Fear of using the phone?

[azura]

As well as lots of other SA symptoms I also have a fear of phoning people I hardly know or answering the phone to people I hardly know. Does anyone else have this?


I think it started from when I was about 13, my dad would make me answer the phone all the time at home and it made me jumpy and has gradually got worse. It has stopped me from being able to get a job, and I'm in abit of debt cause I can't phone the companies to settle payments. As with alot of stuff, I just bury my head and hope it goes away, but the problems get worse and thus the cycle begins over again....

[cjdelphi]

I have a very similar issue, I once landed a job in a call center in the whole day i managed to make only 4 phone calls and my blood pressure, shaking, jittery, light headed I thought i was going to die, anxiety to the max when the phone rings my heart races and panic the only time I don't is if i know it's my wife calling with caller id :)

but yes, but this stems from talking to anyone it's also effecting my job finding too because I panic at the thought of ringing them, I manage it, i do do it but i feel sick afterwards.

[azura]

glad to know I'm not alone on that one then! I can answer it or phone my boyfriend, sister and just about the doctors but thats it. I'm working on it, as it's just getting seriously embarrassing and out of control!

[coops025]

In my last job i hated answering the phone as i knew it would be someone screaming at me because somthing wasnt working arrghhh!!

[Vicki]

Yes I had that! It took me an age to get over it and just dial! The more you practice it though the easier it gets. It's just the thought of talking to a stranger and struggling with what to say that is the most difficult to cope with.

[Captain Cannabis]

I'm like that.

Although I can talk to sales people and I can order pizza's over the phone because I know that those people are expecting to be talked to.