My rabies story and worry from a raccoon

[AMomentofClarity]

It would be fine if I could remeber even if my wound was open or not. Or if was ever opened enough in the first place for it to have bled. After this incident I’ll probably be starting back on Prozac and some other forms of treatment as exercise and yoga aren’t enough again. I could try and catch the raccoon tonight but I don’t know if it’s worth it to have it killed.

If you catch it, you’re going to be right back on here tomorrow wondering if you got rabies from that “exposure.” If i were you, I’d probably just leave the raccoon alone and move on.

[paranoid-viking]

Symptoms of rabies wouldn't manifest that fast trust me, so your stomach is definitely 100% not rabies.
Also your doctor said that it's low risk and you got the shots after insisting, so generally if you didn't insist you wouldn't be given the shots. That's because you were not at risk at all.
And most of all, if the raccoon is alive and around, then it was not rabid!
I have rabies fear currently so if you need someone to talk to, feel free to DM me!!

What I dont understand is why people whose allready been reassured by doctors and even experts on rabies come here and ask the same questions to people here as if WE were experts? I dont get it. I mean; seriously; if docs and experts can not convince them how on earth do they think WE; a bunch of hypocondriacs can do it?

[NervUs]

Didn't you say you got the shots? Why would you need to test it? Or spend any energy on this?

I mean, I get it. You have HA and think you'll get rabies even thought you got the pep. But, stop thoughts of catching the raccoon in their tracks.

[paranoid-viking]

The problem is I have read where symptoms can start as early as 5-9 days. I wasn’t planning on getting the shots until after talking with the doctors. They weren’t going to tell me no, but they said I was low risk. Also I’ve read that raccoons can have rabies with no symptoms.

I have read....I have...read....you have GOOGLED. Thats what you have been doing. Stop that and seek help for your anxiety. And please read the sticky threads before you start rabies thread number one million in here.

---------- Post added at 00:25 ---------- Previous post was at 00:23 ----------

You can list pros and cons etc. but the reality is...



Positive thoughts

I know I shoud not say it but I am getting tired of all the rabies threads now. And I think it is disrespectful that they keep ignoring the briliant sticky thread the admins created here. What a wasted effort that must have bee,

[NervUs]

I know I shoud not say it but I am getting tired of all the rabies threads now. And I think it is disrespectful that they keep ignoring the briliant sticky thread the admins created here. What a wasted effort that must have bee,

If it helps someone, it's not wasted. But, it's not going to help everyone.
Most rabies fearers have googled rabies out the wazz and know everything there is to know and more ().HA is not cured with rational explanations. It requires a lot more than that in most cases, and the board should be available to everyone.

[MagpieWitch]

What I dont understand is why people whose allready been reassured by doctors and even experts on rabies come here and ask the same questions to people here as if WE were experts? I dont get it. I mean; seriously; if docs and experts can not convince them how on earth do they think WE; a bunch of hypocondriacs can do it?

For myself I can say because I think that doctors overlook and aren't right etc etc while here we are all a little scared which makes us more precautious. Or something. But it's a support forum, I can tell people reassuring sentences here as long as they need them, not sure if its a good thing.

[Fishmanpa]

But it's a support forum, I can tell people reassuring sentences here as long as they need them, not sure if its a good thing.

Just my opinion. The name of the forum is "No More Panic". You can replace the word "Panic" with any other manifestation and mental illness on the forum and the message is the same. A support forum that helps point you in the direction so that you have "No More ______".

Reassurance is a band aid over a gaping wound and while it may slow the flow of mental blood down, it doesn't stop it nor will it ever. The key is real life help. I've often equated this fear and others to someone claiming the sky is green when it's without a doubt blue. In order to defeat the dragon, you have to challenge the dragon. Think of real life professional help like learning karate. There will always be challenges, but a black belt kicks more dragon ass than a white belt looking for tea and sympathy.

It's your life and the quality thereof that's at stake! I actually have/had some of the illnesses you fear. I had/have no choice but to fight and treat them and all the real physical and unpleasant side effects that go with them. That includes the psychological effects as well. You're in a unique position in that you have just the mental aspects to fight. I don't question your symptoms as the mind is incredibly powerful, but I do question why you allow them to be something that's impossible

I say again... If you can, get real life help. It can be the difference between living or existing.

