We all have our little quirks. Some of us, admittedly, have a few more than others. The real problem is when these idiosyncrasies begin to interfere with our daily lives. There are some things that most people take for granted as just part of life, part of the everyday, that end up becoming problems for a select few.
Take me, for example. I'm a fairly logical person in most situations, yes I'm a little shy when it comes to dealing with people I don't know well, but I'm getting better about that. (and no, this blog does not count when I'm talking about that, because I am safe behind my very thin wall of pseudo-anonymity, which makes me feel better even though I know it's a farce.) The big problem for me is the telephone*. I cannot stand talking on the phone. When I say that I can't stand it, I mean that I will avoid it if at all possible. I cannot and will not talk on the phone with another person in the room. Even if I'm ordering a pizza, I have to be alone and it takes a good bit of effort to make the call. If I am calling for anything beyond ordering food (i.e. any sort of real conversation), it may take me a good five minutes to work up to being able to dial the number. (The bottom line here, email me instead.) I have no idea why this is such an issue for me, but it is. This may be just a normal everyday thing for everyone else, and it may even be enjoyable for many people, but for me it is almost impossible.
So, what about you? Are there any sort of normal everyday things that are just part of life that you absolutely dread? Or am I the only one that's completely messed up?
*For some reason, this, like many of my weird issues, does not seem to apply to work. I can be completely confident and can even carry on normal conversations over the phone at work. I wish I knew what the difference was, because it might be useful.
March 14, 2007
We're All Self Conscious, I'm Just The First To Admit It
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8 comments:
I'm with you on this one. I hate to talk on the phone. Even with people that I'm fairly comfortable with. I have to deep breathe and calm myself down before hand. I thought I was the only one!
Oh no, Ithcy. Not alone at all. It doesn't seem to matter if I'm calling people I have known forever and am incredibly comfortable with and care about. It's not quite panic attack level anxiety, but it certainly isn't pleasant.
I hate talking on the phone too. I make sure the room is quiet, that I have any and all paperwork I might need.
Often, I'll sit down and type out all the questions or points I want to make in an almost scripted format, including my name and phone number in case they ask for it - so I won't say "UMMM..."
I hate talking on the phone too. I would find all kinds of ways around it and always made my roommate call to order pizza. Then I studied abroad in France. The first phone call I had to make in French was really hard - I was calling my host family from a pay phone to say that I'd be late for dinner and I had to psych myself up and walk around town for a while to work up the nerve. But the nice thing was that once I got back to the US, calling the pizza man was so much easier by comparison, because at least I got to speak English!
I hate the phone as well. I don't even make the call to order pizza anymore. I just order online instead.
I'm ok talking on the phone to almost anyone except when ordering food. Then I definitely can't be in the room with other people. That happened last night and I was totally self conscious.
CRSE, That seems so strange. Shouldn't we be able to talk to friends and family more? I have no problem talking to them in person, but if I pick up a phone, my heart pounds and I feel like I need more oxygen. The thing that bothers me the most about this is that I know how absurd it is, but that doesn't solve anything.
Anyway, it's good to know that others out there have similar issues.
I used to be the same way, but in my job I probably spend at least half of my day on the phone with various people all around our company and with external vendors. Over the years, I've gotten better about it. I guess you could say that my incessant need for a paycheck forced me to overcome that anxiety. But I still get a little racing heartbeat going on when I do even simple things like calling for Chinese take-out.
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