Little Things

Uncategorized 1 Minute

So on Tuesday night of this week my iPhone decided to die. The battery would not recharge no matter what I tried. Yes I’m one of those people who use my iPhone for calling, texting, checking email, even some reminder appointments in the calendar and writing my blog posts. My stress level was very very high. I curse myself for being so dependent on this phone. This is only my second iPhone in almost 8 years. I always had a landline 📞 until 2013 when I got my first IPhone. I realize in the grand scheme of things this phone death is not a big deal but coupled with virtually no sleep in four days and hot flashes ( another post another time Maybe even TMI) I lost it on Tuesday night. A wobble the size of Mount St Helen’s I just couldn’t deal with it.

Two things became abundantly clear: I rely way too much on my phone and I have no back up plan if the phone becomes non working. My panic set in on Tuesday night as no matter what cord, phone charger 🔌 and method of jamming and wiggling the cord around to elicit that lightening bolt it was to no avail. Wednesday morning the phone was totally black. I admit I was scared driving to work with no working phone. My anxiety was off the charts.

I’ve had this phone five years. I’ve come quite clearly to depend on it for EVERYTHING. And it shouldn’t be this way because I only got a mobile phone eight years ago. I was fine pre IPhone so what’s my problem?!

I also realized how much I enjoy reading blogs, commenting, texting w friends and reading email because my phone makes it readily available and convenient for me. Maybe I need to simplify the little things….

This helped put things in perspective

Stay safe stay well ❤️❤️

Published by Michele Marsh

I love movies, music, theatre, Shakespeare, my three dogs, my dad and mom, my siblings, my twin nieces and mostly to chat and exchange ideas and commentary about the world we live in.

Published

35 thoughts on “Little Things”

  2. It is frightening how much we rely on our phones etc and how seduced we are by what they offer. I worry about losing skills, e.g. my handwriting is increasingly awful and it wasn’t very good pre-digital age.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    3. INTERVIEW QA with the author:
      With «Tempête dans le bocal» (Grasset), the president of Arte extends his reflection (and also his therapy) on the man immersed in a digital environment.

      Have you, yourself, experienced this sense of “permanent intranquillity” and “hypnotic confinement” of the connected man?

      Yes, very clearly, both for Goldfish Civilization, my previous book, and this one. I have this feeling of being locked in the screen jar. I live it, I suffer it, I feel this dependence, this tiredness, this strain to be connected and especially solicited permanently by the applications that I love and use. I’m a bit of a technophile. I’m trying to get a better understanding of why it’s difficult to get out of that jar and to tell the story of everyone who’s trying to build solutions.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  3. If it all gets too much… call me!

    Seriously, after my stroke I was very anxious about all sorts of things. Including getting in the car, and it breaking down miles from anywhere, which is not so unrealistic where I am.

    But what you said, that’s how you beat it. You did it before, no problem, the risk is absolutely the same now. In fact the risk with something like driving is prtobably less because cars are more and more reliable. So the added anxiety cannot be based on any tangible factor. It’s all generated in your head.

    You know what I mean when I say that, right? I’m hesitant to use the word “real”, because anxiety is very much real, but in terms of physical risk, you’re not really in any more risky a position than you were before, when it never used to bother you. So there’s not really a concrete reason why it should bother you now.

    Another approach that might help: carry two phones. The second need not be fancy. It needs to make and receive calls. I bet you could get one off eBay for $20. Keep it in the glovebox and remember to recharge it. Even maybe look for one where you can access the battery and also carry as spare?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Great idea about the second phone. The anxiety is in my head and is mainly worry about my dad which I think is one reason my sleeping has deteriorated even more lately
      I put the Keanu Reeves video in as a reminder that it’s not the end of the world and he has a hard time letting go of things too like me! That made my day
      I may take you up on the call once I get the new phone 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. That “risk” thing swung it for me. There’s also the aspect of how much I can control a situation. If I can’t control it, it’s pointless worrying. Okay, that’s pretty simplistic, but…

        But think about it. If your dad was taken ill, and you were driving someplace without your phone, how bad would it be?

        Delay you getting there by maybe a flight, most probably. Okay, you’d be taking a risk that the dalay wouldn’t be significant, but…

        In my mum’s case, she was in hospital anyway, she had a heart attack the Monday, was on life support, and finally died on Friday after I allowed life support to be turned .off What I’m saying is there were several days when the family could rock up to say their goodbyes. Somebody having a phone with them or not made zero difference.

        And, that’s someone dying. If you think back to Christmas, your dad’s illness was nowhere near that serious.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. True I hear what you are saying and it is very rational but in total candor my phone is a lifeline for me
        I raced to the Verizon store today to get a new one and now I feel back to a semblance of normal
        Sad I know

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Pingback: Flashback Track Friday #53 | Songshine Sounds

  5. We have become so dependent on our phones. I do not have a houseline. I wasn’t an iPhone user until my
    niece decided it was time to get me into the new century lol A flip phone was fine with me it held my numbers and gave me what I needed when I needed it. The only reason I keep my I IPhone is because of the good pictures
    it takes. No, I do not have my phone connected to my computer, I don’t want that because I figured if I had either
    one hacked they would not be able to get into the other, so they are totally cut off from each other.

    I realized when someone lost their phone and couldn’t find me. They tracked me down through another
    method. So I decided if I lost my phone I would have no one’s numbers,( I only remember a few) we just don’t remember them anymore.

    I got a small phone book and put all my numbers in should my phone go kaput!
    Anxiety brought on by losing your phone or if it does not work makes you feel totally isolated.

    Anxiety is as Mr.B said it is basically in your head, don’t get me wrong it is happening to you, but because we don’t rationalize everything out we end up anxious. I suffer from it, but, then my doctor told me usually people who
    have chronic illnesses are on medication for anxiety, and even with the pill, I can still get anxious. I guess all
    you can do is try to think it through and think what is the worst that can happen if this or this goes down and
    work from there. Our times are not the best of times, right now I think anxiety is at a high level for many
    different reasons.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. My anxiety stemmed from a lack of control which grew worse as the phone battery died
      Now I have my new phone and I feel much better
      Not even snow would stop me from getting this phone! 😁
      I never had any mobile phone until 2013 only a landline
      But I feel even with cable I don’t really need it as much because I can stream in my iPad and phone

      Like

      Reply

  6. I only carried one of the small flip phones for use here and there. I was never attached to my phone, but now it is the only one I have. Think back to when young you were gone all day and didn’t keep in touch with anyone.
    But life changes, like if you miss a phone call it is bad. Heck, that is what the messaging is for, or email, or even
    mail. lol.. Glad you are happy with the new phone.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. I’m very old fashioned like technologically low maintenance but I had the Verizon guy show me the ins and outs of the new phone apologizing to him for asking so many questions
      I feel much more comfortable now although the heart of the anxiety still isn’t resolved

      Like

      Reply
  8. Pingback: Bowie, You Got It! – Yard Sale of Thoughts

  9. I’m so sorry your phone died and it’s causing so much distress. It’s a lifeline to the outside world, so yeah, frustrating. Do you have a laptop that you can at the very least use for blogging or checking e-mail? Hope you’ve been able to get a replacement.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Esther I did get a replacement last Saturday and it gave me undue stress which it really shouldn’t have which in turn gave me pause to reflect that I need to get a life! It was the feeling of no control that prompted the meltdown but now all good 😁

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s