i don't know if this is in the wrong place..if so just move it =]
but i've been sat for hours now with my phone on silent, saying its not working properly cause i'm scared to pick it up.
if i knew the number i think i would...but it's a witheld and i'm strange.
anyone else like this? or have any tips on actually answering the phone lol?
x x x x
Little Angel go away..Come again some other day..The Devil has my ear today I'll never hear a word you say...
This'll sound stupid but take it off silent and just pick it up when it rings and say hello. Don't think about it. I know it's easier said than done but I find that when I think about it it makes it worse. I know how you feel because I find it really hard to answer the phone. Hope you can manage it. Either that or just wait for them to leave a message, but it's better to get into the habit of answering it otherwise it'll just get harder. xxx
When I hear the house phone ringing, I get really anxious because I alway think its someone looking for money or something off me, I don't worry so much if its my mobile as I am in control of any type conversation and of answering it, but the house phone freaks me out yeah and if I am making a call to phone in sick to work or to someone I don't tak too often, it can take me hours to make the call...
Something has changed within me, something is not the same, I'm through with playing by the rules of someone elses game. Too late for second guessing, too late to go back to sleep, its time to trust my instincts, close my eyes and leap....
Somethings I cannot change, but till I try I'll never know...
***
Big hugs to all my friends on here, thanks for your constant support - love you guys
Being scared of making or answering phone calls is a symptom of Social Anxiety Disorder, and can be of other things as well.
It is quite common and you are far from alone with it.
As for tips, the best thing you can do is take a deep breath and just answer, as others have suggested. The main anxiety tends to last while thinking about whether or not to answer, so over-riding that can help.
Also, as someone who at one point didn't use a phone for a couple of years taking small steps is the best thing. Get someone you know to call you, and explain to them that you have anxiety, answer their call and you will hear a friendly voice giving you praise and in general terms making the phone call a positive experience.
Then, the next time someone you do not know calls, you will have that positive experience to relate to. This call could be the same as that, yes, it wont be the same person, but that does not mean anything bad will happen.
Best of luck and whatever happens, be gentle with yourself.
If any call is is anyway important, they will call again, leave a message or try to contact you in an alternative way - so not answering will not cause any problems.
If the Human brain were so simple that we could understand it, we would be so simple that we wouldn't.
I know exactly what you mean. I suffer from social anxiety disorder, and it stems from that I think.
I also cannot make phone calls, even to those I know and love. People that know me know never to call me; I don't pick up. I think it's just something that's a part of me. It drives everyone else insane.
It's confusing though, because I've never been able to pinpoint exactly WHY I don't like it. I think it stems from a few things:
1. I get scared that I will have nothing to say and people will think I'm boring.
2. I can never make the first social move. Stuff like going to talk to someone at a party... I always wait or other people. I think this is an extension of this. Doesn't explain the inability to pick up the phone though.
3. I get convinced that if someone is ringing me it's for a bad reason. I'm just generally paranoid that everyone hates me anyway.
4. I have no idea.
So yeah, useless ramblings... but you're definitely not alone.
AMY.
You're not as messed up as you think you are,
Your self-absorption makes you messier.
Just settle down and you could feel a whole lot better,
Deep down, you're just like everybody else.
Omg im terrified of answering the phone or even calling people! I proper freak out for hours until I have to phone someone.
"John, being brave is going where no man has gone before and with Lizzy Stark, that is NOT what you'll be doing!" - Aunt Polly.
“I told him I was going to betray you, and betray Lyra, and he believed me because I was corrupt and full of wickedness; he looked so deep I felt sure he'd see the truth. But I lied too well. I was lying with every nerve and fiber and everything I'd ever done...I wanted him to find no good in me, and he didn't. There is none.”
Life is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing
Join Date: Aug 2009
I am currently:
Wow, i actually didn't know so many other people shared my problem! No one i know understands it at all. I've always been afraid of the phone, ever since i was little and my parents first tried to teach me how to use it. I would hesitate so long while dialing that it would "hang up" on me and i'd have to start all over again, which alone made me nervous. I do have social anxiety disorder and i take meds for it which have helped in general but this phone phobia remains. I have SO much trouble calling anyone, whether strangers or even my friends and family (who of course take it personally even though it's not personal). I sometimes don't get my prescriptions in time because i put off calling them in for too long. I've missed job opportunities because i just can't pick up that freaking phone. For some reason, answering is SLIGHTLY easier for me, although i often don't, because i know that if i don't answer, i'm going to have to call them back, which is even worse and i probably never will. I will often make a trip somewhere in person just to avoid making a phone call (i don't know why, but dealing in person is a tiny bit easier). Several times i've arrived only to find the place closed and wished i could have called first to find this out. But no, i never do.
Well, i obviously have no help to offer, but i'm another one who shares your pain at least.
Hi, I go through the very same scenario that you are describing. This may sound odd, but the one thing that I have found to honestly make it easier, is that when the phone rings, I will answer it as quickly as I can. It is because I know how I am, and if I even remotely hesitate to pick it up, then I will not answer at all. So, basically I don't give myself a chance to think twice about it (more time to think about it = higher anxiety for each ring). Anyway, thank you for the post, and I hope this might help some...
I too have missed several job opportunities because a) i haven't picked up the phone or b) i don't want to call them.
"John, being brave is going where no man has gone before and with Lizzy Stark, that is NOT what you'll be doing!" - Aunt Polly.
“I told him I was going to betray you, and betray Lyra, and he believed me because I was corrupt and full of wickedness; he looked so deep I felt sure he'd see the truth. But I lied too well. I was lying with every nerve and fiber and everything I'd ever done...I wanted him to find no good in me, and he didn't. There is none.”
I will often make a trip somewhere in person just to avoid making a phone call (i don't know why, but dealing in person is a tiny bit easier). Several times i've arrived only to find the place closed and wished i could have called first to find this out. But no, i never do. 
