[Shazerac]

Do any of you hide from you cell phone when you’re having a bad day/week/month? I’ve noticed I do that when I’m depressed or agitated. I don’t conciously do it. I just go to use my phone and find it the bottom of my purse with a dead battery and covered with lint and tobacco crumbs. I guess it’s part of isolation thing. I don’t want to talk to anyone for fear I’ll come across as a sad sack or an irritating beotch. I feel obligated to over compensate and put on the happy clown hat. “Oh everything is fine and wonderful.” (I say when I’m a quivering mass of protoplasm cowering in bed with a pillow over my head.)

I think that part of it is even though I logically understand that bipolar is an illness, part me is still embarrassed and ashamed. I put stigma on my own self. Go figure.

[bizi]

Originally Posted by Shazerac

Do any of you hide from you cell phone when you’re having a bad day/week/month? I’ve noticed I do that when I’m depressed or agitated. I don’t conciously do it. I just go to use my phone and find it the bottom of my purse with a dead battery and covered with lint and tobacco crumbs. I guess it’s part of isolation thing. I don’t want to talk to anyone for fear I’ll come across as a sad sack or an irritating beotch. I feel obligated to over compensate and put on the happy clown hat. “Oh everything is fine and wonderful.” (I say when I’m a quivering mass of protoplasm cowering in bed with a pillow over my head.)

I think that part of it is even though I logically understand that bipolar is an illness, part me is still embarrassed and ashamed. I put stigma on my own self. Go figure.

I am sorry you feel this way. Do you have a therapist with whom you could work on these feelings.
I wish you could feel better about yourself.
nothing to be ashamed about.
(((((HUGS))))
bizi

[Shazerac]

Thanks Bizi. I’m not currently seeing a therapist, just my Pdoc. She’s new because my previous doc retired. I kind of don’t like her. I’m careful what I say because her solution to any problem is to try and throw more Meds at me.

I probably do need get up the courage/energy to find a therapist. I just hate going through the get to know you part of the process. I always end up feeling like my nerves have been scraped raw with a cheese grater.

[FallDuskTrain]

Originally Posted by Shazerac

Do any of you hide from you cell phone when you’re having a bad day/week/month? I’ve noticed I do that when I’m depressed or agitated. I don’t conciously do it. I just go to use my phone and find it the bottom of my purse with a dead battery and covered with lint and tobacco crumbs. I guess it’s part of isolation thing. I don’t want to talk to anyone for fear I’ll come across as a sad sack or an irritating beotch. I feel obligated to over compensate and put on the happy clown hat. “Oh everything is fine and wonderful.” (I say when I’m a quivering mass of protoplasm cowering in bed with a pillow over my head.)


I think that part of it is even though I logically understand that bipolar is an illness, part me is still embarrassed and ashamed. I put stigma on my own self. Go figure.

Yes, I have been doing it for the last 12+ years...there are weeks and sometimes months that I do not communicate with anyone at all. Not even my mother.
I don’t have my notifications on so I need to actively make the choice of checking my messages.

When I'm not doing well I deactivate Facebook (my only social media) and hide. When I'm really not doing well I ignore texts too. The more I ignore, the more people worry, the more they contact me. But hey, at least they care.

[Apokolips]

I don’t have to hide, nobody really ever calls or texts me.

[Shazerac]

Originally Posted by Apokolips

I don’t have to hide, nobody really ever calls or texts me.

Umm...I guess that’s a good thing? If it works for you. I love your name by the way. It’s hilarious. My lips turn into apokolips when I’m in a weird mood.

[Apokolips]

Lol thanks. Not body calls me but family because i’m not a talk on the phone person, I’m an internet person. You can always find me online but if you are not one of like my five inner circle people i won’t answer my phone. I’ve also been Apokolips online for about ten years now lol.

[emgreen]

I don't answer my phone or answer messages when I'm depressed. I don't hide the phone because I do answer calls & texts from my girlfriend...the consequences of ignoring her might be bad!

[Shazerac]

Originally Posted by emgreen

I don't answer my phone or answer messages when I'm depressed. I don't hide the phone because I do answer calls & texts from my girlfriend...the consequences of ignoring her might be bad!

LOL

NOOoo don’t do that. It might result in the loss of girlfriendal privileges. Wouldn’t want that!

Nope.

I still talk to people when I'm not feeling well. I don't actually say that I'm not feeling well, though, because I don't want people pitying me or asking questions. Both of those things really agitate me and exacerbate the negative thoughts. I just don't want to be asked about things that remind me of why I'm feeling bad... because I'm actually trying to distract myself from those bad feelings!

[Aviza]

Originally Posted by Apokolips

I don’t have to hide, nobody really ever calls or texts me.

Same here. I'm the one who call or text people.

[Guiness187055]

I hide from my phone all the time

[Wild Coyote]

When I am not feeling well, my phone is "elsewhere," taking messages.


WC

No. I probably should, but the only destruction ever brought on by a phone, was me.

If I'm not well, I put it on silent night. I'm not locked up in here with you. You're locked up in here with ME!

I totally do this. I'm phone phobic at the best of times, but when I'm depressed, forget about it. I'm lucky (?) in not really having anyone contact me, so there's that. Still, sometimes there's some kind of "officialdom" call to deal with. Those are the WORST, since the consequences of blowing them off can be dire...

[jmariah001]

I don't necessarily hide from it I just put it on silent when I don't want to be bothered. There is a feature called do not disturb it sends calls to voicemail automatically when someone calls. I use the feature all the time. Especially on days when I don't feel like talking. Like lately.

[BipolaRNurse]

I call my version of this telephonophobia. I hate talking on the phone and would rather communicate in person or online. I have several friends whom I speak with on a regular basis, but we always "talk" through text or on Facebook Messenger. It's normal for me to have a three-hour conversation that way. Once my daughter and I had a marathon texting session over two days! LOL

[*Laurie*]

I'm not a phone person. I have a very basic cell phone for car emergencies and the very occasional quick phone call or text. 10 days can slip by before I remember to check messages or texts.

[Pookyl]

Oh yes. I hide from my phone all the time. In addition I bump everyone to VM.

[RainyDay107]

I avoid my phone. My one girlfriend...we aren’t friends anymore, it seems. She drives past my house everyday to and from work. We live on the same street. My S.O. is great, but a girlfriend or two would be nice. I was very social and had some very close friends until mental illness. I know I need to make an effort but this agoraphobia smothers me. Trying harder via new T.

So, I check my phone only when I don’t have my daughter. I’m ok with text.

Hope you’re ok, Shaz. xo, RainyDay

[Mini2018]

I turn mine off first thing in the morning. 20 seconds awake and I know what I can take. No phone means no emails either. I block and unblock people depending on my mood. Turning the phone off makes me feel less guilty than rejecting or ignoring a call. I wish we could live without them.

[scatterbrained04]

A lot of times I want to hide from my phone. However, most of my incoming texts and calls are work related, so I can only hide so much. I usually only respond to the ones that truly need a response and keep the responses short. I try to keep it to texts rather than talking on the phone when I'm not doing well.

[Unrigged64072835]

I usually ignore calls unless I'm expecting one for health stuff. Otherwise if it's important enough--that's what voicemail is for. If I get a robo-dialler, though, I block the number.

There are very few people that text me--my husband and daughter mostly--so I don't ignore that unless I want someone barging in to see if I'm okay.

I wish I could have RL friends but I'm socially awkward, more so now with the med side effects.

[Sliders]

Yes, when I'm feeling unwell I do tend to hide from my phone.