Does anyone else dread the house phone ringing?

[sundayrose10]

I have quite a bit of phobia of it. When it rings, it stops me right in my tracks. I think it's because I have a large demanding family (they're are a great bunch) but always needing favours or they want to come round. I need to learn to say NO more often. I think I have always hated the phone.

I rarely answer it and sometimes even switch of mobile phone off.

[stoppinchingthedummy]

Yes i hate it too because it means i have to move my lazy arse off the sofastop cleaning

[TrillianAstra]

Turn the ringer off.

[stoppinchingthedummy]

damn it didnt cross it out!!!

[PumpkinBones]

I wouldn't say I dread it but I often don't answer it, because I too have a large demanding family, plus children try and wrestle phone out of my hand irrespective of who I am speaking too, plus it is a corded phone (can't have a cordless one, handset always disappears to be found in toliet / freezer, etc) so the DS's take advantage of me being tethered to forage in cupboards and empty out drawers.

[Ineedalife]

I hate the phone too. Mine is unplugged at the moment because I don't want to talk to my mother.

I get on better with texting. Iwas terrified of the phone as a child but have got better. I still hate phoning people like the inland revenue etc.

Don't worry you are not alone

[joric]

I ignore the phone, wait for a min. and dial 1471.. Family and friend's get a call straight back.

[sundayrose10]

I do turn the ringer off but then x amount of messages that I never answer my phone and granny is now ill...you get the picture.

I am thinking if it's a deep rooted thing. Even as a small child, I hated the sound of the phone. How I cope in the office, I do not know.

[CharlieCoCo]

i hate the phone too, i hate answering it and calling people, think i have a phobia, much prefer text, email, even Skype

[borderslass]

Ours is diverted to DH's mobile for the taxi bliss.

[Lifeissweet]

Mostly the people I want to talk to use my mobile. My house phone is for cold callers and my MIL. For this reason I always let it ring out and then try 1471. I hate it too.

[rebl]

I hate the phone. I rarely make a call out, normally get dh to do it for me. So you are not alone.

[M0naLisa]

i did when Debt companies were ringing every god given second of the day

[elmofan]

Yes but only when it's the in-laws ringing
"caller ID" ?

[TheMagnificentBathykolpian]

It is the association, isn't it. Like you said - family always making demands of you. brrring brring means what? a demand will be made of you? phone = bad news? phone = trouble?

The reason you cope better at work is a work phone is 'safer'. Doesn't carry the same risk. Work phone is work demands, not your relatives!

I think it is very clear that to eliminate what you call your phone phobia, what you really need to do is deal with your relatives.

[80sMum]

I agree with you OP. I don't like the sudden 'invasion' of the phone ringing either. But you don't have to answer it if it's not convenient. We have caller ID, so can see who's calling, which helps!

[diddl]

Don´t dread it, but rarely answer when I don´t recognise the number.

(Don´t always answer when I do-sometimes I don´t feel like chatting)

[LineRunner]

I have a decent home phone - though it wasn't massively expensive - that has caller display. You can enter your contacts like a mobile, so you know who is calling, or which number the caller is ringing from if they're not already a known contact.

You could get one like this, and maybe set it to go onto answerphone after, say, 4 rings.

You can set the recoding time for messages. I have it on 1 minute maximum.

There is also a 'greet only' option where you can record a message which simply says, Sorry we can't come to phone right now, please ring back later; no messages are accepted and it rings off.

And turn the ringer off if you want peace and quiet. A home phone is for your convenience, not others'.

I am a great believer that anyone who needs to contact me in a emergency WILL be able to. Family know to text me on my mobile. The police would come to the door. Most phone calls are pointless drivel.

YANBU!

[Kayano]

I hate it because it is either:

The bank doing a random survey
An Indian call centre asking for a Mrs Ferguson, and when I tell them there is not one here they decide I am an acceptable alternative and I have to hang up

Or

Someone wanting to book driving lessons. Stupid BT gave us an old business number

[LisaD1]

I used to hate it as the only calls we got on it were cold calls or people we didn't really want to talk to at that particular moment, so we have ditched the landline altogether, saves us £60 as quarter and no calls we don't want :-)

We have 3 mobiles in the house (mine/DH & DD1) so no need for a landline.

[Shoutymomma]

I hate it. I think it is because the phone requires immediate attention. A text or email will happily sit silently waiting for you to be ready to reply, but the phone... oh no. It sits there screaming "ANSWER ME YOU BASTARDS, THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH!!" when, in fact, it is usually my mother wanting to tell me some random gossip about someone I don't even know. Thank gawd for answerphones.

[Fatshionista]

I hate it too. The bank, cold callers, MIL, DH's twatty friends or debt collectors.

Occasionally the phone rings for me from someone I'd like to speak to but it's a rare occasion.

[aquos]

I have a demanding female relative. I used to unplug the phone, then got caller display and last year moved house and refused to give her the new phone number. She is that bad.

[DontGoCurly]

What is the point of a landline?

[HoneyPablo]

YANBU
i have the same fear. It is a real fear as I have lost close family members and I have had the dreaded phone call more than once. I especially panic if it rings early in the morning or during the night.