signing your name in public

[loucat]

hi everybody,
i was just wondering if anyone else had a problem signing their name in front of others, i.e when paying by card etc. I absoulutely hate doing this in front of people, as my hand starts to shake for no reason, and subsequently my signature looks nothing like the one on my card! It's so embarrasing! As a result i always pay by cash which can be a bit of a pain, does anyones else have this problem?

 

[LilMissTragic]

Hey loucat,
I have the very same problem, When signing for stuff I end up shaking and my lip starts to tremble too. Luckily I have long hair so try to hide behind that as I sign but yeh, it is annoying.

 

[Anonymous]

I just don't pay.

 

[lonelycody]

I don't get nervous about signing my name in public. It's pretty normal for your signature to be slightly different at times. You should see how some intoxicated people in the taxi sign their name, they are too drunk to see what they are doing properly.

 

[Anonymous]

i find it awful!! i cant write in front of anyone, the fear of them watching, judging and critiscising. i dont think my handwriting is that bad but my nerves make it bad. rather than concentrating on writing, i concentrate about how i look when i write so often if everyone is standing up, for example, i would write standing up as straight as possible when obviously you need to bend down. my hands shake and my handwriting is wobbly and slants on the page. ive just finished school where everyday and every hour i wrote. it was so hard. when someone looked i would freeze, sometimes id notice id start to sweat. (sorry about that) i cant understand why i froze because even when everytime the teacher looked i would freeze which obviously looks like im not doing anything!

 

[Anonymous]

signing my name or forms in public etc

i can't believe there are people out there that have the same phobia i do, it makes me feel a little better, thanks. My phobia is getting worse and worse - I can't sign in front of banks tellers etc., or get a loan, or get a licence renewed, insurance, write cheques, sign charge cards, even the other day i was nervous at the thought of signing out a library book, i had to take a clonazepam for that?!! If i dont know i have to sign something, i am okay and can do it, it is just the build up in my head that what if they think i am doing something wrong or deceitful - by not being the person that is signing, or whatever my mind gets me to believe. I need some help and many years ago a therapist did cognitive therapy (i think) it involved some body movements and it was resolved by the second session. It lasted about 7 years and then is back with a vengence and dont know why. Idont think people realize how often you have to sign until you cant. Not just signing but filling out forms. If i dont feel comfortable with the person i am dealing with, I start to shake, sweat and my heart almost comes out of my chest. Fear of embarrassment mostly i think.

 

[Flax]

The only problem I have with signing is I feel pressure to hurry up and my signature looks like crap. If I spent two seconds longer on my signature it'd look nice and how I want people to see it. And when I pay with cash I feel pressure to hurry and put my money in my wallet and move on my way. Often I don't even put it in. I will crumble it the receipt and change in my wallet and walk off as soon as possible. And when the cashier says have a nice day I mumble you too or walk off without responding. And I rarely make eye contact. While waiting in line I be careful where my eyes are focused when someone's behind me. I'll make sure I'm not looking at a magazine with an attractive woman or a muscular man and make sure I'm not looking at the soap opera magazines. ...doing this definetly isn't normal sigh. I feel disgusted that I can't overcome this.

 

[Yossarian]

Hey Flax I always rush at checkouts as well. Never put change in my wallet, rush packing, desperate not to hold others up etc. But today I took a stand, I hadn't finished packing when I received my change but instead of rushing I took my time and it felt good. Also I never liked taking time to use coins because I just wanted to get out quickly but lately I've deliberately took my time and tried to find the right change. I even get a little buzz thinking others might be annoyed, hell I've spent my whole life trying to accomodate others now it's their turn to do it for me. :lol:

 

[introvert]

Same here. I do the same thing Flax, avoid looking at magazines with attractive women on them. Don't have problems with the other types, they just don't interest me, so I don't look at them anyway. Sometimes I just grab the change.. and - attempting to look casual - put it in my pocket and walk off, to avoid having to sort it out there... then outside I put it away. I also have this problem with waiting till the last moment to start packing away the stuff I bought into bags, just incase they would think I'm a thief and would try and run off with it.

 

[JWH]

Sometimes I really want to know how I got this disease! My mother will spend hours picking out every little cent at the cashier.

 

[loucat]

i've found a way of avoiding signing my name when paying by card it's called chip and pin, they take your card then you key in your pin number on their key pad it's great!

 

[Anonymous]

signing my name

I'm so glad to see other people being brave enough to write about their phobia of signing or writing in front of others. A few years ago I wrote a book and at the book launch I had to do a signing session. About 80 people formed a queue at my table and I truly thought I would die such was the pounding of my heart and the shakingn of my hand. To this day i don't know how I survived that afternoon. Some days are worse than others. Hang in there friends, you are not alone

 

[Crimefish]

Well I don't buy stuff, my mum does, so I only ever have to sign my name when I'm getting a new piercing, so when my hand shakes, they can just assume I'm nervous about the blood and pain for all I care. I don't even really have a signature, but I'm left handed so it's pretty hard to fake my sporadic handwriting.

 

[loucat]

i started this thread over 2 years ago, looking back at it has made me realise i'm not as bad as i used to be when i signed my name in shops etc, i still shake,(have other thread on this) however i'm not as scared as i used to be, any thoughts :?:

 

[scatmantom]

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[loucat]

i love chip and pin, i think it helped me a lot with my anxieties over paying by card

 

[Predacon]

I don't really have a problem signing my name in public, I just do it quick to get it over with quickly.

 

[Shonen_Yo]

Yeah, my writing is horrible. Not to mention, I've been criticized by peers for it.

 

[sadday]

The only problem I have with signing is I feel pressure to hurry up and my signature looks like crap. If I spent two seconds longer on my signature it'd look nice and how I want people to see it. And when I pay with cash I feel pressure to hurry and put my money in my wallet and move on my way. Often I don't even put it in. I will crumble it the receipt and change in my wallet and walk off as soon as possible.

I am the EXACT same way although I do shake when signing my name. Plus I try to do it really fast and it ends up looking very sloppy. As for getting back change I too just crumble it up and drop it in my purse. I don't even zip my purse back up. I just hurry up and walk off. Good to know I'm not the only one.