Hi NMP Forums,
So recently I've been dealing with elevated health anxiety - tick encephalitis, tetanus, covid and etc. various infections which all of them I worry about but I have vaccines (and still worry).
But a few days ago I visited a friend and he has a year old puppy pug, cutest little dog ever, he was so playful he jumped on my legs a couple of times and I'm worried I might have gotten scratched (either from the pug with his little paw nails or when I was fixing my bike in garage which is far more likely honestly) because there is a small scratch mark on my leg.
Boom - it overwhelmed me, keeps stressing me out a classic episode of health anxiety where I am looking for answers everywhere.. Even though I have collected several facts which SHOULD calm me down I cannot release this fear somehow:
* I asked the friend (it was pretty embarrassing) and the dog is vaccinated.
* The dog was not showing any irregular symptoms, just a playful young pup - he even slept on my leg later that evening a bit.
* The dog was fine two days after even I asked my friend how is the dog (again, super embarrassing, but hes a mate from university who knows I have GAD)
* There's no bite. And then - I'm not even sure there is a scratch, but let's say the dog scratched me - still the saliva needed to not be dried up on his paws and get into my skin etc...
* My country (Lithuania) has declared itself a rabies-free country, with results from last 5-8 years or so 1 or 2 rabies cases in animals near border with Belarus where hundred thousands tested or vaccinated (there was a dead fox on the border and some other wild animal found in 2018 or something). No human cases for like 10 years I believe.
Adding a picture of the puppy just to make it even more ridiculous:
pug.jpg
Even considering all of this my mind is not letting it go and thinking of various what if's - and I'm feeling super anxious, dreaded, sad, mad and etc. When I usually calm down from health anxiety I get a click on some factual information that helps me put 2 + 2 together on the disease I'm scared of and why I don't have it. Another thing that helps me is stories of people who go through similar stuff and came out fine. A part of me KNOWS that this is irrational and anxiety, but the other part insists of reminding me of this fear and not letting it go, hindering my daily life.
Help me calm down please :(
P.S. I have GAD (diagnosed for 7-8 years now), take medication and go to therapist regularly.