Struggling with bat rabies fear

[Totallyphobic]

I was a poster at AZ and this fear was triggered again 2 weeks ago as I was sitting on my deck. I felt something fly into my hair I started feeling to see what it was and felt something on my wrist which I swatted at. I didn't see anything fly but didn't look at the deck floor either. Next day I called the health dept explaining what happened and that 18 years ago I was bitten by a bat and received the shots. I was told if I didn't see a bat no treatment required. I also called bat conservation and was told a bat doesn't normally fly into humans and having had shots I have some immunity and perhaps enough of a titer from the previous shots. So whats the problem? the old doubts what if they are wrong?. If I swatted a bat down wouldn't it have still been on my deck in the morning? I really could use some support right now Thanks

[paranoid-viking]

Please read this:

http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=219591

There you find all the reassurance you need. If it does not reassure you I strongly suggest you seek a professional therapist for your health anxiety. Us writing here are not therapists. We are just anxiety sufferers ourselves(mostly).

[Totallyphobic]

I see a therapist I guess the fear stems from the fact that the first bat flew into me and the health dept was spraying for west nile at the time possibly throwing off it's radar and I had a reaction to the shots.

[NervUs]

I can understand having a bat bite creeping you out forever about rabies. The first bat and spraying for west nile doesn't have anything to do with now. The fact is, something flew into you. You didn't see a bat so you can't assume it was that. It is as simple as that. In this situation you need to learn to accept that you will never know what it was that hit you, and that things like this happen to people everyday and they don't get shots. It is hard but accepting the facts of uncertainty and life involving imperfect information is a big step to getting over HA.