Should I see a therapist? How do I cope AFTER having bugs?

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Should I see a therapist? How do I cope AFTER having bugs?

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Jen27

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 21 2012 23:28:14
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Sigh. I haven't had bed bugs for 5 months now ... (I moved into my current apt Oct 1st and it's been clean, no bugs - the last apt i lived in I had a minor infestation, but the whole building was infested so that's why I moved) ... but all I think about is bed bugs - are they in the apt next to me? does this restaurant have them? does this bar have them? are my cats sniffing the bed because they see a bug? Is that fuzz/dust a bug? ... I look for them everywhere.

I've thought I've had bites 3 times since Oct 1st ... but one was just a scratch, the other just some skin irritation, the other I'm not sure actually (it was between my fingers, very tiny bump, it itched, but maybe only for about 30 min).

I am a hypochondriac (really. it's quite bad) ... and now super paranoid about getting bed bugs again. I'm moving in with my boyfriend in June and terrified to move ... terrified there will be bugs in the moving van, in the new apartment, in any new furniture we need (we live in the same building now, just different apartments). He compared what I feel to PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

Should I see a therapist? What have other people done to cope? Please help. :/
BugsSkeeveMe

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 21 2012 23:36:37
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I just had my thermal so am still very anxious. I bought a product called scram to try to relieve my nerves slightly and the BBAlert so i know if they are here or return. I also am having a canine inspection in 30 days. I am seeing a therapist. I think several people are. I think that traumatic definitely describes what we all have been through. Good luck.
punaisedelit

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 21 2012 23:39:41
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I don't cope well at all either. I started seeing a therapist again in the two weeks after I found out I had bed bugs at the beginning of November, got back on anxiety drugs in December, and now I'm back on antidepressants. I'm really scared too - I'm moving next week and fear I'll take them with me, I see little bugs everywhere, etc. Sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy... It feels like I'll never be bed bug free again - it's been four months for me, and moving out is the only option. I don't know if a therapist can help, really, because many will simply not realize what it is about bedbugs that makes them so bad...
Nobugsonme

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 22 2012 0:31:07
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A study was recently done which found some people on bed bug forums such as this one showed signs of PTSD.

One user of the site (years ago) was diagnosed with an Acute Trauma Stress Disorder resulting from her bout with bed bugs. Some people with existing OCD, anxiety or depression have also seen therapists because dealing with bed bugs (or the aftermath) heightened these pre-existing issues.

If you think seeing a therapist might help, I'd go for it. A number of people here have found it very helpful.
rAVENSFAN99

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 22 2012 9:52:30
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I have OCD and dealt with a severe infestation last year.
I recommend therapy, especially if you can find a cognitive-behavioral therapist who will teach you techniques for dealing with your anxiety. Traditional "talk" therapy may not be as useful.
I have used techniques I learned over the years in CBT and has been helpful.
P Bello

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 22 2012 9:59:31
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I'm sorry you're going throuigh this and hope that you're over it soon !

Rest assured that you're not alone and that this is a significant issue that affects many.

Good luck with your situation !

Hope this helps ! paul b.
BugsSkeeveMe

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 22 2012 11:35:45
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Although the therapist is very empathetic I still think you can't understand this unless you have been through experience. we understand why you feel the way you do. I just wanted to add that. Keep us posted.
bugnut

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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Feb 23 2012 9:42:34
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I empathize with you all. It has been 18 months since my last infestation (I have had them TWICE!) and after last time I had to go to a hypnotherapist for 5 weeks of fairly intense therapy. At first I wasn't so sure, but now I realize that it helped tremendously in many areas of my life.

BB's are really traumatic - I still worry about them all the time and still have protocols for coming into my home from the outside world. However, the protocols do allow me to be in control and that is a good thing. I have even traveled a bit and go to restaurants (still stay away from the movies tho!).

Do look into therapy - it can help and you deserve to feel better!
rAVENSFAN99

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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Feb 23 2012 13:27:05
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BugsSkeeveMe - 1 day ago »
Although the therapist is very empathetic I still think you can't understand this unless you have been through experience. we understand why you feel the way you do. I just wanted to add that. Keep us posted.

No, a therapist can't understand what you're going through anymore than they can understand what it's like to endure any number of traumas. But good ones can empathize and teach you techniques so that you can function.
rAVENSFAN99

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Posted 1 year ago
Thu Feb 23 2012 13:28:42
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I will also add that before you see any therapist, make sure they are ok with you coming to their office if you are in the middle of an infestation. Tell them what precautions you are taking. My therapist of more than a year banned me from his office when my infestation first started, and while I understood where he was coming from, that was very hard to cope with at an already difficult time.
Jen27

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Posted 1 year ago
Mon Feb 27 2012 18:27:51
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thank you so so much everyone. it's really nice (and comforting!) to get so much support and advice.

i came home today and checked my bed and found a grain beetle (which i have from time to time in this apt) ... had a scratch the other day and thought it was a bite. ... and then had trouble sleeping for a couple nights so...

... I think I'm going to look into seeing a therapist. (I don't have health insurance so I hope I can find something fairly inexpensive!) I need to find a way to deal with/cope with this better :/
MI-Infest

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Posted 1 year ago
Tue Feb 28 2012 14:22:16
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Hi,

I felt compelled to respond because I am in a similar boat. I had a infestation of BB in May 2011. It traumatized me to the point of making me suicidal. I couldn't stomach the thought of living with bugs that were biting me and causing the worst case of itching I'd ever encountered. I got so little sleep at night and was always anxious and even got into a car accident due to the lack of sleep.

