Paranoid About Phone Calls

[Deleted member 38644]

I know I haven't started treatment yet and this is all new to me with awesome advice but now I find myself getting scared when the phone rings. With me being the way I am I tell people to let me know what number they call from or I won't answer the phone. When a person calls me I send them a text

 

[Flong]

I know I haven't started treatment yet and this is all new to me with awesome advice but now I fi...

For the last three years I've had my phone on permanent silent mode. That way I can look at it when I choose to. Try that for a few days if you like...It's REALLY worked for me.

 

[Deleted member 38644]

I been paranoid for a while but probably haven't even noticed it. My phone has reset and that classic phone ring that sound like a ringing bell comes on. I will try this.

For the last three years I've had my phone on permanent silent mode. That way I can look at it when I cho...

 

[Heather]

I know this isn't the same thing but I have major anxiety about opening my mail...sometimes it sits for days...even weeks.

PTSD...can affect each person in different ways.

Can you reset your ringtone to something that isn't so anxiety provoking?

:hug:'s. It'll get better.

 

[VioletButterfly]

Yes, I turn my phone off and turn it over so that I can't see the face. Only check it every few hours. This will change as job applications are now going out, but it has really helped me. I'll turn it over now, but the ringer stays off. Hoping you can find a workable solution for yourself.

 

[Deleted member 38644]

I rarely check my mailbox. I rarely check anything. My emails are over 5000 I dont delete anything and idk why

 

[barefoot]

I'm very phone-phobic too. At work, I rarely answered my phone. I would hope the caller would leave a voicemail, then I'd get back to them (on email unless I knew it would be an extremely short call for me to phone them back) And if I had to make a more difficult/lengthy call, especially to someone I didn't really know, I would have to write notes/a script, rehearse it, book a private meeting room so no one could hear etc.

I even hate things like phoning the hairdresser to book an appointment. Online booking systems are definitely the way forward!

Some good suggestions here though about putting some strategies in place so that incoming calls feel more manageable and less intrusive.

 

[Deleted member 38644]

Thanjk you

I'm very phone-phobic too. At work, I rarely answered my phone. I would hope the caller would leave a...

 

[Sophie's Daddy]

I know I haven't started treatment yet and this is all new to me with awesome advice but now I fi...

I'm with you; the pollsters calling to get my "honest opinion " about last November's election-a major stressor for me - was relentless.

Because I recently got a new smart phone, which is my lifeline given my chronic amnesia from multiple head injuries (cptsd, too?), it's my memory.

From medication reminders to md appts, I'm linked to my phone, so ignoring it completely isn't an option for me.

Plus, I forget where I put my phone a lot, so the ringing of my meds alarm is actually a relief, since not knowing where it is is a constant stressor for me.

In this way at least my phone's not the problem it could be.
So I've turned off the ringer and routinely block calls I don't want.

Thankfully, I'm in Mexico for the winter and my calling plan doesn't cross the border. (It's also why the Mexican flag appears on my posts!)

My only phone communication now is by wifi, and I've never felt so "left alone " by a world I've always felt such difficulty fitting into.

Plus there's no real mail service here to make me feel bad about ignoring my mail. Like Heather, I avoid it; it's always uninvited junk anyway.

And though my Spanish is okay, I totally look American, so I can use the language barrier to pick and choose my interactions.

Oh, and yes, my 85 lb service dog Sophie tends to also weed out uninvited strangers.

No matter where I'm at though, voice mail is my saving grace; anyone who really wants to talk to me can leave a message. The same thing might work for you too.

Peace and best wishes to you, Lauren, Rich

 

[The Albatross]

I hope, Lauren, that in time with treatment you will be able to acquire and form tools and skills to manage your life rather than to seek to control and limit your environment.

 

[J'qel]

I loathe talking on the phone, oddly enough my time at a call center making reservations, I loved. I think it has to be an actual phone, not a headset. A "friend" of mine used to (we were twelve) make some pretty raunchy calls to boys she knew and then randomly shove the phone in my hands and then proceed to try and get me to say things (I wouldn't) and then would ridicule me for it with her friends later. She did this for years.

I hate being on the phone. With anyone. I despise being handed a phone even more. Just can't shake that reaction of revulsion.

 

[Freedomfighter]

I know I haven't started treatment yet and this is all new to me with awesome advice but now I fi...

Any unexpected noises can scare me, I also am aware of the fact that that is a large part of PTSD. I hate noise pollution.