Spiraling about unexplained scratch 😫

Hi everyone, I’m really struggling right now and could use some support from people who understand OCD and how it twists things. I’m stuck in a spiral about a fear that I know is likely irrational, but it still feels terrifying and real. I recently woke up with a small, light scratch on my face. It looks just like scratches I’ve had before — possibly from my cat, who sleeps near me, or from scratching myself in my sleep. But my OCD latched onto a very specific fear: “What if a bat got into my room while I was sleeping and scratched me?” Here’s why my brain went there: A few days earlier, my mom went into the attic, and yesterday realized the attic door might not have been fully closed — maybe slightly cracked open. When I pulled on it, it made a thud, like it clicked shut tighter. Now OCD keeps telling me: • “What if it had been open for a couple of days?” • “What if a bat flew in, scratched you, and left?” • “What if this scratch is from a bat and you didn’t feel it — and now you’ll get rabies?” Even though: • I’ve had many similar scratches before with normal explanations • My cat didn’t act weird, didn’t chase anything, and shows no signs of reacting to anything in the room • I’ve seen no signs of a bat — no droppings, sounds, or sightings • we’ve never had bats in the house • I know the odds of this happening are minuscule …my brain keeps demanding 100% certainty. It’s obsessing over what ifs and convincing me I’m in danger — not because of evidence, but because I feel like I need to be absolutely sure I’m safe. I’m aware this is reassurance-seeking, but I’m also trying to step outside the spiral and ask for reality checks from people who understand. Has anyone else had OCD latch onto rabies or animal exposure fears like this? Or fears about scratches and feeling like you missed something? Had a similar worry about rabies last year due to a mark behind my ear yet nothing came of it

joyp21

Date posted: 5w

Hey!!! Totally understand what you’re going through, I was so nervous something like this happened to me at college last year. However, I feel like my situation was a bit different so I won’t go into my perspective here. HOWEVER, my roommate actually very recently had gone through something more similar. She was on a run at night when all of a sudden she felt this giant thwack on the back of her shoulder. She never saw what it was, and for all we know it could have just been debris coming up from a car, but it created this little mark. After thinking about what it could have been she stumbled onto the possibility that it might have been a bat, and she really couldn’t shake it off. Now just a disclaimer here, she isn’t diagnosed with OCD, but I certainly am. I do think to a certain degree we can all feel the same emotions, and the fact that she couldn’t shake it off seemed OCD-like from my perspective. Like some people can FEEL anxiety, but that doesn’t mean they HAVE anxiety. Now where we may diverge is how she handled it. She decided to go to the doctor to talk about what had happened, and they said not to worry and that they’re sure nothing has happened. So that’s totally an option that you can pursue worst case, and that response has helped her, but coming from our OCD-brains, would that be enough? I genuinely think that the most sure way to move forward is just to try to accept the uncertainty. Maybe it did happen, maybe it didn’t, but right now I am okay and I am content with that. We want to think about it, but we don’t have to. Just a tiny bout of reassurance here too, rationally speaking, the chances of a bat entering your room (I have my attic attached to my room and I have to push it back daily to shut it completely and I’ve never had more than a moth enter my room) are so miniscule. And the chances of it scratching you and then leaving, and for it to have rabies, are even smaller! I’ve had friends who even at one point actually had a bat in their apartment for like a day, and none of them got shots afterwards and are completely fine years later. I wish we could think like they do lol, but it’s just showing that even under that scenario it’s still very unlikely for anything like that to happen. Feeling overwhelmed by all the emotions and possibilities can be so debilitating and feel so real. But moving forward when we try to accept the uncertainty of this, it gets easier to tackle over time. Make fun of it, even! I’m sorry to read that you are feeling this, but I know you can get through it.

Galumph

Date posted: 20d

I can tell sometimes that my rabies fear is irrational if I imagine going to the doctor or a hospital and telling them I think I've got rabies and need shots, and if it seems like their most likely reaction would be to look at me like I'm nuts and refer me to CBT instead. I think that would be the reaction in your case, because there's no evidence of bats at all. You're missing the key component of a reasonable bat scratch fear - the bat itself. It's like that episode of Malcolm in the Middle where Francis diagnoses himself with alcoholism and goes to AA meetings because he has some of the signs like irritability - except that he hardly ever drinks alcohol.

SMS719

Date posted: 12w

Feeling hopeless 💔

My ocd has been at an extreme all time high the past 2 weeks and I am in dire need of some relief. I’m not sleeping right anymore. for context: I live in the south and found a springtail on my sheets about 2 weeks ago. This was like 2 days before our bug guy came and sprayed (it’s a normal maintenance thing here) so it’s a common bug down here and I’ve found them all over different areas of the house before. Finding it in my bed sent me on a bit of a spiral bc I started to doubt if it even was a springtail and that i was wrong and that it was a bed bug, not trusting my brain. It was a bad, sleepless night and carried over continuing feelings. Typical ocd stuff. Well two days later, I’m a nurse and I had a patient that actually had bed bugs. This wasn’t the first day they were here and I did not see any myself but it still freaked me out. There had one 2 founds after visitors came the day before. Of course I wore PPE in the room (coveralls shoe covers and hair net) going in and took everything off before exiting the room. When I came home I stripped in my garage and bagged everything down to my shoes. Threw everything in the wash and did multiple cycles. There were no other steps I could take but I still had a terrible night. Hours of ruminating and going back and forth about tracing my tracks, thinking of new ways I could’ve taken one home with me. Just checking everything. I was already on a spiral from the springtail. Having two such back to back triggering events for me so closely related has made me deteriorate significantly. I was already doing bad with my normal OCD and starting therapy here. I obsess over the thought of having bedbugs constantly and haven’t been able to sleep. I am constantly checking my bed while in it and can’t settle down. My bed is heavy too and I keep hurting myself lifting my mattress to check. But I need to check. I’ve become obsessed. I check everything and go down Reddit rabbit holes looking for new things. And of course, I talk myself into it every time. I can’t take it anymore, it’s bleeding off into other parts of my life like friendship and marriage because I am so high anxiety right now. I need relief so bad. I’ve never felt this unstable to be honest. I feel like even someone without ocd would be really struggling with this topic, nevermind me, with ocd to a point where I just started treatment. These aren’t even my normal intrusive thoughts and compulsive acts. It’s just taken on a life in the last week and I can’t find any sign that it’s going to slow down. when I think rationally I know I did everything right to prevent but I can’t shake it. 💔

OCDstephie

Date posted: 11w

Speaking my fears out loud

I’ve been really struggling with obsessing on the though that I somehow got exposed to rabies without my knowledge. I live in an older home and my mind keeps telling me somehow a bat got in without my knowledge, even though I have no reason to believe so. I also own a cat and I’ve also been struggling with what if he got exposed because of this “bat”.

bcraig

Date posted: 8w

Sitting in the spiral

Hi all, First time posting and it comes in the midst of a big spiral and panic. Currently dealing with what we think is borderline existential OCD where I feel like I’ve come to believe that I’m not real, that this is all a dream, that I’m actually a psychotic person walking down the street imagining all of this. Got very triggered yesterday by seeing someone screaming and yelling at what seemed to be nothing. Had a panic attack this morning and just haven’t been a wreck since worrying that I’m going to end up in psych ward, realize I’m actually crazy, etc. Been in NOCD therapy for almost 4 months now and still struggling to sit with the uncertainty, avoid researching, seeking reassurance, and most of all ruminating. Anyone go through something similar and if so what were key tactics you used during these spirals to calm things down and recenter yourself?

Existential OCD

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Spiraling about unexplained scratch 😫

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