Anxiety behind the wheel

Being anxious and being excited are very similar feelings according to
the pros .... may have to just get used to it

 

I disagree. Getting excited over something good is wonderful.

Anxiety is someone who cannot stop being sick about it. What a drip.

 

Watched a ton of psyche videos ... they can analyze this stuff quite throughly

...but cant really seem to change it .

Upset and disturbed people all over the place

( apologies for being a drip )

 

All fear is ultimately fear of death
... its nothing new

Such is the life of a self conscious creature

 

Before you were trucking, what was the most nail biting, nerve wracking, most anxiety causing thing that you had to do? This is not the first time you are dealing with anxiety. How have you gotten through in the past?

I still get anxious driving. Especially if I have to pull a big load into some metro area. If I know the task at hand, I can prepare beforehand. If I do not prepare beforehand, I am greatly decreasing my chances of success, correct? Even with pilot cars, even with a police escort, I am the one in the hot seat. I have to know my craft and I have to be successful. Preparing in advance allows me to be better suited to deal with anxiety. Hopping in the driver's seat without doing your homework is going to overload your brain when something doesn't go according to plan.

Luck in battle.

 

Fear is part of trucking sometimes. The problems begin when the professional freezes due to it. You put it aside until the crisis is over one way or the other. You can chain smoke, drink and shake later. lol.

 

I’ll write my first ever post on this site, because this topic is something i can relate to and have been curious about in the trucking community. I’ve been driving otr for 9 months now and feel like I’m in a pretty good rhythm at this point, I have yet to make any serious mistakes. Of course I realize how quickly that can change. I’m 22 years old. Last year I dropped out of college because after 2 1/2 years of school I had 1 year’s worth of credits towards one degree, and 1 year’s worth towards a completely different degree. I was $25,000 in debt and felt like I was just spinning my wheels. This was the beginning of my anxiety. Up until this point anxiety had been so far from my mind I didn’t understand what it really was. Sure, everyone gets nervous in certain situations but I was always an extremely confident person over-all. In fact I shined in stressful situations. I remember I stepped up when a girl got her arm caught in the gear of a conveyor belt at my first job when everyone else sort of froze in horror... But after I dropped out of college, I began to feel the same level of horror paralysis those folks felt when I was just walking around in a grocery store. Panic attacks are almost indescribable and may be different for everyone, but that is a pretty good analogy of how they feel to me.

Now I know you are seeking advice so here is mine, don’t get medication unless you find it absolutely necessary. That’s the problem with anxiety. You just WANT IT GONE. It’s like the feeling when you have the flu and all you can think about is how much you didn’t appreciate the time when you didn’t have the flu. So I understand the desire to jump into the pills hoping they will be your miracle. Resist if you can. I once heard someone say anxiety is like walking around with a tightly clenched fist, when you realize your hand is starting to hurt, you just need to unclench the fist. Do the breathing techniques. recognize that your mind is the cause of everything you feel, and that none of it is real. Occasionally i get into this weird mindset where I say to myself “what are you freaking out about you little b***h, you’re a grown ##* man”. I hold my head high and straighten my shoulders and sometimes that’s enough. (Must be my football coach in my head or something).
Most importantly, don’t let it get you down. I think a lot of my anxiety has been triggered subconsciously by depression, and the anxiety causes depression. So it’s a lot of twisted self propelling bs. Anxiety can feel emasculating therefore depressing.
Think to yourself “it may be 6 months from now or it may be 10 years from now. But eventually this problem will only be something that i look back on as a tough time in my life. So why should I let it affect me right now”. Do the things that make you anxious, face the fears and you will get used to them.
Now being a truck driver makes this difficult. Stop and collect yourself if the advice I gave doesn’t seem to be working, you don’t want to pass out doing 60 on i80 obviously. However... do everything you can to take control of your own mind, because that is all it is that is causing this issue.
I can tell you it was a struggle for me to get to where I am but slowly over the past 9 months of being on the road. The anxiety became less and less frequent, and now I can’t remember the last time I felt it, it was more than a month a go I believe.
Good luck out there man, stay safe and be optimistic. There are better days ahead.

 

The right thing to do is see a doctor. You may not like how the cards fall, but it’s the right thing to do

 

Great video, thanks for putting it up.

 

Great post, thanks for sharing. The thing about otr is that after you lay down some miles on the open road your head begins to clear.