Somehow, I'm still alive, and I never did spread my infestation to others.

It was thanks to this very forum, all the knowledge of all its posters and their experience that allowed me to vacate my apartment without bringing any of the buggers with me into my new place.

However, all this has not come without some heavy prices, and paranoia and anxiety have come massively into the fray. They are nowhere near as bad now as they were in Summer '11 or the first 3 months in my new place, but when I get the occaisional patch of dry skin or an old bite that flares up, full on panic sets in, and it's not fun at all. I have psoriasis, so my anxiety is even higher than usual, but I continue to see no signs of bbs in my current place anywhere.

However, I do have climb ups in place and an encasement, and borax on the feet of all my furniture without climb ups. I also bag my clothes in garbage bags after wear and will not set foot near my bed in clothes that have been outside. And frequent inspection of my furniture, and I continue to see no signs (cast skins, poop stains, or live bugs) in my current place anywhere.

This is an issue that takes time to get over, and even though I am better, I wonder if I ever will. I will be seeing a therapist soon myself, and am going to ask about this very issue.

Good luck to you and I hope it works for you.
BugsSkeeveMe

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Feb 29 2012 11:19:50
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I know that Jewish Famiy Services offers sliding scale therapy based on your income. I'm not sure if other religious service groups do the same. Just a suggestion. I have a family member that sees a great therapist for almost nothing through this program.
famof7andhalfHatingBugs

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed Mar 21 2012 0:52:14
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I already have depression and anxiety. I think I may be OCD as well. I am going insane with having bed bugs. I feel so dirty. I do not know what to do. i am always crying or yelling. I cant sleep. I am 6 and a half months pregnant, so I can not take any medications for my anxiety. I am having panic attacks left and right. my significant other, thinks that I am being unreasonable and unrealistic. I wish i could just leave all of my belongings behind but I can not afford it. i can't sleep. I am even waking my children up in the middle of the night, when I check on them to make sure the bugs are not eating them. I am devastated. I hate going in public,, I fear the way people will look at me or me infesting someone else. i am also considering therapy,.

I hope all goes well for you, and please let me know how you make out with this and any advice you can give for someone living with it.
Nobugsonme

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Posted 1 year ago
Fri Mar 23 2012 1:57:39
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famof7andhalfHatingBugs - 2 days ago »
I already have depression and anxiety. I think I may be OCD as well. I am going insane with having bed bugs. I feel so dirty. I do not know what to do. i am always crying or yelling. I cant sleep. I am 6 and a half months pregnant, so I can not take any medications for my anxiety. I am having panic attacks left and right. my significant other, thinks that I am being unreasonable and unrealistic. I wish i could just leave all of my belongings behind but I can not afford it.

Hi famof7andahalf,

I would just encourage you to try and get help for yourself. Tell your doctor you're suffering from anxiety and depression (and the bed bugs are making things worse). S/he may be able to help you find assistance. Therapy has helped a number of people here.
endless_nightmare

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Posted 1 year ago
Wed May 23 2012 6:18:59
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every single person I know who has or had bedbugs is or has seen a therapist at some point

I have been though serious heavy traumatic stuff, but my bed bug problems is the single worst thing I have ever encountered in my life, many many people who have them feel that way

I pray every night that they leave me, that the PCO treatment this time will work, that I won't wake up with bites, it's extremely hard

Remember 6 or 7 years ago, you hardly heard about them

God I hope someone comes up with a fast and easy cure for this problem, come on, there has to be something

Good luck and God Bless to all of you dealing with this, I hope for all of you that your issues with BBs will disapear very soon
dinnerfor3

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Posted 8 months ago
Wed Sep 26 2012 8:27:26
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Therapy is a good idea. Some therapists have sliding fee scales. I have paranoid schizophrenia and had panic attacks over just a small infestation. I was only being bitten once or twice a night for a week but I was freaking out really bad. I saw my psychiatrist on Monday of this week. I would say it helped. She convinced me not to hang myself and that bugs were manageable (whatever manageable means).
StillSaneIThink

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Posted 4 weeks ago
Sat Apr 27 2013 3:33:48
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I have them and I can honestly say that I've noticed dramatic changes in my behavior, apathy and depression being the biggest, as well as mild anxiety and hypersensitivity to any crawly of itchy sensation and any tiny thing that looks like it moves anywhere in my house, even to the extreme of hallucinations, which I'm sure is worsened by my lack of sleep. O have no prediagnosed mental disorders, although depression and bipolar disorder run deep in my family so I suppose when this is over with (I am confident that it WILL BE over with in due time), I will probably need some pro help just to make sure depression doesn't permanently settle in to my already melancholic disposition, although I refuse to be medicated (antidepressantsscrewed my mom up real good for several years and she didn't get better til she just quit taking them) Disclaimer: I'm not endorsing you to stop taking meds if you've been prescribed them. It was just a personal example for why I refuse. Psychiatrics are quite useful in stabilizing chemical imbalances. Always confer with healthcare proffessionals if you feel you should or should not be on medication.