Phone anxiety

[kitten1509]

Hi, lately i've been having slight issues with calling people or answering phone calls - especially from people i dont know. I used to be able to pick up the phone through sheer mental force but now its kinda getting worse. Part of my anxiety is due to the fact that I'm having a hard time calling people when my mother would open the door and ask who i'm talking to right in the middle of a call i'm taking with someone. I just dont know how to deal with it when talking on the phone is a vital part of the job application process (interview) for quite a few employers. So, my question is - how do i deal with it, or overcome this anxiety/fear ?

[PamelaR]

Hi Kitten and welcome to our community forums

Anxiety does get in the way sometimes doesn't it? There are so many different ways of managing anxiety. Different things work for different people, there is no one size fits all. I wish there was sometimes.

Maybe to help support you more you can give a little more information. But only if you want to. There is no pressure.

Is there any reason why you couldn't ask your mum not to come in when you're on the phone? Or if this isn't feasible, could you lock your door?

To help manage anxiety there are lots of different threads and posts in our community. The one I find really useful is the Tips for Managing Anxiety that is pinned to the Anxiety forum. If you want, feel free to search our forums and to join any of the discussions are to things that concern you.

Hope some of this helps.

Kind regards

PamelaR

[anxietyalien]

I totally get it, though i'm definitely not one to give advice. I haven't talked on the phone in years, and haven't called anyone in forever! (and would only talk to my parents/grandparents - that was my condition). I guess the upside to having no friends in combination with this phobia, is that no one ever calls me. So I don't have to worry about having nor using the phone. Mum picks up the phone 99.9% of the time when it rings, and it is just surveys/telemarketers that either have robot or foreign voices, or just hang up on answer. Most of the time we actually have our phone unplugged (we only have a landline - I haven't needed a mobile phone since high school, when I had friends, and that was a long while ago now - graduated in 2010).

Maybe you might find Skype as an alternate that might be easier for you to use?(Anxiety-wise). Not sure, but I did manage to use it a few times last year when my Mum & Dad went overseas, leaving me all alone here in Oz. That was pretty cool - but then again, I don't think I would be able to muster the confidence to use it with anyone else (just like using the phone).