Anyone else get startled when their phone rings?

[SilentAndShy]

My phone rang twice this morning, each time I got startled.

Admittedly, on these two occasions I was half asleep but even when I'm wide-awake, when my phone rings, I panic!

Because for me, picking up the phone means that it'll be bad for me because either: A) I'll be asked to do something that I can't be bothered to do B) Asked for favours C) Invited by my only two friends when I don't want to for differing reasons.

And plus add in the other factors of answering in front of people etc.

When my phone rings, I panic!

Any tips on how you can pick up your phone without trepidation?! lol.

 

[ImNotMyIllness]

I'm not startled by it. But, having my phone on stresses me out. Most of the time, I'm either in a place where I can't talk or I'm not in the mood to talk. I hate answering the question, "What's going on", even though it's rhetorical.
I usually keep it off, which drives my friends crazy.

 

[theoutsider]

Since childhood I've always had a sort of a "thing" about phone calls and people knocking at the door. I'm always apprehensive about answering either, feeling like the person at the door could be somebody who will not be welcome (sometimes it is) or the phone call will either bring somebody who will waste my time (like a telemarketer) or it will bring bad news, like the death of a relative. I always look at the phone number before answering. I especially dread phone calls in the middle of the night or early morning hours.

 

[jaim38]

I get startled too. I would rather not have people calling me out of the blue. I like to schedule a day and time beforehand. I dread phone calls from unknown numbers. People knocking at the door scares me more than phone calls.

 

[vanillabear]

It doesn't startle me.. no one really calls me except my parents periodically to check to see if I'm still alive.. hah..

The people who text me are also very predictable.. one friend only texts me when she needs help with an assignment or editing for an essay, another that actually wants to have a conversation with me and the last one who just rants and talks at me so I basically don't even have to say anything because he doesn't care either way.

 

[squidgee]

I get startled too. I hate having to call someone or receiving a call. In public, I always set my phone on silent or I turn it off, and if someone's calling me, I don't pick up.

 

[MikeyC]

I get startled, but if I see a contact list name come up when it's ringing, then it's not an issue. If it's an unknown or blocked number, then that's bad.

 

[mikebird]

Thanx for mentioning it

I brought it up with Audiology

You have made me more comfortable with the situation
and prepared for it.

The last occasion was when cooking, I heard the squeaky siren ringing. It sounded exactly like an alarm as if there was a fire there or in a different apartment. It took me a few seconds to identify the sound as the phone. Even a simple, standard Cable & Wireless desk phone, the only option are LOUD, silent or my middle setting, which I find extremely disturbing when the room is silent or with music or TV. It's enough to trigger my unexpected panic, making me useless when dealing with recruiters, stripping my privacy by asking what my name is and "are you OK?"

The sound is not the problem.

It's what people say when I answer, when they begin, or at the close of the call. It's all a big kick in the gut. The phone is an ultimate bully's psychologist tool, as well as their way to hide from reality

 

[jd882]

I noticed that I have bad issues with repetative sounds be it the random stomping from the upstairs apartment, idiots who ring the doorbell more than once, the dog barking like mad, trucks rumbling by, or even the sounds my phone makes. I change my ringer and notification sounds on a weekly basis and have even put the phone on silent but I get just as paniced when I see a missed call or an email that I wasn't promptly made aware of.

One thing I've noticed is that when I lower the volume of the ringer mid way and choose a ring tone that fades into a low toned ringing or song, it helps. It's a gradual increase of sound or a song (not something that's going to jolt me out of sleep or concentration) so I am able to ease into realizing I have a choice to pick up the call or ignore it. Hope this idea helps you too

 

[mixedupgirl]

I use to get startled when my phone rang....most times when it rings now....I only answer if its my fiance or mum everyone else gets rejected because I know I will feel under pressure to have something interesting to say... usually after about an hour I will text and say "did u want me?" because I can't completely ignore them. I use to get texts and answer messages sayin "answer your phone!" because I think they know im ignoring it, I always tell them I left it in another room etc. And if I'm on public transport it always gets turned on to silent. I don't answer unknown or blocked numbers anymore....they can leave me a message if its important... 9 times outta 10 its about bloody PPI anyway.

