Trucking to BEAT depression.

[Jamspeed]

I think there is absolutely something to this. I can go on and on here.

But for now, does anyone have any stories (perhaps inspiring) for the rest of us involving trucking and how it can treat depression and who knows what other mood problems???

[greg3564]

Uhhhhhhhhhh......NO.

Let's see. Long periods without meaningful personal contact. Traffic. Away from family. Traffic. Horrible food. Traffic. Sleeping in a truck. Traffic. Lot lizards banging on your window at 2am. Traffic. Unpredictable sleep schedule. Did I mention traffic?

[Bumper]

No kidding Greg.....doing local work in Los Angeles sucks big time.......

[Mattangcobra]

Not to mention having 11 hours of driving to think about all your problems. That alone is enough to screw you up. Not to mention all the things the others said.

[Malaki86]

It depends. Most people with depression also suffer from social anixiety. Being alone more in that situation helps. I know it helps me out. Working local jobs where I deal with people pretty much constantly drives me nuts. The longest I've ever been able to hold down a local job was 9 months, and that was because I was mowing a cemetary and we would only have me there 90% of the time.

I used to take meds for my depression, but when I found that most companies don't want a medicated driver I had my doctor ween me off of them. I haven't taken any meds now for almost 8 years and am doing much better.

Be sure to have a cell phone so that you can call people when you're feeling down. Also, it's pretty easy to get a conversation going on the CB to take your mind off of things.

It's not easy, but it can be done.

[DIESEL BEAST]

[quote="greg3564"]Uhhhhhhhhhh......NO.

Let's see. Long periods without meaningful personal contact. Traffic. Away from family. Traffic. Horrible food. Traffic. Sleeping in a truck. Traffic. Lot lizards banging on your window at 2am. Traffic. Unpredictable sleep schedule. Did I mention traffic? [/qu

you are on the money. The worst feeling for me is getting lost while on a 2 lane country road or having to drive 30 miles or more before you can get turned around.

[BigDawg]

this is a real good question,the wife and i drive for Fed Ex CC the both of us have been off the road for right at 3 months now due to personel reasons.While sitting here at home taking care of bizness and get things back in order.The both of us are climbing the walls and bored to death.

Told the wife just today give me a load to NYC or bronx anyehere hell i would even take downtown L.A. Traffic doesn't bother me one bit i found when it chaotic, tight and hectic just set back and enjoy the ride thats the trouble ppl. rush the crap i dont get no hurry the frieght will get there just as fast my way.

BTW when it comes to the depression issues i leave that ***** at home when i get out on the road i have the freedom and solitude i dont read up on the news ands crap that makes a person depressed.the wife and are out there to enjoy what we do.

[ogre999]

Uhhhhhhhhhh......NO.

Let's see. Long periods without meaningful personal contact. Traffic. Away from family. Traffic. Horrible food. Traffic. Sleeping in a truck. Traffic. Lot lizards banging on your window at 2am. Traffic. Unpredictable sleep schedule. Did I mention traffic?

LOL ... sorry man I could just see the responses comming ...

I am TOLD ...some people just love this lifestyle ...I mean to be a bit philosophical ( more than experianced ) as a newb to the industry whos still got both feet on the ground ( no Job or training yet ) ...heres what I think ...

For me ...Im outa work ...cant find a job in my own profession as construction has wained somewhat ...and truth is after 20 years I am burned out ...so someone sayin " okay Kid common ...lets roll " would cheer the livid sillyness out of me ...

I like to drive ....really I do ...my basic nature for some reason ...I know there are fools and dangerous ego driven morons out there ...whom I can only assume have unusually small members and thus need to prove something ( Ohhh and women speeding what is up with that ??? is this recent or has it always been that way and I am wayyy too wrapped up in myself to notice ??? ) ...i do its like a ...challenge i guess ...and I like the Idea of surviving where others do not ( Yes I am a romantic fool as it were ) ...

Then Again Like these men and women I dont do it every day ...day in day out ...maile after neverending mile ...now i hope to ...but havent yet ..

I think "rolling my way to double Mortguage payments " and Having money hit the accounts I EARNED ... now THAT would go a long way to decrasing MY OWN PERSONAL anxiety ( SHe a Psych Nurse and Makes good money ...She would never disrespect me like that ...course she doesnt have to ...I do it to myself ...maybe its a concionce ...i dunno )

I dont think you meant it THIS WAY ...but if you are suggesting that it could somehow replace meds ???? ...uhhh no ...that would make you unstable with up to 80,000 lbs of weapon .... sorry just had to throw that one in ...

Lastly ...Drivers Arm ...drivers like farmers have a notorious "tanning " pattern ....left arm constantly in the sun ....Sunshine does stimulate the production of Vitamin "D" in the human body ...and that does relieve certain symptoms of depression ...


Hope that helps


Shawn ( Ogre )

[ogre999]

woops sorry I quoted the wrong statement ...DOH!

[ogre999]

Uhhhhhhhhhh......NO.

Let's see. Long periods without meaningful personal contact. Traffic. Away from family. Traffic. Horrible food. Traffic. Sleeping in a truck. Traffic. Lot lizards banging on your window at 2am. Traffic. Unpredictable sleep schedule. Did I mention traffic?

hey ...side question about lot lizzards ... Ummm look I hate to talk bad about the working girls ...in my youth abroad i certainly kept company there ...and hell i respect making a living with whatever talents you have ...okay that out of the way ...I'm not Interested theese days ... I do frequently get insomnia at home ...so when I do get some sound sleep...man I hate getting rousted ...so My question is ... DO those NO LOUNGE LIZZARD stickers work at all ????

