Why do I avoid listening to voicemails?

Avoiding voicemails is pretty common, and it can happen for a mix of reasons:

1. Anxiety about the unknown — Unlike texts, voicemails don’t show the message upfront, so your mind may jump to worst-case scenarios.
2. They take more effort — You have to listen in real time, replay parts to catch details, and manually write things down.
3. They can imply follow-up work — A voicemail often means you may need to call someone back, which can feel burdensome if you dislike phone calls.
4. You’re used to faster, text-based communication — Texts and messages are easier to scan, so voicemail can feel slow and inconvenient.

If you want voicemails to feel less stressful, visual voicemail can help because it turns messages into text you can scan quickly. You can also set a voicemail greeting that asks people to text or email you instead.

If avoiding voicemails is tied to strong phone anxiety or it’s affecting your life, talking with a therapist can help.