Also i do get startled if someone knocks on the door and I'm not expecting anyone, it's normally either bible bashers (sorry to u religious folk out there) or someone trying to sell me something that I don't need and then I have to try remain polite and keep saying I'm not interested while they try persuade me that it'll be very affordable and worthwhile ugh. mg:

 

[miserablecow]

I feel the same...especially when it's a blocked number.

I don't really get phone calls but texts.

 

[lurknomore]

Always. Even if it's on silent/vibrate I jump out of my skin. Same with knocks on my door. I never answer numbers I don't recognize, but even when they leave messages I get too nervous to check them, sometimes it's days or even weeks before I check my voicemail. I even avoid checking my email at times.

 

[mikebird]

I've been by myself in my apartment since 2001

Nothing bad. People say 'paper-thin walls'

The very worst is when people are hanging around in the corridors, on visit and leaving. Any voice or turnkey sound echoes like someone just installed megawatt amplifiers in the halls. The metal staircase is easily prone to any tap of a fingernail to turn the noise into a... gong! which lasts a long time. Just those voices bother me. Enough vague audio & physics understanding that every sound will reverb a million times between the surfaces with no furnishings, and I get this through the nanometre gaps between my door and jamb

I've been moaned at only once about my loud music, which I immediately want to go to their apartment to hear how it sounded. I couldn't hear it. This guy must have had the mega-sensitive ears of a dog. All this time, I've had seriously loud music when friends come round, and never any whisper of complaint. Hardly any SA issue in the block. But the intercom buzz is 500dB louder than my phone, and gets me off my perch. I'm the one without any visitors but there are plenty of others' and I can hear the rrrrrrrrr.... ::

Yep - a rumbling truck - where 'hi' sounds like a roaring lion. staircase is like a belfry bell that keeps shaking quite a while. Louder than my subwoofer. This area has ambulances rushing past on full siren, more than a few dozen every hour. Never like this at all about 4 years ago. Warzone? Who needs to hear a really loud siren about 10 miles away? No physicist to think of the reverb between the brick walls of streets 10 miles away

I'm the longest in the block. People come & go in unbelievably short phases.

 

[nicole1]

That's understandable. I think with the physical symptoms of social anxiety...we tend to get startled by sudden noises easily. I know I get startled by things like unexpected noises-especially from things falling or a screen door moving because of wind-and alarms going off without prior warning.

 

[SilentBird]

Best Seinfeld Moment - YouTube

 

[awkwardamanda]

I've always had more of a problem with making phone calls. I'm usually ok answering the phone. But lately I've been freaking out when the phone rings, at least during the day. I've been applying for jobs so I'm always hoping it's someone actually calling me back. It's half disappointing and half relieving when it isn't. It would help if my parents fricken got call display already. I keep bugging them but they seem to like our old ghetto phone with no digital display.:kickingmyself:

I keep my cell phone on vibrate. I rarely get calls anyway. I took it off vibrate once because I was expecting a call and I didn't even know it was my phone until I realized the sound was following me.

 

[theslowesthand]

I automatically assume the worst, whenever the phone rings, or especially if hear a knock on the door. Perhaps it's even a bit of the PTSD thing. When either has occurred in the past, it's almost always either i'm "in trouble" over something, or somebody "wants" something from me; both cases have always been very anxiety-inducing for myself, hence maybe why my anxiety hits-the-roof every time they occur nowadays. It's almost never been for a "totally safe" reason, eg just to see me. At best it's to "check" that i've been doing what i "should" be doing.

With the phone, i have tried it at half-volume, but that's still too shrieking/piercing, so now it stays at mute. And i only have my mobile on when i need to use it (else uses up the battery - has this "bug" where it keeps turning on then off by itself every 1/4 hr or so). But i'd still keep it off without that issue.

 

[Saraswati]

Not as much now as I used to get.... I constantly have it on vibration or silent mode now. I still panic a little when I see an unknown number or if someone I don't know well is calling me. Most of the time I don't pick up and say to myself that if it's that important they will write me a message
When I'm on the bus and someone calls I panic, get really nervous and wish for it to stop vibrating as soon as possible xD

 

[mikebird]

ALL

normal people

in the world as I see it

is heavily reliant on their portable telephone
as a suckling who cannot live without

I left it behind in the 1990s

marketing ploy which seemed to work very well.

How much difference do you see between the types...
Home
Desk
in your pocket
shiny
posh
one

 

[hidwell]

I have my phone ringer on low, as I find the noise startling and obtrusive.