Help getting a job in IT when unable to take phone calls

[elderwolf]

I love IT and am passionate for it, i have looked and so far all jobs i can find require me to make phone calls but the issue is every time i do a phone call either receive or make i have a panic attack sometimes that bad i literally freeze for 40+ minutes. So far no luck and i can't get government benefits so finding a job i can do is crucial for me.

[Soberlicious96]

Dear Elderwolf,

Welcome to Beyond Blue.

I'd like to suggest making an appointment with your GP, and perhaps a counselor who can both help you to develop some strategies for coping with making and receiving phone calls.

May I ask do you have a phone of your own? Like a mobile? And if so, do you make and receive phone calls on that? If yes, then maybe a starting point could be to practice calling family and friends to help you develop some confidence with talking on the phone.

I'm not really sure what else to suggest to be honest because I myself am by no means a professional of any kind, so I only have limited advice and experience myself. I do know that I too have had times of high anxiety when it comes to making and receiving phone calls ...... usually due to some sort of incident brought on by the few (rather than many) who tend to be rude or arrogant and therefore trigger the "Fight, flight or freeze" response. But the thing to remember is that NOT EVERYBODY is out to be a nuisance on the phone. There are plenty of respectful people out there, and I'm sure that with practice, you will soon realise that you are one of those respectful people!

Anyway, I don't know if that helps or not, but at least you know you've been 'heard' and acknowledged on here. Take care. I'll keep an eye out for a reply post on your progress. xo

[Croix]

Dear Elderwolf~

I'd like to join Soberlicious96 in welcoming you here.

By the sounds of it you have a couple of problems, one of course being to find a job. Not all IT jobs use a telephone extensively. An example, unlike a help line, might be a repair section of a retailer or company. You have my sympathy as job-hunting is difficult and erodes the soul. Can I suggest keeping those activities to just a particular part of the day, leaving the rest to concentrate on other things?

The other, and more imortant problem, is your anxiety and panic attacks. I can understand what you are going though as at one stage I had frequent panic attacks and did not answer the phone. I would also have great difficulty even walking to the end of my driveway to the mailbox. Anxiety was the cause and I simply did not get better until I had the correct medical help. Then things started to improve.

Would you like to say if you are already under medical care? If so I'd suggest contacting your medical team or doctor and saying your current treatment is not working effectively and needs to be reviewed. If you are not seeing a doctor about this then now would be an excellent time to start, as Soberlicious96 suggests.

The suggestion about practicing using the phone for both incoming and outgoing calls to friends or family might be good too. I helped reduce my fear of the mailbox by ordering s/hand library books (they came very cheap) to come by mail. It gave me something to hope for as I walked down.

Please let us know how you go

Croix

PS The internet ate my first post to you some time ago 😞 so if you end up with 2 that are much the same that is the reason why
-C

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi elderwolf,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for your post.

I can totally agree with everything that has been said here. With all the jobs in IT I can think of, even though a lot may require very little contact - there will always be phone calls. I genuinely think it would be impossible to find a job in IT that doesn't require you to answer the phone.

Which I guess leads you to the next part - which is being able to work and be able to answer the phone. As someone who has had severe anxiety with it, I do see how hard it is, but you can do this.

Have you ever considered going to therapy? Ultimately they are the first things that come to mind so they can work with you and your anxiety, to the point where the panic attacks might be less severe at first but then die down so that you don't have them.