How many people here do not answe the phone based on anxiety of what a coversation may be about?

[AlwayzRight]

Just curious....do you just let the call go to voicemail?

[Hermes]

I can only reply by asking: what would constitute an anxiety-producing conversation? If you think you are being stalked by phone, for example, it would be time to report it to the phone company/the police/ and change your number.

 

If you suspect it is someone boring, for example, then you can lift the phone, realise it is him or her, and smartly announce you are in the midst of cooking/washing your hair/etc.

 

Hermes

[eggplant47]

There are a few people in my life that I do hesitate to pick up with. Just because they are extrememly chatty and unable to pick up on the standard cues that somebody (me) is trying to end/exit the conversation!! So I only answer if I know I have an hour or more of free time.

 

Text messaging is a wonderful way to communicate with people you aren't ready to get stuck in a whole conversation with!

[WomanWriter]

LOL...always. It doesn't matter who it is (even my mom). I almost always screen my calls unless I am expecting someone to call me. I get nervous answering the phone spontaneously. It catches me off guard.

[jul-els]

I don't really care for using the phone much, but if I get a call I don't answer unless it's someone I know. If it is, I'll answer unless I'm too busy at that particular moment. The conversations don't bother me, it's just the phone itself that I find to be something of a nuisance.

[annie24]

No. Maybe if i'm cranky and don't feel like talking on the phone, then yes. or if i'm busy i don't answer. but i don't avoid picking up out of anxiety.

[mfan]

I also get anxious when the phone rings - the spontaneity scares me. It could be my bestest friend ever calling me, but I feel like I have to go from energy level 0 to energy level 100 before I'm ready to answer it, and I rarely do. I have to build up the nerve to call back.

[shuttlefish]

Call display - one of 20th centuries greatest inventions!

[Cognitive_Canine]

I only screen my mom...

 

It sounds bad but she'll call me multiple times per day if she had it her way. That woman seriously stresses me out. I don't use my voicemail anymore unless I'm expecting a call from a job offer or someone I'm trying to network with. All of my messages are my mom saying "call me!". So, I just clear them out when I'm expecting a call.

[Hermes]

I have to say, sincerely, that the phone does not cause me any anxiety. I rarely get calls from people I do not know (they don't have my number!). Because I am self-employed naturally enough I have to answer the phone, and do so automatically.

 

My friends and acquaintances are well aware of what is the best time to call me, unless there is something urgent.

As with everything else in life, you simply set your boundaries.

 

Hermes

[Hermes]

Agree entirely, Shuttlefish! Great invention.

 

Hermes

[Salicia]

I don't. Most of the time I really don't know what the conversations over the phone may end up being with other people through switching subjects. The majority of my anxiety comes from approaching other people in person about something, regardless of what it may be. I think it's the auditory/visual element that a conversation over the phone doesn't have.

[Brightest Dark]

I'm not a big phone person. I usually answer the landline but not so much my cell phone - unless it's a friend I want to talk to. Most of the time I don't answer because I don't really get too many phone calls, I usually talk to my friends via email, fb etc so if it is a phone call there's a high chance it is someone wanting something or trying to sell something! So then I don't really want to speak to them. lol. I'll answer it if I'm expecting a call, obviously.

[citymouse]

Just curious....do you just let the call go to voicemail?

 

Yes pretty much.

 

In fact right now I am seriously avoiding a drama queen co-worker who has called twice this evening ... I have a feeling it's more nonsense and I'll surely have to hear about it tomorrow morning, so for the meantime I'm pouring a glass of wine and letting it go to voicemail!