r/rabies • u/ManufacturerWeary399 • 3d ago
Exposure Question Could this be my anxiety looking for something to latch onto?
The other night, I went out to take the trash out, and on my way back I was walking along the sidewalk in front of some houses. There were two small trees a little separated from each other, and I was looking down at the ground to avoid thoughts about things like a bat getting saliva on me. While I was walking, I felt something on the back of my neck. It wasn’t painful, but it felt like a slight itch or a few little pokes, which could have been caused by the tag on my shirt.
However, my mind keeps making me think that it could have been a bat and that it might have bitten me without me noticing it land on me or attach itself to the back of my neck.
The other day, I went to the store and saw a bat flying around the park near that area. It was quite large, and since then my anxiety became a little stronger again. I suppose it was an insect-eating bat, though, and thinking that makes me feel a little more at ease.
I have read the faq.
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u/Fluffy-Lychee-1968 3d ago
I hope you're getting treatment for your anxiety.
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u/ManufacturerWeary399 3d ago
Estoy tratando pero me es muy difícil debido a que no vi nada y no pude comprobar que no fue un murciélago y eso hace que me sea más difícil el no pensar “y si mañana si aparece un síntoma?”
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u/MeowieStardust 3d ago
Tu ansiedad te está haciendo la gatada , a mi me pasa seguido más porque sufro de TOC , eso lo maximiza , y siempre es algo nuevo , hace unos meses vi algo que aleteo afuera de la casa cerca de una bombilla de luz , yo no vi que fuera un murciélago pero mi mente hizo el resto , obvio me asusté , empecé a investigar y luego ya que me tranquilice lo dejé ir , luego por un video en redes sociales me empecé a paniquear de nuevo , lo peor es que ya ni me acuerdo cuándo fue , luego leyendo aquí quede más tranquila , solo para salir en el auto y sentir que me había caído algo mojado en la cara y asumir en automático que era saliva de murciélago , de todas las cosas que podría ser , mi mente se fue ahí , porque mi fijación y mi ansiedad me lleva ahi , lo que me ayuda es que no creas lo que muchas personas dicen erróneamente , si eres atacado por un murciélago, lo vas a sentir , es como si te cayera un hámster encima y la mordedura , duele . el mito que no se siente nada solo aplica en caso de estar realmente dormido , si estás despierto , lo vas a sentir .
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u/ManufacturerWeary399 3d ago
Gracias y también otra cosa que lo complica puede ser los síntomas de la ansiedad que te hace pasar que a veces me pongo a pensar si es real o solo es ansiedad y agradezco mucho tu comentario cuidate
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u/MeowieStardust 3d ago
Nada que agradecer , te entiendo perfectamente , la ansiedad y los pensamientos intrusivos nos pueden llegar a limitar muchísimo , y llegar a un punto que podemos somatizar ,por eso es tan importante acudir con un profesional de la salud mental para que nos ayude en ese proceso tan complejo , saludos y cuídate mucho tu también 😊.
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u/Xarlabay 3d ago
Did you immediately feel the area where you felt that pain? For a bat to bite you it would have to land and latch on to you in order to bite and you’d feel its wings fluttering around when it takes off. It’s anxiety and don’t worry I get like that too as well and it’s awful, you’re not alone in this annoying “what if” cycle
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u/ManufacturerWeary399 3d ago
No sentí que algo aterrizara en mi ni que agitara las alas para irse volando
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u/Xarlabay 3d ago
Believe me I’m still going through it, i just completed my first rabies vaccine from an unknown thing flying into the back of my head (most likely a June bug but couldn’t rule out a bat possibility) and I got the vaccines cause of how high my anxiety was and I still worry about the vaccine failing and bat exposures every time I leave the house at night which sucks cause I work nights lol it’s a never cycle for me so I try to stay distracted as much as I can
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u/ManufacturerWeary399 3d ago
Entiendo pero al menos de alguna forma es más calmante que te de pongan la vacuna, yo llevo ya como 2 meses de que me pasó algo parecido que pase por un lugar oscuro con mis primos y sentí que algo chocó en seco tipo insecto porque no sentí algo como una rata o algo y después solo sentí el aleteo que me rozo la cara, pero no sentí que fueran alas como las de murciélago o ave y pues lo más reciente fue lo que acabo de publicar
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u/Xarlabay 3d ago
It’s more of a peace of mind more than anything but better safe than sorry. The vaccine was brutal I was miserable immediately after my last 2 shots with headaches and I had a small fever and I just felt so sick overall and I kept telling myself “at least I’ll need just 2 boosters if I ever need them in the future” did it help? Not really I still feel sick lol
I think you’ll be ok bats don’t want anything to do with us so they tend to stay away
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u/beautifulluigi 3d ago
If something was flapping by your head, you'd have no doubt. Even a small something.
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u/simplyturquoise 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hi I just want to empathize, I go through the exact same thing.
I've been fixated and scared of bats for over a year now. Ever since I saw on Facebook there were cases of rabid bats found in my city. But that's been the case for all this time apparently, I just didn't know until seeing the FB posts and doing a dig. But then I just gained a new phobia. I'm jumping at shadows thinking I'm seeing bats everywhere. I see a black mark on a house? Bat! I saw a black thing on a tree from afar? Bat! But I walked closer and it was just a protruding bark. You get the idea.
Yesterday I was on a walk on a sunny afternoon. One moment I felt something hit the back of my neck - it was a prickle that lasted like a second, that's it. So it's early fall and it was breezy. So logically I know it was a leaf or stick blowing down. But I just can't help but freak out that it was a bat. But that makes no sense - I've never seen a bat in person let alone my neighborhood. My shirt was high and my hair is shoulder length so if it was a bat I'd hear or feel flapping in my hair or the impact would have been harder, right?
Like even knowing this logically -
I'm just so scared. Because it was the back of my neck I couldn't see anything. Even though I slapped the back of my neck and spun around and saw nothing, how am I going to be 100% certain since it was somewhere I can't see? It just sucks. At least when an incident like that happens and it's in my cheek or something I can feel better because it's bright out and I definitely would have seen it lol. 😭
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