The Inescapable Hell of Phone Call Anxiety

There’s a specific kind of dread that hits when you see your phone screen light up with an incoming call. No, it’s not the “I’ve been waiting for this” excitement, but rather the “What fresh hell is this?” panic. You know the feeling — the cold sweat, the sudden loss of ability to function as a human being. It’s as if answering the phone will plunge you into a life-or-death situation, and let’s be honest, it might as well.

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I’ve tried every trick in the book to avoid answering calls. I’ve pretended I didn’t hear the phone ring (even when I was holding it), faked bad signal (“Hello? Hello? I’m losing you!”), and once, I even went so far as to accidentally drop my phone in a glass of water just to dodge a conversation I wasn’t mentally prepared for. Desperate times, desperate measures.

The worst part is when it’s a number you don’t recognize. Is it a scam? Is it the doctor’s office? Is it that one distant relative you’ve only met twice but who somehow thinks you’re best friends? Or, worst of all, is it a real emergency? No amount of inner pep talks can convince me that it’s probably just a benign call about renewing my car’s extended warranty.

The ringing continues, mocking me. Should I answer? Should I let it go to voicemail? Spoiler alert: I always let it go to voicemail. And then comes the next layer of anxiety —…