sound crazy, but usually I can get over if someone tells me it’s not realistic.

Respectfully, why does someone have to tell you it's unrealistic? Are you honestly saying you cannot read what you wrote and comprehend that? :wacko:

Positive thoughts

You've got triggers sparking intrusive thoughts and your reaction to them feeds the cycle, as it does with all fear. Try to lessen this reaction, it will help but it's hard to do at first because it feels so strong.

Try to imagine your subconscious is just blurting out options or possibilities but with the insight of the logical conscious mind. This doesn't mean they have to be real or even possible, just that the subconscious needs a decision on them. Try to dismiss them as irrelevant and move on and your subconscious will learn they aren't worth sending out.

It takes time but it works and your CBT is going to aim to do something very similar. There are differences in the technique at the point of reaction but it's all about halting a negative reaction which feeds the cycle and learning to replace it with a positive/neutral one which feeds the cycle. This doesn't mean anxiety stops, it may even temporarily worsen since the subconscious is demanding a negative reaction so it's an exposure to your feelings, therefore you have to be prepared to accept anxiety will continue but that doesn't mean anything about the fear's context, it's just that you have a disorder that needs time & repetition to undo.

It doesn't matter much how outlandish a thought may be, it's the fact it comes with feelings of anxiety. If a thought of a ninja bat riding a chariot with rabies popped into the mind of a non anxious you, you wouldn't care. That would be the end of it. Add feelings of anxiety/panic to any situation and the reaction we aim towards is panic/anxiety to feed that cycle. So, whether you have seen a bat flying around in a room or whether you live in a country where bats don't exist but still fear bats with rabies, it's all about the fear itself. Regardless, the same is needed to tackle it as it shouldn't be in the subconscious.

NOT a bat.

What are you doing to treat your anxiety? Your problem is anxiety and NOT, I repaet NOT rabies.

All of the rabies posters here should really ask question about how to get the treatment for they massivly irrational fear of rabies instead of asking us to give us reassurance #50 000 that there is no such things as invisible bats.

---------- Post added at 18:15 ---------- Previous post was at 18:14 ----------

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MyNameIsTerry

You've got triggers sparking intrusive thoughts and your reaction to them feeds the cycle, as it does with all fear. Try to lessen this reaction, it will help but it's hard to do at first because it feels so strong.

Try to imagine your subconscious is just blurting out options or possibilities but with the insight of the logical conscious mind. This doesn't mean they have to be real or even possible, just that the subconscious needs a decision on them. Try to dismiss them as irrelevant and move on and your subconscious will learn they aren't worth sending out.

It takes time but it works and your CBT is going to aim to do something very similar. There are differences in the technique at the point of reaction but it's all about halting a negative reaction which feeds the cycle and learning to replace it with a positive/neutral one which feeds the cycle. This doesn't mean anxiety stops, it may even temporarily worsen since the subconscious is demanding a negative reaction so it's an exposure to your feelings, therefore you have to be prepared to accept anxiety will continue but that doesn't mean anything about the fear's context, it's just that you have a disorder that needs time & repetition to undo.

It doesn't matter much how outlandish a thought may be, it's the fact it comes with feelings of anxiety. If a thought of a ninja bat riding a chariot with rabies popped into the mind of a non anxious you, you wouldn't care. That would be the end of it. Add feelings of anxiety/panic to any situation and the reaction we aim towards is panic/anxiety to feed that cycle. So, whether you have seen a bat flying around in a room or whether you live in a country where bats don't exist but still fear bats with rabies, it's all about the fear itself. Regardless, the same is needed to tackle it as it shouldn't be in the subconscious.

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Yes; it is similar to the fear of being abducted by aliens. I have been a rabies fearer myself(mind you; that was after a trip to a country where rabies does exist and at that time claimed maybe 50 human lives per year)and I can wholeheartly say that rabies fear is outlandish beyond belief. I tried to rationalise my outlandish paranoia myself but with hindsight I se how crazy it was and that everypne who told me that this was riddicilous and crazy were 100% right.

Oh Nile I feel really sad for you reading this. I know you feel like you need reassurance, but that is the worst thing that we can give you. It might work there and then but you'll need more and feed the whole messy cycle, becoming more unwell.

