Telephone phobia

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A visual representation of anxiety caused by a phone call La fortuna viene dal cielo 24.png
A visual representation of anxiety caused by a phone call

Telephone phobia (telephonophobia, telephobia, phone phobia) is reluctance or fear of making or taking phone calls, literally, "fear of telephones". [1] It is considered to be a type of social phobia or social anxiety. [1] It may be compared to glossophobia, in that both arise from having to engage with an audience, and the associated fear of being criticized, judged or made a fool of. [2]

Contents

As is common with other fears and phobias, there is a wide spectrum of severity of the fear of phone conversations and corresponding difficulties. [1] In 1993, it was reported that about 2.5 million people in Great Britain had telephone phobia. [3] A 2019 survey of UK office workers found that 40% of baby boomers and 70% of millennials experience anxious thoughts when the phone rings. [4]

The term "telephone apprehension" refers to a lower degree of telephone phobia, in which sufferers experience anxiety about the use of telephones, but to a less severe degree than that of an actual phobia. [5]

Sufferers may have no problem communicating face to face, but have difficulty doing so over the telephone.

Causes

A fear of receiving calls may range from fear of the action or thought of answering the phone to fear of its actual ringing. The ringing can generate a string of anxieties, characterized by thoughts associated with having to speak, perform and converse. [2] [6] Sufferers may perceive the other end as threatening or intimidating. [7] Anxiety may be triggered by concerns that the caller may bear bad or upsetting news, or be a prank caller.

Fear of making calls may be associated with concerns about finding an appropriate time to call, in fear of being a nuisance. [6] A sufferer calling a household or office in which they know several people may be concerned at the prospect of failing to recognize the voice of the person who answers, with resultant embarrassment. [6] Some sufferers may be anxious about having to "perform" in front of a real or perceived audience at their end of the line: this is a particular problem for those required to use a phone in the workplace. [6]

Fear of using the phone in any context (for either making or receiving calls) may be associated with anxiety about poor sound quality, and concerns that one or other party will not understand what has been said, resulting either in misunderstandings, or in the need for repetition, further explanation, or other potentially awkward forms of negotiation. These fears are often linked to the absence of body language over a phone line, and the individual fearing a loss of their sense of control. [6] [7] Sufferers typically report fear that they might fail to respond appropriately in the conversation, [1] or find themselves with nothing to say, leading to embarrassing silence or stuttering. [1] [6] Past experiences, such as receiving traumatic news, or enduring an unpleasant and angry call, may also play a part in creating fear. [2]

Symptoms

A variety of symptoms can be seen in someone suffering from telephone phobia, many of which are shared with anxiety. These symptoms may include nervous stomach, sweaty palms, [2] rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, dry mouth and trembling. The sufferer may experience feelings of panic, terror and dread. [8] Resulting panic attacks can include hyperventilation and stress. These negative and agitating symptoms can be produced by both the thought of making and receiving calls and the action of doing so.

Effects

Open-plan offices, in which phone conversations may be readily overheard by co-workers, pose particular challenges for sufferers from telephone phobia Good Smile Company offices ladies.jpg
Open-plan offices, in which phone conversations may be readily overheard by co-workers, pose particular challenges for sufferers from telephone phobia

The telephone is important for both contacting others and accessing important and useful services. As a result, this phobia causes a great deal of stress and impacts people's personal lives, work lives and social lives. [2] Sufferers avoid many activities, such as scheduling events or clarifying information. [9] Strain is created in the workplace because use of phones may play a crucial role within a career. [7]

Coping and avoidance strategies

Coping strategies may consist of planning the conversation ahead of time and rehearsing, writing or noting down what needs to be said. [2] [6] Anxiety may be lessened by having privacy in which to make a call, so that the sufferer need not be concerned about the conversation being overheard. [6]

Associated avoidance behaviour may include asking others (e.g. relatives at home) to take phone calls and exclusively using answering machines. [1] The rise in the use of electronic text-based communication (the Internet, email and text messaging) has given many sufferers alternative means of communication that they may find considerably less stressful than the phone. [6] At the same time, members of a younger generation who have grown up with digital communication increasingly find both making or receiving phone calls "intrusive", preferring to use media that allow them to "participate in the conversation at the pace [they] choose". [10] In the 2019 survey, 61% of UK millennial office workers reported that they would "display physical, anxiety-induced behaviours when they're the only ones in the office and the phone rings". [4]

Sufferers may find it helpful to explain the nature of the phobia to friends, so that a failure to respond to messages is not misinterpreted as rudeness or an unwillingness to communicate.

Treatment

Phobias of this sort can usually be treated by different types of therapies, including: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), psychotherapy, behavior therapy and exposure therapy. [8]

Practice may play an important part in overcoming fear. It may be helpful to sufferers to increase phone usage at a slow pace, starting with simple calls and gradually working their way up. For example, they may find it easier to start with automated calls, move on to conversations with family and friends, and then further extend both the length of conversations and the range of people with whom conversations are held. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avoid the situation or object, to a degree greater than the actual danger posed. If the object or situation cannot be avoided, they experience significant distress. Other symptoms can include fainting, which may occur in blood or injury phobia, and panic attacks, often found in agoraphobia and emetophobia. Around 75% of those with phobias have multiple phobias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anxiety disorder</span> Cognitive disorder with an excessive, irrational dread of everyday situations

Anxiety disorders are a cluster of mental disorders characterized by significant and uncontrollable feelings of anxiety and fear such that a person's social, occupational, and personal functions are significantly impaired. Anxiety may cause physical and cognitive symptoms, such as restlessness, irritability, easy fatigue, difficulty concentrating, increased heart rate, chest pain, abdominal pain, and a variety of other symptoms that may vary based on the individual.

