7 Phone Habits That Might Indicate Anxiety

Tim Robberts via Getty Images Your cellphone can not only fuel your anxiety, but certain cellphone habits could be a manifestation of your anxiety. “I’ve had some clients that have told me especially if they’re socially anxious, they’ll actually pretend to be answering a text or a phone call as a way to avoid real-life social interactions,” Howard said. “It’s very hard to text and to search things when there’s a rubber band around your phone,” Mahony said. “So, it kind of creates that mindfulness.” “I feel like a lot of people don’t even realize that they just pick up their phone and open an app, or just open their phone automatically because we’re so used to it,” said Mahony, adding that this creates alertness in our brain and reminds us that we are going on our phone. “I’ll tell people that I’m going to turn my phone off, so if you need me, I’ll be able to respond in an hour,” Mahony said, “and that’s setting expectations for yourself and for other people.” This could also look like putting your phone upstairs after dinner or leaving it in your purse when you’re at the office.