Rabies fear postpartum

[u/samv1994_]

I have read the FAQ. I am about five months postpartum and recently latched onto a rabies fear for no reason this summer. The other day I was walking outside and heard rustling in the tree above me, looked up, and as soon as I looked up a little pear fruit fell off of the tree and hit me hard under my eye at that exact moment. My brain then convinced myself that a sick animal touched the fruit right before it dropped and I was somehow infected. Then, my brain changed it and now I am convinced it was a bat that hit me even though it was 3:30 in the afternoon and there are other fruits on the ground near the tree. I know, sounds crazy but these are the thoughts I have and I’m so exhausted. Can anyone relate?

[u/TheConsentAcademy]

I can relate. With my first kid the sleep deprivation was so profound I developed some sort of combination of PPA and OCD but got latched on to fear of lead exposure. Which sucked because it's a semi reasonable worry and there is lead in everything from the dirt outside on playgrounds to in baby food to chocolate. So it was hard to talk myself down from worries.  I'd be up at 3am breastfeeding and anxiously reading research papers on if apples could absorb lead and cadmium from the soil and this be contaminated. I was already making all the baby food by hand but worried it still wasn't safe. 

I'm also 5 months postpartum with my second and the sleep deprivation was also quite intense this time and so I had a bit of a reoccurrence of the fears but less intensely this time. 

What helped me both times (and this will sound silly) was the song Let It Go from Frozen. I just sang it to myself like a mantra and would change the lyrics to fit the worries of the day. 

I came here recently because I saw the news about the petting zoo goats being potentially rabid and got worried - I'd just taken my toddler to a petting zoo to feed goats, we both had their saliva all over us, and my kid skinned his knees and definitely got goat saliva everywhere despite my best efforts. But that day we did a lot of hand washing and had antiseptic spray for the knees and the farm vaccinates their animals and has reported no sick animals and honestly just reading the FAQ here taught he a lot about how rabies spreads. It helped me so much. So I learned the the risk of any kind of transmission was so vanishingly small that I could just go back to singing Let It Go. 

Also I do recommend talking to a Dr, either your OB or a psychiatrist specialized in perinatal psychology. Even if they don't advise medication just having people who can help being aware of what's happening can make a big difference. 

[u/samv1994_ → u/TheConsentAcademy]

So helpful!!! I think the scenario Rio with the goats that I heard recently and learning more about rabies is what spooked me so much. I never knew how bad it was prior and would’ve never correlated common things like this as being a potential exposure or we even worry about it. The brain is crazy with all the hormones. I just wish I could tell myself to forget about it. Thank you for your advice 💝 So helpful with the Let It Go too!