Specific phobia is an anxiety disorder, characterized by an extreme, unreasonable, and irrational fear associated with a specific object, situation, or concept which poses little or no actual danger. Specific phobia can lead to avoidance of the object or situation, persistence of the fear, and significant distress or problems functioning associated with the fear. A phobia can be the fear of anything.

Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking. The word glossophobia derives from the Greek γλῶσσα glossa (tongue) and φόβος phobos The causes of glossophobia are uncertain but explanations include communibiology and the illusion of transparency. Further explanations range from nervousness produced by a lack of preparation to, one of the most common psychiatric disorders, social anxiety disorder (SAD).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claustrophobia</span> Fear of small spaces

Claustrophobia is a fear of confined spaces. It is triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators, especially when crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, and hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows. Even bedrooms with a lock on the outside, small cars, and tight-necked clothing can induce a response in those with claustrophobia. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herpetophobia</span> Fear of reptiles

Herpetophobia is a common specific phobia, which consists of fear or aversion to reptiles, commonly lizards and snakes, and similar vertebrates as amphibians. It is one of the most diffused animal phobias, very similar and related to ophidiophobia. This condition causes a slight to severe emotional reaction, for example anxiety, panic attack or most commonly nausea. Herpetophobia is a common phobia and comes in many forms. Some people have fears of just looking at a reptile, some have fears of touching a reptile, and some cannot even stand knowing a reptile is in their space. Due to the specific type of phobia, there are no individual statistics for those who suffer from herpetophobia. Not everyone who is scared or has a fear of reptiles has herpetophobia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fear of needles</span> Phobia of injections or needles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heliophobia</span> Fear of the sun

Heliophobia is the fear of the Sun, sunlight, or any bright light. It is a type of specific phobia.

Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. It is classified as a type of specific phobia, meaning it is evaluated and diagnosed based on the experience of high levels of fear and anxiety beyond what is reasonable when exposed to or in anticipation of exposure to stimuli related to the particular concept. William A. Hammond first coined the term in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nomophobia</span> Fear or dislike of not having mobile phone

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social anxiety disorder</span> Anxiety disorder associated with social situations

Social anxiety disorder (SAD), also known as social phobia, is an anxiety disorder characterized by sentiments of fear and anxiety in social situations, causing considerable distress and impairing ability to function in at least some aspects of daily life. These fears can be triggered by perceived or actual scrutiny from others. Individuals with social anxiety disorder fear negative evaluations from other people.

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Genuphobia is the fear of one's own knees or someone else's knees or the act of kneeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trypophobia</span> Fear or disgust of objects with repetitive patterns of small holes or bumps

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lilapsophobia</span> Fear of tornadoes or hurricanes

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Hedonophobia is an excessive fear or aversion to obtaining pleasure. The purported background of some such associated feelings may be due to an egalitarian-related sentiment, whereby one feels a sense of solidarity with individuals in the lowest Human Development Index countries. For others, a recurring thought that some things are too good to be true has resulted in an ingrainedness that they are not entitled to feel too good. Sometimes, it can be triggered by a religious upbringing wherein asceticism is propounded.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Submechanophobia</span> Fear of submerged man-made objects

Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater. These objects could be shipwrecks, statues, sea mines, animatronics as seen in theme parks, or old buildings, but also more mundane items such as buoys, chains, and miscellaneous debris.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marshall, John R. (1995). "Telephone Phobia". Social Phobia: From Shyness to Stage Fright . New York: BasicBooks. p.  30. ISBN   0-465-07896-6. telephone phobia.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Doctor, Ronald M. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Phobias, Fears, and Anxieties . New York: Facts On File. p.  493. ISBN   0-8160-3989-5.
  3. ↑ Keeble, Richard (2001). The Newspapers Handbook (3rd ed.). London: Routledge. p. 64. ISBN   0-415-24083-2.
  4. 1 2 "Phone anxiety affects over half of UK office workers". Face for Business. 26 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-03.
  5. ↑ Fielding, Richard G. (November 1990). Telephone apprehension: a study of individual differences in attitudes to, and usage of the telephone (doctoral). Sheffield City Polytechnic. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Scott, Susie (2007). Shyness and Society: the illusion of competence . Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. pp.  105–9. ISBN   9781403996039.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Rowlands, Barbara (24 August 1993). "Health: Don't call me, please, and I won't call you: To most of us, the ringing of the phone is at least a potential pleasure. But to some it is a source of anguish" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-26. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  8. 1 2 "Telephonophobia". Right Diagnosis. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  9. ↑ "Break the bipolar cycle: a day-by-day guide to living with bipolar disorder", by Elizabeth Brondolo, Xavier Amador, p. 179
  10. ↑ Buchanan, Daisy (26 August 2016). "Wondering why that millennial won't take your phone call? Here's why". The Guardian . Retrieved 2019-05-03.
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