Anxiety Disorder And Trucking

Was your inability to finish training with your company due to not being able to cope with anxiety? If so, I think you have no choice, but to seek help from a doctor. My understanding is that there are many drivers who are taking prescription medication for a variety of psycological conditions. The key term being, "...not likely to interefere with his/her ability to drive...". As to specific medications, I couldn't tell ya, but your doctor could. Some therapy might help also, maybe combined with medication. And of course the last option would be learning to deal with your feelings on your own. No shortage of self-help info out there. Good luck to you!

 

Rocks-
Yes, there are medications out there that will help with anxiety disorders. There are also non-prescription methods such as proper breathing etc.. This is a real disorder that can be overcome.
You like me have probably had to deal with this your whole life and it makes it challenging. I remember way back in the early 80's training in Chicago with a private trainer. I was doing well, but MY own anxiety was so severe it even caused nose bleeds and I had to stop.
When taking my motorcycle training class, I did better then most. I was at the top of the class, but when it came time to testing out on the range with other students watching, I choked. Lucky for me the instructor had some past experience with this and had me try again. Once the rest of the students all went back into the trailer I went again.This time, no problem. You can fix this and become quite successful. Make up your mind to work past it. It's better to acknowledge this the ignore it.
Wishing you much success,
Toby

 

You say you're nervous about driving trucks. My question is why would you want to be a truck driver then? I would think that if you already know it could present a big problem, and you already know you suffer from anxiety, isn't that enough of a red flag ? If you try to hide this from your employer and you're involved in an accident....hopefully not..... don't you think there will be serious consequences that could affect the rest of your life. And wouldn't you be kinda putting yourself and the public at more of a risk of an accident? I don't know about the medications, but I would just be honest with not only yourself, but with the doctors and the company as well. It's your life and you don't want to jeapordize it as well as hurt anyone else.

 

Well I think everybody is a little nervous when first starting out to learn to drive a truck.. So I would not not say you should not drive a truck at this point.. If the person anxiety level effected his or her decision making while driving a truck then I would suggest finding another career..

First is there medications?
Yes, the problem is which one will work for you... if any. A truthful doctor/psychologist is going to tell you that there is no real cure for anxiety. Medications can help if it ends up being the right one for you. The doctor is going to start you out with the medication they have had the best results with and go from there. It could be years to find the correct medication that works for you, even then it is not a cure but simply will lesson the frequency you may experience anxiety and some cases the level of intensity.. It takes several months for any anxiety medication to start showing results

Far as DOT regulating anxiety medications I don't know of any that are "banned" per say..


You should of requested a new trainer the first time they yelled at you.. If the company failed to get you a new trainer then it is not a company worth working for..

 

for your anxiety i also have an anxiety disorder from my time in iraq, not ptsd but stems from that. once i got out there and drove and drove and drove its gotten better but i still slip and have to pull off in a panic attack. one thing that helped me was a real good trainer that was also in iraq and knew what i was going through since he had gone through the same thing just a little less severe. xm radio helps keep me grounded. the key for me is to relax and i have not quit smoking since thats my drug of choice. in the end the trainer i had helped me get over the major part of my anxiety sni has been good to me. rocks i see you live in atlanta so my te would be to far from you but any company you go to if you find the right trainer your anxiety could be reduced to a driveable point.

 

schneider does hire newbies for the dedicated accounts if one is open (i was hired on to a dedicated run). just ask a recruiter, when i started i said i wanted to be home most to every weekend and what would guarentee that, im making a slightly lower rate than otr lower 48 but i run a set route on the account. various accounts have different loads but i know there are several around atlanta also sni has an operating center in atlanta the recruiter would have that info for you on open dedicated accounts