[Cornucopia]

I do not have social anxiety, but I do have phone anxiety.

It’s a funny thing, though- for if I just start talking with someone on the phone it often becomes a lengthy conversation. And I don’t have any bad experiences with it.
There is a handful of people I can talk to on the phone without feeling this anxiety crawl through my body. Most of the time I don’t answer the phone.
For me it’s not all about the body language either. It’s also the fact I find it hard to pay attention, and I have problems with starting and ending conversations. (Lol, that’s probably one of the reasons it ends up taking forever before done talking…)

What about you?

Yep. I'm getting over it but I was really bad. I wouldn't call to order pizza. If I had to book a hair appt, I would go in person. My friends don't call me unless its an emergency because I won't answer (but call back if its serious). I do not enjoy talking on the phone. I'm getting better, but I will never love it.

[fluff-n-stuff]

Originally Posted by TheSadGirl

Yep. I'm getting over it but I was really bad. I wouldn't call to order pizza. If I had to book a hair appt, I would go in person. My friends don't call me unless its an emergency because I won't answer (but call back if its serious). I do not enjoy talking on the phone. I'm getting better, but I will never love it.

I am exactly. I will talk to my children and my husband if necessary, but even then it's painful. My brother doesn't get it. It's the phone or nothing. We don't talk much.

I put "No" in the poll because generally I don't have a phone anxiety, but that's mostly because of the nature of my phone experiences. With family, friends, doctors, and spam callers (as I call them) I'm just fine. When I used to work I knew my job so extremely well that I had 100% confidence, so I didn't have any phone anxiety then. But I have once tried a phone Hotline volunteer job at NAMI where I had to answer questions on the spot about information I didn't know that well. I'd have to end up putting them on hold and researching the information they wanted. Having that pressure was anxiety-provoking at times. On the whole I prefer responding to questions via e-mail. It gives me plenty of time to do research or to think very carefully about my communication. I do NOT have any anxiety about writing.

I have sometimes had cases of stage fright. Not really when I've talked or presented information face-to-face to just a few people, but I have when many people were watching and listening to me. Particularly if I was talking about a topic I wasn't 100% knowledgeable about or if it was a sensitive topic. I actually had an experience talking in front of a huge church full of people when hypomanic once (when I was about 16). At the time I had no fear, but after my hypomania wore off and I realized some of what I said, I was mortified. That experience exacerbated my stage fright in the future.

I never used to have a social anxiety, but my therapist says I do now. I think a mild social anxiety has developed during the years of my disability. But it's not a total social anxiety. I'm perfectly confident talking to even strangers in public. In fact, I'm kind of extroverted in that sense. But maybe this "social anxiety" she refers to is more of a performance anxiety in a sense, again, something I never used to have. It seems to only show itself when I try to go beyond just the normal interactions. It's shown when I had to perform in a setting that seemed like a "test" or when I am in a situation where I'm trying to make new friends in more than a superficial way. I'm OK if I am just not trying to make friends. It's hard to explain, maybe. Part of it has sprung from my isolation and rejection over the years.

[Guiness187055]

I have horrible phone anxiety I always have.

[Zigy]

I have awful telephone anxiety. Just to make a call, I procrastinate or opt for email or text whenever possible. If the phone rings I jump and my anxiety spikes. Once on the phone, I start having even worse anxiety, get hot flashes, start trembling, stuttering and sweating. I've had this all my life. I use less that 30 minutes of my voice plan a month, if even.

[Wonderfalls]

When I had a job at HUD answering phones I made up a cheat sheet with all the information people were likely, or even unlikely, to ask for (oddly,legal aid and even sexual violence help) complete with phone numbers and names, if I could get them. That helped a lot with anxiety working the phones.

For making calls in regular life a beta blocker might help. It won't mess you up like a benzo might but it could at least take care of the physical symptoms like shakes and heart-pounding etc.

[Unrigged64072835]

I end up missing a lot of important calls because of it. If they don't leave a voicemail I don't call them back. I also get a lot of telemarketers, though.