finding a balance

Man,I dunno if I can help ya,but I CAN relate,many stories come to mind,but I will only tell you one. A friend of mine got his 3rd DUI in 1989,and after that,he decided that was enough of the drinking.He took treatment seriously,attended and still does attend AA meetings,BUT,he spends 2-3 hours in the gym,not every other day,not 3 times a week,but EVERY day,for the last 22 years. He is a maintenance man for the State Park system,so he has a physical job,long hours in the summer,but trust me,then gym work,and he was,and still is,a hard-core lifter,still ripped,even now. So,I know what you mean,but certainly,although boredom out on the road is prevalent,(I'm out there too) certainly,you must have a hobby you can entertain yourself with while out on the road. I mean,you know WHAT the problem is,so certainly,you can figure out SOMETHING to do to remedy this situation...Good Luck Brother..You can do it..

 

Maybe buy your own rig..? Your bound to turn a profit. j/k Listen,you know the problem,in any given situation,many people do not,the battle is already half-won.Let me ask,what do YOU think you can do about it?

 

I wish had seen this post earlier.... Yes, I do relate to you as I also am some sort of obcessed, compulsive person, also put a lot of *&# in my poor little body in the past, and also attended recovery groups... and I am also a workaholic, neglect my meals, my sleep, etc and suffer from anxiety, this feeling of urgency.... You know, it's very hard to change the way my brain wants to do things, since that "program" has been embeded there since when I was very little. It feels like going against the tide... for me it's not easy to set limits and respect them but awareness is the first step and once I realize things are getting "scary" again, I look for my Higher Power, ask for guidance, help, surrender to Him, put everything in His hands and be patiente and listen and wait... and eventually I get the answer. Balance is a very difficult thing for me. I may never have perfect balance... Well, it used to be much worse.... but this is a work in progress and it may last my whole life.... Gotta go now. The restaurant is about to close.... All the best to you man. Stay in touch.

 

How bout hittin some meetings, become a sponsor while you're on road? There's an 800 # - make some contact with others and slow down a bit, maybe they'll pick you up where your parked or meet you some where, like a restaurant?

 

Our shop's head mechanic is like that. The man never stands in the same spot for more than 10 seconds. After hours he scraps all the old parts. He'll even sit there with wire strippers stripping MILES of old electrical wire down to the bare copper so he gets a few cents more at the scrap yard. I seen him take old trailer electrical boxes apart just for the brass contacts. He's on his feet about 18 hours a day. He's in his 50's, single, never married. The guy's gotta be a millionaire by now.

 

Ran across Bill W. in 1985 we've been friends since. remember you can't keep it unless you give it away

 

Life is about balance - took me a long time to figure that out.

Substance abuse wasn't my thing - I just abused everyone around me.

It took me a long time to realize that there was more to my personality than just being "Type A". I ended up having a pretty rough time after doing a two-day tour on 9/11. We ended up at the South Tower on 9/12. Affected me worse than I thought and it took quite a while to get my head straight after that. Apparently I had suffered from anxiety all of my life. When I look back on events in my life it made sense - I just never put it all together until I was forced to.

I come from a family of "Type A" personalities - and it while I can say that my siblings, have, in general done well in life - we have learned that whatever causes our anxiety appears to be genetic as my brother's two sons had similar manifestations.

You can't and shouldn't go it alone.

Build a support system.

If you haven't already done so - consult a mental health professional. Get a formal diagnosis (are you OCD, suffer from Anxiety, etc.).

Don't attempt to self-medicate; self-diagnosis is just as dangerous.

I'm not a truck driver - but I picked an equally bad profession for someone suffering from anxiety as I was an EMT/Paramedic for a pretty large chunk of my life. I changed careers and it had a huge impact on the quality of my life.