Firgive my ignorance ...but i have wondered that from the get go ...

[Brown67]

I guess this is a question only you can answer. I will tell you this; my dad suffers from depression and he always wanted to quit his accounting job and become a truck driver. He grew up on a ranch and had to drive trucks from time to time to move cattle and always liked it. Whenever his depression got bad he would always go out and take long drives. This always seemed to cheer him up for some reason.

He got help for his depression and is doing really well now, but I know he would have preferred a job with less social contact, and no boss hanging over him.

[AC120]

"DO those NO LOUNGE LIZZARD stickers work at all ????"

Sometimes the "No LOT lizzard" stickers work and sometimes the girls knock anyway. If they don't ask, they don't get.

That aside, I found long solo hours on the road to be therapeutic. I solved many of my own problems and I solved the world's problems
(well, maybe not). I mean, you're free to think your own thoughts, laugh, cry, whatever, and say anything you want to--out loud. Who's going to know?

There's nothing like a long drive to get your mind right. But some people suffer from depression no matter where they are and whether they're alone or not and they need clinical help. I think it's two different things.

Solitude on the road is vastly under-rated. I'd quit if I had to run team.

OP: Just being alone to think things through has worked for me.

[ogre999]

Lounge Lizzard ...lol ..okay I gomered ...so there really arent cheezzy off vegas singing acts crawling through truck stops willing to croon you to sleep for 20 bucks ??? damn ...okay forget it ...I quit ... LOL

Thanks for the correction .... LOL ... sorry funny image

Shawn (Ogre)

[AC120]

"there really arent cheezzy off vegas singing acts crawling through truck stops willing to croon you to sleep for 20 bucks . . ."

Don't quit! Enjoy! The show's just starting!

Seriously, just park at a big truck stop, get some popcorn, and turn on your CB. There's always some driver who thinks he can sing--he's wrong.

Actually, "lounge lizzard" sounds better.

[Windwalker]

...so when I do get some sound sleep...man I hate getting rousted ...so My question is ... DO those NO LOUNGE LIZZARD stickers work at all ????

I drove a couple of trucks that had those stickers from previous drivers in the windows. Didn't seem to make any difference. But what I did have that worked was a ball cap... That said "INDIANA STATE POLICE". At night, I would put it on the dash so that you could read it from outside the truck. The girls did not knock on my sleeper... 8)

But then I had the guys from either side of my truck knocking on my sleeper and telling me to take the "DAMNED THING" out of my window so that they could get the girls to come to their trucks. :shock:

[Phantom433a]

its kind of sad really, but in 20 years I've only had 3 Lot (lounge ) Lizzards bang on my door. One didn't want to take no for an answer so I popped back into the sleeper and pulled out a flare gun. He ran like hell.....and I have NEVER stayed at the Flying J in Springville, Ut ever again. BTW, a flaregun is a safety device, but it will sure will kill a person and this was back in 99 when they were finding drivers dead in their sleepers along I-15.

[Night Zombie]

Yes, you could relieve your depression by driving. Taking any action could relieve the depression, especially if the action is something you have wanted to do for a while.

[Orange Andy]

I am no doctor, but also agree that it seems a lot of depression can be brought on by a reluctance to socialize and interact. Solo OTR trucking may not be the right way to deal with it, but it could give the sufferer a chance to see life in a light he has not seen, and possibly can slowly come out of the problem, and get better, once he realizes who he is, and that it is ok to be different, and not around people all the time.

Didn't Christ take to solitude for 40 days wandering in the desert alone when the people around him go to be too much?

The only thing I can guarantee you is that you will either love it, or hate it, there seems to be few in-betweeners in this business.

If your hear the open road calling you, you should at least try it, and see. You will never know, and life is very short.

Wish you well whatever you decide, and sorry to hear you are dealing with depression.

One last thought. Years ago, I lost a very dear friend to suicide. I was very depressed over it, and thought of joining her. A very wise old man that I knew saw what I was going thru. He reminded it is ok and normal to feel sad, and that when we do, we are actually closer to the truth of seeing life for what it really is, than when we are all drunk and slap happy. That stuck with me, and not advocating you wear sadness as a badge of being enlightened, but it is not anything to be ashamed of.

Regards, and at least try trucking. It may be your calling. You can always quit, if not.

[Orange Andy]

double post, sorry

[ogre999]

...so when I do get some sound sleep...man I hate getting rousted ...so My question is ... DO those NO LOUNGE LIZZARD stickers work at all ????

I drove a couple of trucks that had those stickers from previous drivers in the windows. Didn't seem to make any difference. But what I did have that worked was a ball cap... That said "INDIANA STATE POLICE". At night, I would put it on the dash so that you could read it from outside the truck. The girls did not knock on my sleeper... 8)

But then I had the guys from either side of my truck knocking on my sleeper and telling me to take the "DAMNED THING" out of my window so that they could get the girls to come to their trucks. :shock:

LOL ...like that say ...you can please some of the people ...some of the time ....you'll never please all of the people all of the time ...lol ...verry Shneaky ....maybe if I park at the outter edge or something ... Or I could walk around singing to the tune of old Tony Orlando " Knock three times " ...Knock three times ...and Ill shot you through the seeper hatch "...ehhh no thats kinda much ...I'm sure if i can ever get out there I'll work it out ...maybe just toss em a five to leave me alone ...

thanks for the Laugh ....

Shawn(Ogre)