Comments on: 5 Steps to Curing Yourself of Phone Phobia http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/ Money issues for college students and 20-somethings, without being boring. Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:04:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Nick http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-94796 Nick Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:59:18 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-94796 I have this. I am most terrified when I recieve a call but when I have to call someone, waiting for them to answer is so nerve racking. I HATE this phobia. Whenever I feel like I have the courage to answer the phone or call someone it always goes away and I quickly hang up. I also feel really guilty when I tell someone that I will call them, because I never do. And if someone calls me, I click ignore and then turn off my phone so it makes it seem like my phone is dead. I am still looking to how to fix this but nothing seems to work. I have this. I am most terrified when I recieve a call but when I have to call someone, waiting for them to answer is so nerve racking. I HATE this phobia. Whenever I feel like I have the courage to answer the phone or call someone it always goes away and I quickly hang up. I also feel really guilty when I tell someone that I will call them, because I never do. And if someone calls me, I click ignore and then turn off my phone so it makes it seem like my phone is dead. I am still looking to how to fix this but nothing seems to work.

]]> By: Rachael http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-84583 Rachael Sat, 16 Jan 2010 10:42:22 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-84583 I had, and still have to some extent, this same problem for years. Including the in-person-simple-as-ordering-food phobia, I still sometimes get that, but not nearly as often as the phone. I just hate making phonecalls, the very idea makes me nervous and, like you, I can't explain why. But, realizing that, oh, holy crap, I'm grown up now and my mom won't make phonecalls for me anymore has kind of pushed me into "either I call, or it just doesn't get done". One of the biggest things that helped me was to look at it from my perspective on the other side. When I started working it was always in a customer service setting and in all my positions I had to take phonecalls. While I understand not all people answering the phone were like me, I understood it was my job and was always nice and polite to customers I spoke to on the phone, then after they were taken care of I promptly forgot about them. Using my personal experience and telling myself that anyone I called would be the same - polite, just doing their job, and would probably forget about me immediately - really made making business phone calls and the like a lot easier. Of course, I'm still very relieved every time I get someone's voicemail instead of them actually picking up the phone! I had, and still have to some extent, this same problem for years. Including the in-person-simple-as-ordering-food phobia, I still sometimes get that, but not nearly as often as the phone. I just hate making phonecalls, the very idea makes me nervous and, like you, I can’t explain why. But, realizing that, oh, holy crap, I’m grown up now and my mom won’t make phonecalls for me anymore has kind of pushed me into “either I call, or it just doesn’t get done”. One of the biggest things that helped me was to look at it from my perspective on the other side. When I started working it was always in a customer service setting and in all my positions I had to take phonecalls. While I understand not all people answering the phone were like me, I understood it was my job and was always nice and polite to customers I spoke to on the phone, then after they were taken care of I promptly forgot about them. Using my personal experience and telling myself that anyone I called would be the same – polite, just doing their job, and would probably forget about me immediately – really made making business phone calls and the like a lot easier. Of course, I’m still very relieved every time I get someone’s voicemail instead of them actually picking up the phone!

]]> By: matt http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-83986 matt Wed, 06 Jan 2010 01:17:10 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-83986 wow... I'm not the only one wow… I’m not the only one

]]> By: CaliforniaSteve http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-82892 CaliforniaSteve Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:51:43 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-82892 One of the most important concepts here I feel is "think of the positive outcome that I wanted to achieve from the call at hand". It's always easy to think of just the negatives and nobody looks at the positive enough. This is something that I always tend to do but I need to work on moving away from. Nice post. One of the most important concepts here I feel is “think of the positive outcome that I wanted to achieve from the call at hand”. It’s always easy to think of just the negatives and nobody looks at the positive enough. This is something that I always tend to do but I need to work on moving away from. Nice post.

