As someone that suffers with anxiety generally, phones are a nightmare. The build up to making an important phone call, the pacing back and forth to gain the courage to speak to someone, and worst of all waiting for text responses on days where you are not busy enough to keep distracted.
I don't have an iPhone, I have a Windows phone. So I do not have the ellipses bubble pop up to let me know they are typing a response. You think it's bad when you see that bubble and are waiting for their reply? Try using a phone that doesn't alert you if they've even seen your text. No way of knowing whether they've seen your message, if they're busy, ignoring you, dead, or their phone is broken.
The process goes a little like this:
After sending an important or risky text and not getting a reply in minutes, you know your mind is going to start playing tricks on you.
You put your phone face down in the hope that It will prevent you from checking it. When in fact it makes you pick it up more to see if you just missed a text.
You start to hear things that sound like your text notification sound, only to see nothing.
You wonder whether your text actually went through at all, and triple check that it says the date and time under your message.
You consider sending another to say "Just a quick text to make sure you got my first one?" which in some situations is dodgy. If you're checking on your teenager, this is okay. But if it's a text to someone you're recently dating, no!
You start to feel like a psycho and realise that they just might be busy, or have had no signal.
But then get annoyed when remembering all the other platforms they could contact you on, or worse: You see them online in Facebook chat!
Yes!!! You heard that, that was definitely a text! *Opens it to reveal someone other than the person you're waiting for a reply from*
You try to distract yourself with other things, which if you're alone on a Sunday is difficult to do! But even if you leave your phone in another room and put it on silent you find yourself still going to check on it.
Ughh! Still nothing. *Slamming it back down*
*Walks out of the room saying "Well f*** you then. I have better things to do than wait for you."* ... *Only to walk back in to check again 10 minutes later*
Yes! They've finally replied! That wasn't so bad. I'll just type my quick response back now.
*Types quick yet reply-able response*...
...
You think 'Okay what the hell? I just replied 23 seconds after I got your text and now 3 hours later no reply again?'
You decide to make it a bit clearer that you're expecting a reply by texting "Hey there! Just wanted to double check you are on for Saturday evening. Do you still need a lift? Let me know if you want me to bring that book I told you about"
No reply that day but alas! Late the following morning you hear the satisfying ping of your text notification.
You see their name and excitedly open their text to reveal...
"Ok"
*Hurls phone out the window* Arghhh!
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