phone anxiety?

[CupcakeLove]

Does anyone else get anxiety over talking on the phone? Today I had to call my doctor's office to reschedule an appointment, and had a minor panic attack. I spent about an hour working up the courage to make a two-minute phone call. I put off making phone calls as long as possible. Do any of you get phone anxiety, and how do you deal with it?

[floridaguy65]

Sure. I remember way back when I really struggled with panic attacks that the phone would trigger some immediate uptick in anxiety. But, as with most fears, it does get much better, to our own extents, when we are able to move down our healing path from anxiety / panic. And also, as with most fears, they tend to alleviate the more we push through that fear and do it anyway (and not pass out or totally freak out, as we envision:). It's not just calls, I'm sure. It wasn't for me, either. The panicky feelings bleed over into many facets of our lives when we struggle with anxiety. We tend to avoid many things that might precipitate an amping up of our anxiety. And, it gets more ingrained into our patterns of thoughts and our patterns of behavior each time we use this avoidance mechanism.

No true lasting harm can really come from the simple act of speaking on the phone. When we have some calmer times, we can embrace this, for the most part. But, add in anxiety / panic and we build up these pretty terrific "what ifs?" in our minds. So we, often, avoid. Don't be discouraged...it's part of the trials. It does get better when we can find some ways for us to have some lasting solace.

Do you have panic when you are speaking with a family memeber / loved one?

Perhaps because the call was to a Doc office about an appt. that there was extra anxiety. And, we only call Docs offices because we need some attention...physically or emotionally.

Peace and Feel Well:)

[x_chelsea_x]

I just made a similar post to this one under social anxiety disorder. I'm looking for advice too. But I totally understand what you are feeling. I am terrified of answering the phone and it is really impacting my life.

[Sandra01]

Chesea and cupcake love in order for you to live with the fear of answering the phone or speaking on the phone you have to determine the reason behind the fear so you can adress the issue properly.

Is it the fear of rejection? Is it the fear that you fear that the phone rings because something terrible has happened? Is it the fear of bad news? Is it the fear of germs being on the phone? Is it the fear of stuttering? Is it the fear of showing vulnerability?

what is really behind the fear of answering the phone? Being unable to answer the phone or worried about speaking on the phone is only a symptom of an fear what lays much deeper then just answering the phone.

[x_chelsea_x]

For me I believe there are two possible reasons.

Firstly, the uncertainty causes fear. I hate not being able to predict what I will have to say and I am terrified of not knowing what to say or saying the wrong thing, given the short time in which I have to make up a response. In general, any uncertainty in life scares me and I don't deal with uncertainty very well.

Secondly, I have a huge fear of rejection in all areas of life. I am very shy because of this and it prevents me from doing/saying many things. If I do the smallest thing wrong, I normally cry about it later on. This is really embarrassing because I am an adult! I've had a lot of people be mean to me in my life and I was continually bullied at school. This has caused me to be very sensitive and unable to handle rejection.

[Lanie]

I have phone anxiety too - I keep my phone off all day, unless my mother goes out and so I turn it on in case she calls. I don't like the element of surprise and being caught off guard. It's a fear of what the other person will say and how I will respond. I only like talking to close friends and family on the phone, but I can only do it for a short time (an hour or so), before I feel a restless need to get off.

At work it is worse. I literally jump everytime the phone rings. It's never anything good - always an inquiry I'm not prepared for, or a last-minute deadline I can't handle, or something else that's stressful or invasive. I hate the phone!!! 

I wish I had suggestions on how to make this anxiety better. Oftentimes I just take a deep breath and tell myself it's not the end of the world for whatever awaits me on the other end of the phone. That helps a bit.

[amanda14]

I do too. I get really really upset about it. I'll only talk to people I'm really good friends with. I talk to my mom, my best friend, and my two aunts. That's it. My mom thinks I'm crazy because she'll ask me to make a call and I'll have an attack.

[Socratores]

I used to have severe phone anxiety,but since i take Klonopin my phone
anxiety is gone for 100%
I'm not afraid to answer,when i answer i just talk sometimes a little to much.
I'm calm and i have no problems.
If i can be like this around people my SA problems are solved.
But one step at the time.