💬 I'd rather text than call anyone, even my own mother

My phone rings and my stomach does a small drop, even when it's just my mother. I always pick up, but I'm tense. It's not a bad experience or anything I can point to. It's just the live thing, someone waiting for me. No time to think, no time to fix what I'm saying. If I stumble, they hear it immediately. With a text, I can write it, delete it, and rewrite it, and nobody knows how long that took. One of our tenants in Mehdipatnam calls me about repairs. I'm in Riyadh, so I take a breath before answering. He talks fast and it's all about water bills and repairs. I say yes, yes, okay, and then I send a text after. The text is where I say what I mean. Politely, with the numbers right. Calls, I forget half of it. My wife thinks this is hilarious. She's the opposite, she'll call anyone for anything, even to ask which bus to take. There's another side though. I've lost a few chances to talk to people because I avoided the call. A friend's father was in hospital last year and I just texted. Wrote a long, careful message. He called me back and said, you could have just phoned. He wasn't angry, but I felt bad for weeks. Some things you can't do over text. I know that. I just find it hard to do the other thing. I've been forcing myself to call 1 person a week. Last week it was my aunt in Kurnool. It went well. She talked for 40 minutes and I mostly listened. By the end my hands had stopped shaking. It's getting easier, but I still prefer texting. Don't tell my aunt, she thinks I called because I wanted to. What about you? Is it an anxiety thing or just habit? Does anyone ever enjoy phone calls?

A small drop in the stomach when the phone rings is a feeling I share. I know my mother's call by the ringtone and still hold my breath. Texting lets me fix my words, and people think I am calmer than I am. Maybe try one call a week with someone who feels safe. For me it was my sister, and now it is easier.

Same here with calls. My heart jumps when the phone rings, even when I'm expecting it. Unknown numbers are the worst. I assume something has gone wrong before I've even said hello. I texted my whole family for years, and then my brother said I sounded like a robot on the phone. I laughed. I'm not sure he was joking. He was probably right.