FWIS3

These are particularly things that I can't do anything about, and in the end have no negative impacts.

--Waiting at a 2-lane metered on-ramp (in rush hour, there are two stoplights that let you on the highway at a measured rate instead of chaotic merging), and a car that arrives after you, but is in the next lane, you think might get on before you.

--At a conferrer when the schedule is running late, and someone is droning on and on so that the moderator can't get them to hurry up.

Being in any enclosed space with a television blaring CNN or suchlike.

I don't like calling people on the phone, like if it's the water company or the doctor's office. I infinitely prefer to email if it's at all a possibility as calls like this make me anxious, tho I'll call if I need to so it's not like it is a serious detriment.

Seeing as I have no issues whatsoever talking in the real world, I have no idea why.

Rommie wrote:I don't like calling people on the phone, like if it's the water company or the doctor's office. I infinitely prefer to email if it's at all a possibility as calls like this make me anxious, tho I'll call if I need to so it's not like it is a serious detriment.

Seeing as I have no issues whatsoever talking in the real world, I have no idea why.

Me too. My heart starts pounding and I have to mentally prepare myself to make those kinds of phone calls!

pumpkinpi wrote:

Rommie wrote:I don't like calling people on the phone, like if it's the water company or the doctor's office. I infinitely prefer to email if it's at all a possibility as calls like this make me anxious, tho I'll call if I need to so it's not like it is a serious detriment.

Seeing as I have no issues whatsoever talking in the real world, I have no idea why.

Me too. My heart starts pounding and I have to mentally prepare myself to make those kinds of phone calls!

Me three (and anyone who has met me knows I have no problem with in-person talking). I don't love talking on the phone, I can deal with answering, but I get very anxious if I have to call someone. And it isn't just the generic "water company", I have a lot of problems calling friends or relatives.

It is actually rather comforting to find two other people who are the same way.


Sometimes I get anxious from sudden changes in plans, though other times it doesn't bother me that much.

And I rather not get into my fears about death, though I actually don't consider them irrational, but logical conclusions from the available facts.

Make that four, and if vendic had time away from the boat to hang out here, it would be five. And my mom is actually the same way as well. We all negotiate when one of these calls need to be made. I'll be like - I'll pour you some brandy if you make the call. Vendic just flat out insists no one can understand his accent, and that's a good excuse here, but I happen to know he's the same way in Australia.

And, unfortunately, I'm about to have to make a number of these calls to cancel all our utilities. And now that I have anxiety bad enough to make me vomit, there will be a lot of deep breathing before every single one of these calls.

It's strange, because back in the eighties, when I was a teenager, I LOVED talking on the phone - for hours. Fast forward to the 2000's and I took so long to get on a voice chat with vendic that, for a brief period, he thought I might be a man masquerading as a woman and that's why I didn't want to talk to him.

Five (or six, with vendic). I'm sensing a theme that may explain FWIS.

geonuc wrote:Five (or six, with vendic). I'm sensing a theme that may explain FWIS.

FWIS - Group therapy at the comfort of your own computer.

"Hi, I'm Swift"
"Hi, Swift"

I get irrationally anxious when I go out with someone to a public place and then can't find them. Like when you go to a casino or a grocery store. And the person you are with wanders off and you can't find them for 10 minutes. I start imagining all sorts of impossible scenarios. Except for the ones that aren't impossible.

I'm not sure how irrational it is but I get anxious when attending a sit-down group meal with people who aren't friends, such as happens with Yelp events. The anxiety is over whether I'll be able to score one of two corner seats. It might not be irrational because I have a hearing disability - I'm deaf in one ear. So if I don't sit on the corner with my good ear towards the table, I'll have people, possibly strangers, on my bad side and I won't be able to converse with them. That gets really awkward.

Since losing my hearing in one ear, I've also had much more difficulty parsing multiple conversations. I know, everybody says they have trouble with that and I did too. But it's gotten much worse after losing half my hearing. I'm not sure why.

Along with group social settings, it was also very awkward when I was still working full-time as an engineering supervisor. Sitting in on client meetings where I'm expected to actively participate can get really embarrassing when I can't hear everyone. I once was at a large client dinner where I was the most senior representative of my company and I almost excused myself and left, it got so bad. One of the reasons I quit as supervisor.

vendic doesn't have time to be on FWIS, at the moment, so I will speak for him. He has hearing loss as well, and, as a result, hates group settings. It makes him feel like an idiot to not be able to understand people. My theory is that he could just tell them about his hearing issues, but he's embarrassed about them, as though it's somehow his fault. I can understand that on a certain level, because I'm feeling really embarrassed and downright stupid over my recent anxiety issues. I spend an inordinate amount of time recriminating myself over moving to the U.S. for a cat.

I freaking love my cats. I've acquired two more since I moved back, and I've even gotten vendic to fall in love with them. (He's generally a dog person.) But somewhere in here, I put cats before life, and my husband, who adores me, followed along. It was an epic mistake, and now I have an anxiety disorder as a result. Still can't let the cats go though. Thank the gods I didn't have children. *sigh*

- Constant fear that I will choke while I'm eating. It gets so bad sometimes that I can't eat at all.
- My health, I'm always convinced I'm dying of something. At least I have insight into this, so it makes managing it easier.
- Flying

squ1d wrote:- Flying

That's grown worse for me with every passing year - going from loving it to absolutely hating it. Hell, anxiety over the airlines is why I never flew my last cat to Australia instead of planning this trip across the ocean. If that's not irrational, I don't know what is.

SciFi Chick wrote:

squ1d wrote:- Flying

That's grown worse for me with every passing year - going from loving it to absolutely hating it. Hell, anxiety over the airlines is why I never flew my last cat to Australia instead of planning this trip across the ocean. If that's not irrational, I don't know what is.

Speaking of being rationally irrational. Have you thought about just getting a new cat when you got to Australia?


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Don't mind me. I will be hiding under the sofa until the shrapnel stops.

Life in general. It's why I am on anti-anxiety medication. Better living through pharmaceuticals...

SciFi Chick wrote:

squ1d wrote:- Flying

That's grown worse for me with every passing year - going from loving it to absolutely hating it. Hell, anxiety over the airlines is why I never flew my last cat to Australia instead of planning this trip across the ocean. If that's not irrational, I don't know what is.

I think I would find the trip across the ocean far more terrifying

squ1d wrote:

SciFi Chick wrote:

squ1d wrote:- Flying

That's grown worse for me with every passing year - going from loving it to absolutely hating it. Hell, anxiety over the airlines is why I never flew my last cat to Australia instead of planning this trip across the ocean. If that's not irrational, I don't know what is.

I think I would find the trip across the ocean far more terrifying

Since I've gotten into boating, it has become very clear to me that you are not in a minority.