If you can't afford therapy could you maybe purchase a book or some worksheets? Try and do some self-help.

When you read your posts back after the initial panic, can you see that they are illogical? If so then perhaps you writing them down may help, that way you can reassure yourselves after you notice that none of them were really happening. Does that make sense? Even now try and think of times that you feared bats and rabies and know that you were illogical then, tell yourself you're being illogical now. Your brain will instinctually think something along the lines of "yes I might try that later but I need something for NOW", do this now.

I love bats,I have even been called one.There are a lot of them hanging around the mango trees.The only thing I don’t like is they stink.

I normally kill a thread off:D,so this might stop it in its tracks.

Hello!

I’ll start by saying I have serious bat-phobia and have irrationally feared the ninja bats for a while now. This is another ninja bat scenario, and I just need someone to talk some sense into me, if possible...

Basically, today after I showered I noticed 2 scabbed pinpricks (about 1cm apart) on my stomach. I put rubbing alcohol on them, but they didn’t sting, so I don’t believe they were fresh.

I’m worried a bat got me in my sleep last night. Thing is, I stay up all night in the house (I sleep around 6am and sunrise is at 8am) and never saw a bat. I also have 4 cats, and none of them seemed to be acting any differently. (I would assume if there was a bat or a mouse in the house, my cats would be all over it.)

So, 2 days ago, when I was sitting on the couch, a cat jumped up to lay on my stomach. I remember him kneading me (I’m sure anyone with cats knows what I’m talking about... he was basically digging his claws into me) and feeling him poke my skin, where my shirt had ridden up and skin was exposed. I quickly pulled the shirt down and forgot about it. I didn’t think it drew blood, but I never looked.

Is it possible for these to pinpricks to be from my cat?

Thanks!!

Of course they're from your cat, you felt them happen.

Think about it AGAIN.

You have a reason for this so why does a bat even have to come into it?

You had a similar fear, only based around the shower and cats and bats on your last thread - honestly I think you should re-read those posts. On that thread people replied in logical ways and that way of rationalising is the right way to respond to these situations - you need to apply some logical/rational thought to this situation too. Make a mental list: Evidence it could be a bat? Evidence it could not be a bat?



https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/search...archid=6752625

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your thread was merged with another of your threads.

Please when posting on similar topics add it onto your previous post rather than starting a new one.

It is nothing personal it is just to make it easier for people to follow your story and to give you advice as a whole.

Emmz

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Originally Posted by venusbluejeans

Please could you reply to the PM which I have sent you this evening?

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I still don't have a reply from you, I will send it to you again :yesyes:

Hey, everyone!

I’m trying really hard to get over this bat/rabies phobia (especially since it’s the middle of winter and I can’t imagine any bats are out right now). I’ve been told by therapists that my anxiety “manifests” as bats, so when I get anxious about anything, I’ll start worrying about bat bites. Less than a week ago, my husband and I moved to a new apartment in the Chicago area—my first time living so far from my family, who I’ve always been within 30 minutes of. Also, I got some kind of stomach bug last night and spent the better part of the night puking, and today sleeping off a fever. Since I didn’t want to have to keep opening and closing the bedroom door last night and tonight, I slept on the couch (which let me run to the bathroom easier without waking my husband).

Unfortunately, today I spotted two “fang marks” (they looked bloody, but weren’t) on my inner thigh. I didn’t see them last night, but I slept from 5pm-9pm today in the dark. I put hand sanitizer on it to see it it was an open wound and, lo and behold, it burned. I didn’t see a bat in the apartment (which is rather small, to be honest) and neither did my husband... But I can’t get over the worry that this is somehow a bite! I did check around the apartment, just to be safe, but there aren’t many places for a bat to hide, and we put mesh over the exhaust fan in the bathroom the other day, so nothing’s coming through there. (We put the mesh because a friend of ours had bats come into her bathroom through the exhaust fan...)

Any advice?

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Originally Posted by Nile

Any advice?

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Meds and real life professional help. Respectfully, as has been reiterated by many already, what you've written throughout this thread is not based on facts and reality :lac:

Positive thoughts