Got Bed Bugs? Bedbugger Forums » Psychological and Health problems caused by bed bugs (besides bites)
What the Heck is Wrong with Me?!!!
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TryinginBK
newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 15offline
Posted 3 years ago
Wed Sep 9 2009 14:17:37
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OK, I haven't been to the forums in just over a year, but for my mental health I need to vent to people that understand...
Back in 2007, I found BBs in my old apt. After 2 fires in the apt above me, I believe the BBs were literally washed down on me by the fire dept when putting out the fire. Anyway, I notified the landlord and immediately moved out with basically the clothes on my back. I found a great, newly renovated apt in the same zip code. Everything has been wonderful except for a scare in 2008 which turned out to be a false alarm confirmed by a visit from KillerQueen (love that guy!).
Of course, after my experience I'm always vigilant, but I've been able to live my life without panicking about BBs or just not thinking about them at all (yay!). My mattress & box spring were encased day 1, I keep my bed on risers with mineral oil and occasionally spray with KleenFree. But no living out of ziploc bags, and my clothes are hanging in my closet without any "protection." It's been great. Until now...
I happen to be watching the Tonight Show and Conan O'Brien mentioned a news story about Bill Clinton having to temporarily move out of his office in Harlem due to a BB infestation. For some reason, that one story clicked a switch in my head and I've been anxious and paranoid about getting BBs again for the last few days. I haven't been able to eat or barely sleep. My emotions are up and down. At times I feel back to "normal" after telling myself that although the problem is getting worse in many cities, the odds (given the overall population in NYC) are still in my favor - especially with me being a bit more knowledgeable about BBs now. Other times, I feel downright depressed and alone and want to cry. I tell myself to snap out of it, especially since I'm BB free, but this is driving me batty.
Has anyone else that is now BB-free experienced this? What have you done to snap yourself out of it. Geez, do I need a therapist (not that I can afford one)? I want my home to be a refuge, a place to relax, not a place to be afraid of! Ugh!
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TryinginBK
newbite
Joined: Sep '08
Posts: 15offline
Posted 3 years ago
Wed Sep 9 2009 15:01:35
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Buggyinsocal... THANK YOU! I've been reading through the posts here and your post was extremely helpful, especially this part...
"Secondly, please understand that even the most enthusiastic advocates for inspection do not suggest inspecting more than once a month unless there has been a particular event that increases the chances of exposure. Why not more frequently? Well, if you don't know exactly what to look for, when you start doing close inspection of things, you're going to find a lot of "Oh my God, it could be beg bugs" sorts of things that have nothing to do with bed bugs. It turns out that we all live with a lot more insect life and general dirt in our homes than we like to think. We've seen a lot of people posting photos of dirt or lint or beetles or flea dirt all convinced that they had bed bugs without other compelling evidence. If you're prone to anxiety anyway, looking for proof of bugs that you have no suspicion you've actually been exposed to does nothing more than provide fodder for an awful lot of false alarms."
I already feel better. Sometimes it just takes someone giving you a verbal "Chill Out!" to help snap you out of it. I'm going to step away from the boards again for a while - hopefully a long while.
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DeathToAllBBs
junior member
Joined: Aug '09
Posts: 65offline
Posted 3 years ago
Wed Sep 9 2009 17:10:02
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I've been like this since getting bit at work, did some research and discovered what a nightmare they are and then at the height of my grossed out itching all the time stage I was 'lucky' enough to discover a resident's bed at work infested with them. That's all it took to send me off the deep end. And they have yet to get rid of them other than spraying enough for them to vanish for a bit only to emerge again in another room. So now, I'm like the OCD maniac at work bringing things inside in ziplocks and posting all sorts of BB info including posting a paper about Vikane Fumigation! But I do that at work mainly because I think we should be aware and take some basic precautions as well as have treatment options for when they show up again though I'm sure I'm the resident coworker nut job at this point.
Meanwhile I've been like you were, looking all over my house though I really haven't had any empirical evidence to suggest they're here. Just in the past few days have I started calming down over this mostly because I've realized that there's nothing I can do until I have evidence. And until then there's no point in stressing about it. I can just hope for the best and exercise caution at work and when leaving and coming home.
I think the catch here that makes it so hard is just everything about how the BBs live and survive and feel nearly impossible to kill. Yes, you can eradicate them, but it's beyond a challenge. And therein lies the reason why so many of us hit the deep end. They're like a testament to Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest and evolution. And of course, it would have to be something so icky that would serve as proof. Go figure.
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