don’t bother leaving a message
I cannot make simple phone calls. When I realize I need a prescription refilled or call a co-worker, I panic and avoid the telephone for days. Sometimes I’ll dial and hang up. But it can take weeks to make a call. Now I have to plan weeks ahead of time to make appointments etc. Suffice to say, it becomes embarrassing.
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I am the same way. I have this phone-phobia or something. I hate calling customer service for anything! I hate calling to make any kind of appointment. I feel like they are scary and will be judgmental for some reason. Eh if I can I will avoid making any phone calls at all.
I have a cellphone but I use it more for all the other options than actually calling people. Even with friends I prefer texting.
this seems very serious to me. what if you have an emergency? can you make a call then? you worry me, truly. (it’s the mom in me, sorry) can you possibly see someone for counselling?
I have a phone phobia. I’m generally fine if someone calls me, but it’s the calling out that gets me. Which was spectacular when I was in sales and had to make business development calls. Or more to the point, was supposed to make and never, not once in the year I had the job, did (though my weekly reports very creatively said otherwise).
hmmmm-charliegirl, i’m starting to think this phone phobia thing may be a result of all the texting and online things we do now, some WAY more than others. i would rather actually speak to someone on the phone, for the most part, since it’s usually faster. not that i don’t love emailing at off-hours. it seems like a lot of people never actually speak on their mobile phones…except for the ones who talk really loud on the bus!
I also get really nervous and shy when i have to make a call for appointments etc. And when I finally get the courage to do it, I subconsciously exaggerate my facial expressions and make wild gestures as I talk. I look like a moron.
I not only put off calling people, but I always have to rehearse in my head what I want to say like it’s going to be an audition for a play. The problem is that the rehearsing just makes things worse because when I finally make the call, I get all my “lines” mixed up and get all flustered and don’t make any sense. I do this with family, friends, and strangers.
I’m the same way!! The only people I can call without getting anxiety are my mom, dad, and boyfriend. I can’t even call a friend or my sister without getting nervous. I’m in college and still call my mom to make doctor’s appointments for me.
CharlieGirl – same here! I work in sales and have to call potential clients every day. I cleverly get out of it almost every time, but every time I do it, I have a mini panic attack. Yikes!
I dread making phone calls as well – I’m afraid of getting tongue-tied, which might annoy the person on the other end and humiliate me. I can’t make phone calls if other people are in the room to hear me, either, so I simply don’t use the phone when others are around or I go into another room for privacy. It was really hard when I shared an office w/ someone and needed to make phone calls.. the worst was having to record an out-of-office voicemail before vacation, especially if it was nearing the end of the day and my office mate stayed stubbornly in her chair!