I am a 22 year old woman who struggles with hypochondriasis , and every so often I end up coming across and hyperfixating on some disease that is usually horrific and incurable , and I panic thinking I’ve got it . Right now my massive fear is rabies , and I work with dogs on a daily basis . Even though all the dogs I’ve been nipped by ( never really “ bitten “ ) have had their rabies vaccines , I fell ill today and I literally cannot stop freaking out because I have a massive phobia of dying in a horrific way .

The worst part of it is that I KNOW the chances of contracting rabies in the US is extremely rare , and is hardly ever found in dogs . So why can’t I stop freaking out ?

Does anyone else experience these problems ? What do you do to combat them ? I’ve considered cognitive behavioral therapy but it’s hard to find people who take my insurance ... any suggestions or rationalizations would be helpful .