Hi, new to the forum, but a veteran of the anxiety. I've had OCD for over 35 years but just got started on the rabies flavor a few years ago after a dog bit me and I read more than I ever should have about the disease. At the time I had a couple months of OCD-ish rabies anxiety, then it went away. Now I'm in the middle of a relapse of contamination fears, with rabies at center stage. I do feel I'm making progress as I've quit researching various disease-transmission scenarios and have moved into ways of combating what is clearly an anxiety issue. (No one on earth genuinely has the number of rabies exposures I've worried about in the last 4 weeks.) I've increased my SSRI, joined a local support group, and have my first-ever OCD therapy session next week. I've also taken some comfort in the advice here, especially this thread.

However, I was just curious if anyone with rabies anxiety ever had this specific issue: I'm really afraid of hiking/walking/running and unwittingly stepping on a downed bat that recently died of rabies, getting still-infectious tissue or saliva on my shoes, and somehow transmitting the virus to myself or someone else via open wound, mucous membrane, etc. Now, I've come to the point where I acknowledge that although this is not impossible, it is infinitely less likely than the probability of me being killed in a car crash or kidnapped by terrorists on the way to the trailhead (risks I freely take). I am trying to learn to live with that uncertainty, like I live with so many other uncertainties. Unfortunately, I am still on edge whenever I'm outdoors (and I love the outdoors), and constantly check 'suspicious'-looking leaves and twigs in my path to make sure they're not bats. And let me tell you, a lot of leaves look like bats, at least to the anxious mind.

I suspect the best ERP treatment for this is going hiking/running and not doing the compulsion of checking 'suspicious' objects, and I'm currently working on that. But if anyone has any other suggestions or encouraging words, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!