scared a bat bit my butt (I know it's stupid)

Ok so lately my rabies fears have been cropping up more and more lately. I haven't been getting enough sleep so I think I'm more on edge.

Anyways I was walking to the subway station after work right before sunset and I felt something press against my butt. Rationally I think it was my wallet getting stuck weird in my back pocket and poking my butt. I didn't feel a punch or a sharp poke, more like something getting caught and pressing against my butt cheek. I felt behind me, adjusted my wallet and went down the stairs but I was getting really anxious thinking a bat latched onto my pants.

I'm trying to calm myself down and not assume it was a ninja bat. I doubt a bat would have swooped down in downtown LA, crawled on my butt without me feeling it crawl, bite me and then leave a second or two later. I was listening to music pretty loud though so my anxiety is making memory that I was not aware of my surroundings.

I didn't even feel a pin prick or something like that. It felt like something was pushing into my butt cheek, like the corner of my wallet or something. Well now the area feels irritated because I used hand sanitizer to see if it would burn or anything. I feel so stupid. I know this whole story sounds crazy but I am in a real mental funk right now. Please tell me I am just being anxious and not to run like an idiot to a doctor who will not give me the shots anyways. If it was this easy to get bitten by a bat I feel like wayyyy more people would be having rabies. Why do I always assume bat and not anything else? Ugh

What treatment are you getting to help overcome these irrational fears can I ask?

I'm on meds and I go to therapy. Most of my OCD is under control. It's the rabies fears that are still sticking, usually during periods of high stress or before events, travelling, etc

I really feel for you - our brains are great at creating stories and they're amazing at convincing us these stories are real, despite a lack of evidence.

I know this might not help you much now but someone said this to me the other day and it helped me get over an obsessive thought: This worry like all the others will fade with time.

You'd notice a bite. Especially one from a bat. Try to distract yourself when you start thinking about this and I promise you you'll have forgotten all about it in a few days.

Why do you fear rabies though?

I fear missing something and being dead or hurt because of it. Rabies is rare yet fatal and it's like having to choose between getting the shots for no reason vs the possibility of dying of rabies. This fear started in college and comes and goes but lately it's been sticking more.

I fear missing something and being dead or hurt because of it. Rabies is rare yet fatal and it's like having to choose between getting the shots for no reason vs the possibility of dying of rabies. This fear started in college and comes and goes but lately it's been sticking more.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kalny

I really feel for you - our brains are great at creating stories and they're amazing at convincing us these stories are real, despite a lack of evidence.

I know this might not help you much now but someone said this to me the other day and it helped me get over an obsessive thought: This worry like all the others will fade with time.

You'd notice a bite. Especially one from a bat. Try to distract yourself when you start thinking about this and I promise you you'll have forgotten all about it in a few days.

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I'm hoping this just fades with time. It's so hard when you are in the middle of it.

But rabies is so rare that it doesn't warrant your attention to be fair.

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Originally Posted by nomorepanic

But rabies is so rare that it doesn't warrant your attention to be fair.

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I know. But I think the fear stems from thinking something is out to get me. Like God punishing me or me just dying or suffering in a horrible way. I feel like there is a component of scrupulosity in my OCD too. I've had multiple sensations these past few weeks with compulsive checking and looking around for bats. It's like I'm checking myself everyday and I want it to stop. I have therapy this weekend so I'll talk about this with my therapist. I just want my mind to stop assuming something is a bat all the time.