I guess this is much the same. I seriously do not think I need therapy, as has been suggested twice now. In fact, I feel quite upset that people would say such a thing. Clearly I'm not alone in the mini-panic that ensues when the damn thing rings at me, I just assumed that other people may have gone through similar and would have advice on how to not feel like that. I apologise if I wasn't clear enough in my opening post.
Therapy isn't like "U R MAD GET YER HEAD CHECKED WOMAN!", especially not these days.
It's more like just working with a very patient professional to overcome bad habits (either behaviour or thoughts, or more likely a combo of both) which are very tricky to overcome on your own, and which can impact your life negatively.
One thing you could try instead of full-blown therapy is getting a book that's got cognitive behavioural techniques outlined in it. It's exactly the same as your general sort of therapy so is more than sufficient for day-to-day issues. I LOVE reading stuff like that - it's nothing to do with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia or whatnot, it's just really helpful stuff for regular people who want to improve their lives. Let me list the things I've quit: Nail-biting, smoking, drinking coffee, drinking alcohol, junk food (I know, I am definitely Ms Dull 2012
) and procrastination (almost!). I could never have done it without useful books helping me to figure out A) why I'm doing something that I'd rather actually stop, and B) how to finally stop.
I'm not nervous of the phone at all anymore, although on my personal phone I HATE answering unrecognised numbers - mostly because it's probably some horrible person telling me I have an old overdue bill to pay! Or, even worse, someone trying to sell me some rubbish. I used to be nervous when answering my work phone, too, but I've no time for being bothered about that sort of thing anymore. Life is very short. If I make a mistake and call someone Dick instead of Dave, I would just giggle like a numpty and carry on anyway! People are very forgiving, thankfully.