Positive thoughts

[MyNameIsTerry]

What I dont understand is why people whose allready been reassured by doctors and even experts on rabies come here and ask the same questions to people here as if WE were experts? I dont get it. I mean; seriously; if docs and experts can not convince them how on earth do they think WE; a bunch of hypocondriacs can do it?

But isn't that the nature of the disorders? If people weren't following the expected patterns of mental health disorders wouldn't that be a bit odd?

There are a whole load of stickies above and yet no one is complaining about all those threads that have been dominating the forum for years. Some people are adding to that sticky and look at the lack of responses they get. That's what happens as threads get large, people don't bother reading them. Besides, when you are reassurance seeking you look to maximise the returns to complete your compulsions.

It's not disrespectful to Admin, unless you regard everybody disrespectful for raising threads that have been covered for over a decade?

I think you are right to challenge how things are done on here as it's aimed at improving the site. But it also needs to work for more than one theme. There are drwbacks to merging everything on one thread but then there are advantages to it too since there is so much information there. But which is the better way? I don't know.

---------- Post added at 01:45 ---------- Previous post was at 01:43 ----------

It would be fine if I could remeber even if my wound was open or not. Or if was ever opened enough in the first place for it to have bled. After this incident I’ll probably be starting back on Prozac and some other forms of treatment as exercise and yoga aren’t enough again. I could try and catch the raccoon tonight but I don’t know if it’s worth it to have it killed.

Think about it for a minute. You are considering killing a creature just because you think you may have rabies? Don't you have laws over there against that?

What if the issue is all in your head? And a creature has been killed for that and potentially a test that comes back it never ever had anything?

---------- Post added at 01:48 ---------- Previous post was at 01:45 ----------

If it helps someone, it's not wasted. But, it's not going to help everyone.
Most rabies fearers have googled rabies out the wazz and know everything there is to know and more ().HA is not cured with rational explanations. It requires a lot more than that in most cases, and the board should be available to everyone.

Exactly. Admin have put that there to highlight it but in reality many people will have looked far deeper into it and know all that anyway.

Anxiety disorders are based on irrational thinking. If they weren't, none of us would even be here. CBT tries to use logic but you don't just get a statistic and find your core beliefs about fears change from that, it takes lots of repetition. And it's like that for a very good reason in our evolution.

Removing fears takes longer than creating them. That's because it's not expecting to do it as evolution added it to protect us from threats that would remain threats.

---------- Post added at 01:52 ---------- Previous post was at 01:48 ----------

I know I shoud not say it but I am getting tired of all the rabies threads now. And I think it is disrespectful that they keep ignoring the briliant sticky thread the admins created here. What a wasted effort that must have bee,

After endless complaints about repetitive posters, and arguments resulting from them, Admin created this thread in 2016 informing members what to do and what not to do:

https://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=182032

If a thread is not to your liking, click off it. Yet Admin keep getting people complaining in threads and it causes them work. That's disrespectful, but it won't change and I'm sure they have resigned themselves to that...

That doesn't mean to say I am viewing what you said as disrespectful either but since that thread was created people have continued to ignore that request. Anxiety can mean emotions are running high and we struggle with patience, been there & done that myself, but when people continually raise it perhaps it's worth remembering Admin's stance on this?

---------- Post added at 01:55 ---------- Previous post was at 01:52 ----------

For myself I can say because I think that doctors overlook and aren't right etc etc while here we are all a little scared which makes us more precautious. Or something. But it's a support forum, I can tell people reassuring sentences here as long as they need them, not sure if its a good thing.

Yes, they make mistakes. In these cases doctors are often working from what you say and what they ask. Without testing, they cannot be as certain of anything.

But we have to try to trust them. That doesn't mean you never question what a doctor says and there are many good examples of patients, and loved ones, doing this in success. But how many doctors get it right over & over everyday of the week?

Reassurance seeking is a compulsive activity that only reinforces obsessions. That's medical fact. But like everything it's about balance, you don't have to avoid reassurance forever as that's also abnormal and we all do it. It's about what's normal and not a symptom of a disorder.