Many of us don’t love using the telephone for its intended purpose – ya know, making or receiving calls. But when that dislike causes symptoms such as shortness of breath or a racing pulse, you may have what is known as phone anxiety or telephobia. This type of anxiety is common among those with social anxiety disorder. Keep reading to understand phone anxiety and how to manage it.
Symptoms
If you have telephone anxiety, you may experience the following symptoms:
- Anxiety before or after a phone call
- Delay in making or answering phone calls
- Obsess over conversations after a call
- Worry about embarrassing yourself
- Worry about being a bother
- Increased heart rate
- Nausea
- Shaking
- Difficulty concentrating
Why Do People Experience Phone Anxiety?
There are several reasons why you may experience phone anxiety. They include:
- Due to a lack of facial expressions, body language, and gestures, you don’t know what the other person is thinking.
- You may feel that time is of the essence on a phone call – unlike when you send an email or text, where you can correct yourself and rephrase or reword statements.
- Phone calls might feel awkward when it’s just you and another person conversing.
- With new technologies, younger generations are less used to phone calls for means of communication than their parents or grandparents – and therefore have a harder time making them.
Overcoming Telephobia
Here are some tips for overcoming phone anxiety.
Exposure and Practice
Start with a call to a friend or family member to ask a simple question, a colleague about a work problem, or an old friend to catch up. The more you talk on the phone, the easier it can be.
Prepare Talking Points
Having a note with the points you’d like to make during your phone conversation will keep you from getting too jumbled. This can also reduce your fear of forgetting why you called.
Get Excited
This sounds silly, but you can convince yourself that you’re excited to make a call. Write down or say out loud that you can’t wait to make that phone call – and you may actually get more excited!
Smile
When we say you can hear a smile, we mean it. Smiling over the line makes everyone feel more at ease, relaxed, and focused.
Don’t Forget to Breathe and Pace Yourself
In the moments leading up to a phone call, remember that we’re all human. Take a few deep breaths. And take your time. Reflect afterward and ask yourself, “Was that experience so terrible?”