]]> By: winstngwaf http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-78443 winstngwaf Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:50:27 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-78443 kept practicing is the key."One thing to consider;if you get it to go away and get out of practice phone phobia can come back." kept practicing is the key.”One thing to consider;if you get it to go away and get out of practice phone phobia can come back.”

]]> By: Beth http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-78224 Beth Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:30:55 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-78224 Leaving a voicemail is awkward because I never quite know how to end it smoothly. Plus, any mistake you make you can't take back. Leaving a voicemail is awkward because I never quite know how to end it smoothly. Plus, any mistake you make you can’t take back.

]]> By: Kirk http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77937 Kirk Thu, 27 Aug 2009 20:34:43 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77937 cool that you shared this little part of your life.. hmm i am not sure if i 'met' somebody who suffers from it, now i seem to have found myself amidst people who have it.. i actually didn't expect to read about a real phobia when i read the title of this entry, i thought it was only some sort of hesitance toward using mobile phones (like how my mom feels about mobiles) or something like that.. anyway it has been a very interesting, educational read, thanks for that.. glad you guys have found a means to overcome it! cool that you shared this little part of your life.. hmm i am not sure if i ‘met’ somebody who suffers from it, now i seem to have found myself amidst people who have it.. i actually didn’t expect to read about a real phobia when i read the title of this entry, i thought it was only some sort of hesitance toward using mobile phones (like how my mom feels about mobiles) or something like that.. anyway it has been a very interesting, educational read, thanks for that.. glad you guys have found a means to overcome it!

]]> By: Ann http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77642 Ann Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:01:14 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77642 Phobias actually limit our life at every turn, and we're all done feeling limited. That is why planing to make the change is what we need. Phobias actually limit our life at every turn, and we’re all done feeling limited. That is why planing to make the change is what we need.

]]> By: Jamie http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77551 Jamie Mon, 24 Aug 2009 23:05:32 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77551 My phone phobia is so severe that the idea of using the phone to call someone can force me to hold back tears at the very thought on some days. It hasn't really gotten better in the past five years, though I've had several jobs where phone use is required. I think the phobia might have actually influenced my career slightly - I never looked for any industries that required a lot of phonecalls. In my jobs, almost everything can be done by email. Much preferred. It's not bad for some people - I can talk to my friend who lives in another country on Skype with no issue. However, just hearing a phone ring that I might have to answer can trigger a minor anxiety attack. I have a minor hearing problem that makes it hard for me to understand people on phones (especially with ambient noise), so that probably started the problem. Unfortunately, it's not a problem that can be beaten overnight. My phone phobia is so severe that the idea of using the phone to call someone can force me to hold back tears at the very thought on some days. It hasn’t really gotten better in the past five years, though I’ve had several jobs where phone use is required.

I think the phobia might have actually influenced my career slightly – I never looked for any industries that required a lot of phonecalls. In my jobs, almost everything can be done by email. Much preferred.

It’s not bad for some people – I can talk to my friend who lives in another country on Skype with no issue. However, just hearing a phone ring that I might have to answer can trigger a minor anxiety attack.

I have a minor hearing problem that makes it hard for me to understand people on phones (especially with ambient noise), so that probably started the problem. Unfortunately, it’s not a problem that can be beaten overnight.

]]> By: marci http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77531 marci Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:28:52 +0000 http://poorerthanyou.com/2009/08/17/5-steps-to-curing-yourself-of-phone-phobia/#comment-77531 Yes I totally have a phone phobia! And my sister has a big one too. You are definitely not alone, and I'm glad I'm not either. I actually have a phobia answering phone calls too, not just dialing. I've gained a lot of anxiety over phone calls, even ones from family members. And I haven't found a way to fix it yet. Thanks for this post. Yes I totally have a phone phobia! And my sister has a big one too. You are definitely not alone, and I’m glad I’m not either. I actually have a phobia answering phone calls too, not just dialing. I’ve gained a lot of anxiety over phone calls, even ones from family members. And I haven’t found a way to fix it yet. Thanks for this post.

]]>