[IchbinkeinTeufel]

My step-mother got a rabbit, ... it's triggering me. Took a while to stroke it, because I was so scared I'd hurt it, ... or that I want to, ... what if my hands weren't clean and he got ill or worse because of that? What if he bit me? Would I hurt him if he bit me? What would I do? When I was younger, I reacted in a VERY bad way to something like that, ... would I do that again? So many thoughts and fears. Kind-of affected my eyes a little bit, ... The rabbit seemed scared of me... I hate it when someone or something is scared of me; it makes me feel like ****, and fuels my OCD.

Anyone else freak out around animals?

[starbright777]

I have terrible animal issues, phobias. Firstly I'm afraid I will hurt their frail, innocent selves and the flipside, which is much worse for me, is that the animal will hurt me. I have a fear of being bitten or scratched by any animal. Strange thing is I have three dogs. However, I have raised these dogs and know that they are clean, know they have had their rabies shots. That's what it comes down to with me - I don't want to get rabies. Yes I know if you KNOW that you have been bitten/scratched by a wild animal, you just go to the hospital and get a series of shots. My fear is not knowing whether an animal, a "domestic" animal has it and you ASSUME they have had their inoculations. Also highest on trigger scale is bats. I didn't find how to put a trigger here or I would have - although I'm sure nobody else is afraid of bats as I am. The reason why bats send me into a tizzy is that they mostly bite at night when you are sleeping, camping, whatever. It has been proven that a bat can bite you and you won't even feel it as they have some kind of anesthetic in their saliva so you don't brush them away. Now you also won't be able to see the big bite because on bats they look like a simple mosquito bite. I won't go on any longer. It's the fear that a bat will get in the house (which they do quite often), bite me and I don't notice. Then I die because rabies is uniformly fatal.

With me, it always goes back to death and dying. I can't stand that you are alone. I can't stand not knowing if there is a soul and life hereafter. So I usually think about dying so much that I'm not really living. (I can't get my smileys to work, just sayin') I also have a fear of birds. Believe it or not I was once chased and bitten by a Trumpeter Swan. I didn't know it but I had gotten too close to her babies. Yeah, birds freak me out too. So I hope this didn't trigger anyone, this talk of triggers - if so, I apologize.

Starbright777

[Grey Matter]

I fear harming them. I fear they wont feel safe with me. I'd never do anything to hurt them, but I get obsessive and think no matter what I do I will make them unhappy or unhealthy. It's horrid.