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!