Isolation and depression on the road.

My son has been working off stilts since he was 17-18. His hips already make a clicking sound when he walks. I convinced him to let me buy him a couple "Perry Scaffolds" for doing ceilings. He still thinks that stilts are faster but likes the freedom away from the stilts.

 

I fight depression on the road and off. My sirius radio and music on my phone help. Best of all is my tablet and book reader that reads any pdf to me. I've been out here 20 years and yes society is getting colder and angrier. Hang in there..no pun intended.

 

The feelings of Isolation and Depression are a very real issue in trucking. The drivers most comfortable with solitude can be taken over with these feelings. The result is most trucking offices are often inundated with calls that could be called more social then business. Long lines at truck stops are often because some trucker needs to tell his story.

For those that can cope this about to be ruined by driver camera's. You get the anxiety and scorn of social scrutiny without the positive benefits of social interaction.

 

Its horrible to deal with. I dont know how anybody makes a career out of OTR driving ... you really have to be a special person to do it.

Fortunately driving OTR in a rolling closet is not the only trucking career out there. Go to the LTL forum if you want to know more about local jobs that will keep you sleeping in your own bed most nights and give you a normal 5 on/2 off work week. Some of it is a little more physical and stressful than OTR but you can have a life and a lot of local gigs pay as much if not more than OTR jobs.

Having said that, there is a good chance that you will have to put in at least 6-12 months on the road before local companies will hire you. My tips are good radio talk shows, get a hotel once in a while, and get out of the truck as much as possible ..... I had a pedal bike to travel around towns.

 

Really dependant on your personality. If you do not like or do not require to constantly be around people, and do not need social interaction constantly to help you to fulfill the day OTR may be right up your alley. If no then it may be a job to avoid.

I have my pet with me - makes it easier for me. Some people would never have a pet with them.

 

I noticed that a lot of drivers are loners. Some are too beat up to socialize and just want to sleep. Its not like they portray in the movies from the 70's where trucking was cool. A Whole different ballgame. Isolation is tough and even cruel for some. OTHERS, love being alone---i don't know how they do it.

I've gone to truck stops and talked with guys who were torn up by loneliness and just drank at the bar---Not good. If you need people around you, then OTR is not a long-term career option. Temp the long term and then look for local work like "woody" said.

 

Those of us that know how to be alone in a room full of people, make good OTR drivers.

 

Dont always park at truckstops....find the abandoned shopping center lot next to the applebees and go have a beer, talk to people....does wonders. Truckstops can be very depressing out on the road....especially the Petros with their crap music.

 

Until a cop notices you coming out of a bar and going into a truck. Then your career (really job) is basically over. This is one of the most overregulated ridiculous industries there is, remember?

For me wasn't a lack of social contact that was a problem but the homesickness. I never cared for conversing with strangers, only those I love.