I hate the phone!

[shipost]

When I am downstairs and parents are upstairs somtimes the phone rings and it gives me a heart attack, I panick and tip toe back up stairs and pretend I didn't hear it

 

[Richey]

Im the same shipost if nobody is home im alright to pick up the phone but around my folks i do avoid answering the phone, my parents are very intrusive like to eve's drop on me so i avoid the phone when it rings unless its for me, for instance if im up reading or on the pc after midnight they will walk to my door(which is closed) and i can hear the floor creek(wolf at the door ) so i know its one of them just to see what im up to, so im looking forward to moving out as soon as possible, and im self-conscious around them most of the time, you dont have to answer it and if its for you then they can bring the phone to you, and if you dont feel like answering the phone then you can alwaus let the answering machine do the job, im not sure.....it takes practice to get used to chatting on the phone when you have anxiety, but you'll get better at it

 

[shipost]

yeah thats exactly my prob, they sit in the room with the phone and I have to ask them to leave the room if somone is calling me.. I still get nervous knowing they are next door and can hear me I wish they would go outside :lol:

 

[Lotrsfan]

I ignored the phone today twice. My mum was in the garden and the phone rang, and i was indoors and wanting to answer it, but i was too scared. So i pretended i didn't hear it too.

 

[Quixote]

I tend not to answer the phone if somebody else is in the house. It's never for me anyway, so I just let somebody else pick up the receiver.
When I am alone I often ignore it, unless I happen to be reasonably close to it and I can answer without rushing to it.

 

[IceLad]

Yep, I hate phones as well. Thank goodness they invented text messaging- that's much more to my liking.

 

[garnet]

I've the exact same problem.

My actual most terrifying phobia is public speaking, but another stumbling block for me is phones. I dont know if its cause i can't see the other person's reactions or what, but its really a big deal. I used to do anything to avoid making phone calls, but I'm gradually trying to 'wean' myself off texting and starting to make phone calls again.

I feel self-conscious if other people hear me talking on the phone too, I have to make a real conscious effort to use the house phone rather than retiring to my room to use my mobile.

 

[Septor]

I feel self-conscious if other people hear me talking on the phone too, I have to make a real conscious effort to use the house phone rather than retiring to my room to use my mobile.

That's my biggest fear when it come to phones.I can't talk on the phone if other people are around.It just bother me so much that they could be listening to what I say.

 

[garnet]

Yeah, I completely get that too Septor. Sometimes I even feel more self-conscious if the people around when I'm making a phone call know that I have a social phobia!

I think it's cause I wonder if they're trying to spot how anxious I get, or to see if I'm making any progress or not. Also, I make phone calls so infrequently that they probably wonder whats so important to drag me to making a call! But I know this is probably complete rubbish, but thats the annoying thing about SP- your mind just stays in the negative quite a bit. :?

 

[Septor]

Yeah, I completely get that too Septor. Sometimes I even feel more self-conscious if the people around when I'm making a phone call know that I have a social phobia!

I think it's cause I wonder if they're trying to spot how anxious I get, or to see if I'm making any progress or not. Also, I make phone calls so infrequently that they probably wonder whats so important to drag me to making a call! But I know this is probably complete rubbish, but thats the annoying thing about SP- your mind just stays in the negative quite a bit. :?

Yea I feel the same way but it gotton to the point where I cant even make a phone call if other people are around.I feel like im be monitored.Sp make you think about thing that you worry about even though you know they are irrational.

 

[Waybuloo]

I dont' have much of a problem answering or making phone calls, except maybe if there's a stranger right infront of my face staring at me. I do get a start and my heart jumps everytime it rings though, but it prob has somethin to do with my natural aggitated self than SA or the notion of talking in front of someone.

 

[Shewolf]

for me, my problem isn't with the people around me while i'm on the phone, its just talking on the phone. i worry about what i say and all that just like in a normal face-to-face conversation. Which is why i try to avoid answering or making phone calls, especially to people i know, even relatives. i'm much better when it comes to emailing and that kind of thing.

 

[Maggot]

for me, my problem isn't with the people around me while i'm on the phone, its just talking on the phone. i worry about what i say and all that just like in a normal face-to-face conversation. Which is why i try to avoid answering or making phone calls, especially to people i know, even relatives. i'm much better when it comes to emailing and that kind of thing.

That sounds exactly like me. I find that it doesnt really matter if the person is around me, even speaking on the phone can cause me to feel anxious. I can get hot or turn red and start sweating if i feel i've embarressed myself and it doesnt really matter if i can actually see the other person(although eye contact makes it much worse).

 

[corrinaelizabeth]

ive told my mum about my SP so she doesnt care if i dont answer it,i still panic when it rings tho lol,she wants me 2 start answering 2 confront my fear but am 2 scared lol so she doesnt push it phew!!!! :lol:

 

[Septor]

I have problems to talking on the phone but worse with certain people and situations.Like making a phone call but I don't know if i'm calling the right place or saying the right thing and dread those evil pushy telemarketers :x .So most of the time I don't even bother answering the phone sense they are the only one that call me.

 

[friendlyshygirl]

I hate making calls when people are around I get so sacred and nervous I forget what to say and start to stutter. My family don't understand me and have a go at me when I make a mistake on the phone

Its so unfair.........

 

[IronMaidenRockess]

I have a big phone phobia, I dont like talking on it...period! Whether anyone else is in the same room with me or not.

If it rings and my family are in the house with me, I just let them pick it up, even though Im right next to it and they are in a different room.

My main thing though is my family being outside, me inside and it rings. I nearly jump out of my skin, so I go upstairs, pretend Im in the toilet, then my parents will come in and see Im not near it.

Although this is getting a bit thin now as when they are at work & they come home again, they will say "we tried ringing you...you didnt answer the bloody phone again" and I say I didnt hear it, or I was outside.

But its horrible getting moaned at to use it. Everyone says the more you do it, the easiest it gets BUT it doesnt for me, it gets worse, I get more worries

Very often people have asked me questions and I have forgotten the answer because I hate the phone SO MUCH

I need one of those machine things that tells you the number who is ringing, that way I can pick it up when its my parents or hide and pretend I didnt hear it when its someone else Do you know where to get these things from? or what they r called?

 

[Ahmed]

yeah, i have that machine, its called a caller ID.

 

[IronMaidenRockess]

Thanks Ahmed

I think I might treat that to my parents at xmas hahahaha

 

[boodizm]

I used to have a real problem with it, always saying that i was in the middle of something or make up some other excuse when my parents asked me why i didn't get it. Sometimes i had to get it and i would pass it along to whomever the call was for as soon as i could.
I eventually got better talking on the phone. If it rang later in the day i would answer it due to feeling very lonely and not having spoken much to anyone throughout the day, the want to do it overpowered my anxiety.
I few years from then i can hold a real convo with someone for a while and not being nervous during it, though i still find it hard making a call, I still put off ringing people for hours.
Also, in all honesty i think it helped my one on one conversations skills in a physical setting to a large extent.
Like everything with sa, it is hard but i'm glad I gave it a go and managed to overcome it. Especially for people who blush or look down when others talk to them i think getting used to phone calls is a real step forward to feeling a little more comfortable when talking one on one in a physical setting as none of those things are evident on the phone.