Phone Phobia

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Im another one.
I even get anxiety about friends.
Have to think about whether or not Im feeling up to answering the phone a lot of the time.
At work I don't so much mind answering the phone as returning phone calls.

[beansbeans!]

Im another one,

But I get it over calling immediate family and close friends. Currently my cousin rang me a couple of months ago to see if I wanted to go to a concert with he and his wife. I have to call back to say if I got tickets or not and to make plans. The concert is next month, we are not going yet I just cant bring myself to ring him. Same goes with my aunt, my mum and brother even.
Its the same with the mil, I had to return her call last week, and couldnt because I didnt know her number, its the sme number they have had for years, but I dont know it, I always get Dh to ring.
Same with appts, calling companies like the electricity or gas companies.

I also rarely answer the phone, I am quite happy to let it go to message bank, and I will hear the message when I am ready. My mobile, I rarely answer it even if I know who is calling!

Im bad here

[forshelby]

I was the same for a long time. Until I took a job as an outbound telesales person. Nothing cures you faster than making 300+ calls to strangers every day. After that, I switched to inbound customer service which helped even more. Now when I need to make an appointment, enquiry etc, I just put on my 'phone voice' lol.

Obviously that isn't a practical solution though, but I thought I'd share details of my miraculous recovery from phoneophobia FWIW, I still hate private number calls. I just don't answer those cause I don't want to yell at telemarketers. Poor buggers.