Phone Anxiety – Do you need to worry about it?

If you feel extremely conscious before and after a call, delay making phone calls, and get worried about what you will say on call you might be suffering from phone anxiety.

Anxiety is a universal emotion and all of us can relate to it. Phone anxiety is not typically phone phobia and the individuals are not scared of phones. The point to get afraid of is the judgments when they are on a phone call. Phone anxiety/phobia is also an aspect of social anxiety. In this session of discussion, we will understand the actual issue of phone anxiety, its stages, the issues related to it and lastly about the treatments of phone anxiety.

What in actual phone phobia is?

Why just talking on the phone can give anyone unbearable feeling of anxiety?

Whether it is a serious discussion with loved ones or just ordering pizza on a phone call what provokes this kind of distress?

According to psychologists: ‘’you can consider making a phone call as a performance, so the anxiety associated with it could be performance anxiety. Talking on the phone can become an agonizing task for the people who suffer from performance anxiety. The core fear related to it is becoming humiliated. A person with phone phobia remains afraid of being rejected.’’

Reasons of Phone Call Anxiety:

There may be some other reasons for phone anxiety also such as:

• A trauma: in case of getting some bad news over the phone people becomes furious about receiving phone calls every time the phone rings. This condition turns out as a response to a negative experience.
• Depression: In case of going through depression people don’t feel comfortable to talk and put feelings into words on a phone call.

Disliking the phone or phone blown anxiety:

Normally, some of us prefer not to make a phone call, but it’s not phone phobia or anxiety. The actual problem appears when making or attending a phone call starts creating impairing of day-to-day performance or starts distressing a person.

Stages of Phone Anxiety:

Phone anxiety is not a kind of joke. It becomes so overwhelming component of an individual’s life. Unfortunately, it’s still unavoidable although online options are increasing rapidly. A person with phone phobia feels a serious pressure on his/her nerves before, during, and after performing this simplest activity…making/receiving a phone call.

A person with phone anxiety goes through the following stages of phone phobia:

First Stage:

• In the first stage, fear starts creeping in. Chest tightens and the person goes through stretched muscles and nerves and their fight or flight instinct kicks in.

Second Stage:

• In the next stage, a situation of fear and panic appears but the individual still feels hope. Maybe there will be a way to avoid this call and a person starts finding a way around to get away to escape.

Third Stage:

• In the third stage, the person starts telling themselves it isn’t that difficult to make/receive a call. Sometimes that individual considers him/her self being silly this afraid of taking on the phone or they start trying to pump themselves to get motivated for the call. But the heart still beating fast and call is still not made.

Fourth Stage:

• In this step, an individual realizes that call is simply unavoidable and there is no other way. As the call happens brain goes a little blank and the person feels shivering and trembling.

Fifth Stage:

• In the last stage after completing the call, the person starts considering their self dump or fool. In some situations, a person starts judging others’ perceptions about them.

How to overcome Phone Anxiety?

Before discussing the tips to overcome phone anxiety it is important to understand:

Identify the core fears and thoughts:

Most important thing is to identify the actual reasons for anxiety. When you can recognize the cause of anxiety it becomes easier to handle it.

Face the fear:

The next thing is accepting reality and overcoming fear. It is a famous saying, ‘’ break your fears, approach it slowly, and consistently practice it’’.

Change the Attitude:

It is essential to consider yourself important and stop underestimating your abilities and capabilities. Self-confidence is the key to success and believing in yourself makes you strong to overcome any kind of fear and anxiety.

Tips to get over your Phone Anxiety:

There are several ways to deal with successfully with the issue of phone anxiety:

• Deep breathing is so beneficial in many ways. In dealing with phone anxiety it works amazingly. Taking deep breaths right before making a phone call is a good way to clear your thoughts and it ease stress. So inhale proper take a deep breath and make/receive the call.
• Before making a call it is better to write points about what you are going to say. Knowing what you need to say can eliminate a lot of anxiety, overcomes the nervousness, and provides confidence.
• After writing the phone call script it’s better to read it aloud a few times. Maybe you feel silly about it but rehearsal keeps it more natural and increases belief in yourself.
• Visualization is a well-researched technique that helps people to achieve their goals. So, visualize a positive conversation on phone calls can also keep you motivated and it might go as the way you planned.
• The simplest but hardest tip is practice. Yes, we all know that practice makes a man perfect. It is the only way to get better at something. Keep making calls and for further improvement make some more calls.
• You can also go with some non-verbal tricks that can help overcome the phone phobia such as try walking during the phone calls that could be more dynamic and engaging while you speak.
• Making a phone call while having a mirror in front of you could also work amazingly to help you speak comfortably on phone calls.
• You can also hold a pen, stress reliever or any other thing that can divert your attention and you can feel less stressed and anxious.

Conclusion:

Phone anxiety is a reality but dealing with it positively is a bigger reality. Never ignore the symptoms of phone anxiety because from a broader perspective it can turn out into a social anxiety disorder.

Be confident and believe in yourself. Don’t forget facing and dealing people live in front of you is a more difficult task you perform. If you can, then making/receiving a phone call is not a big deal at all. So keep calling and be happy. Please share your opinions related to phone anxiety and keep in touch with us.