#telephobia

He can't hear the phone ring without feel a cold sweat in his back, he can't watch the screen without feeling panic and intense anxiety. The scam phone calls just terrify him first, and then only the vibration is enough to send his cortisol levels through the roof.

He can't.

The first times, after Sherlock, after the fall, he could, but even though the voice on the other end isn't deep and rich, it's not masculine and doesn't say "that's what people do, isn't it? Leave a note", he can hear it over Mrs. Hudson's soft voice, Harry's gruff tone, and Greg's stressed one.

After a while, he just stops trying. Stop answering. Because sometimes it feels like the more the phone rings, the more seconds Sherlock has to keep breathing, keep living. Sherlock turned into his Schrödinger's cat; he is dead and alive as long as John don't answer.

the inexplicable fear, panic, and paralysis of having to make phone calls

Telephobia is a real thing. It’s an actual fear of phone calls and okay, I’m not sure if it’s actually in the DSM but my therapist did bring it to my attention and diagnose me with it. The people dismissing you because you’re young are wrong. It could come from spending time on social media, but most of the time people with this form of anxiety spend time texting and on social media because they have telephobia.

Yes, a lot of Millennials and Gen Z don’t want to do phone calls when there are other options (frankly, neither do a lot of Gen X and baby boomers I know so they can fuck off with their “you’re such a millennial”) but not everyone gets panic attacks trying to make phone calls. It’s not “everyone dislikes the phone” or “everyone is a little anxious about phone calls.” For you, phone calls are legitimate triggers and guess what? It’s so valid that there’s an actual word for people like you.