For the rookies...Dealing with stress

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Peterbeatinit, Mar 11, 2012.

  1. Peterbeatinit

    Peterbeatinit Medium Load Member

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    Face it..Driving a truck OTR or anywhere is a very hazardous and very stressful vocation. This thread is for experienced drivers to put forth GOOD suggestions for dealing with the stresses of the job.

    What causes the stress? Name it..dispatchers, traffic, weather, tight schedules to bad directions to too many miles or not enough..
    and I say too many miles because when freight is good, companies will run you ragged.

    Learning how to alleviate the stress and keep your head is going to let you succeed and make it beyond that first year.

    Things i did on the truck..

    X box-a good shooter like call of duty, Gears of war series, or Army of Two
    Movies-just to relax and unwind
    Books..see movies
    Get out of the truck and take a walk or run
    Polish the aluminum (this is actually quite calming..takes no mental thought really, and makes the truck look #### good)
    Wax the paint..see polishing the aluminum

    Those are some of mine..I'm sure others have more so if you have one or several activities that you use while on the road in the truck post em up...and no...Lot Lizards are not GOOD stress relief..cuz then you add the stress of what you caught from them..LOL

    Petey
     
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  3. 2500HDRob

    2500HDRob Light Load Member

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    Appreciate the list. I start school in 25 days, so this is definitely helpful.
     
  4. Peterbeatinit

    Peterbeatinit Medium Load Member

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    I'm sure other drivers have even more good suggestions..keep checking back
     
  5. Scuby

    Scuby Heavy Load Member

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    Surf the net, take a reset every so often,and get a hotel/motel room for a night. Otherwise its up to the driver on what relaxes him or her.
     
  6. Peterbeatinit

    Peterbeatinit Medium Load Member

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    True..but for new drivers who don't know whats possible out on the road list what you can

    Petey
     
  7. NewNashGuy

    NewNashGuy Road Train Member

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    I read all of these posts for months before I became a trucker about how trucking is the hardest thing in the world and to expect pure hell daily but now that I am two months in it is an easy job compared to the jobs I had where you felt like dying everyday. I had extreme physical jobs where I collapsed on the floor when I got home and I had extreme mental jobs where I could feel my heart beat in my head and had to take Tylenol daily.

    Trucking is easy when compared to these jobs. Yes I have already had to fight traffic, bad weather, shippers keeping me for three days, breakdowns, DOT inspections, fm lost paperwork I sent, got stuck in Maryland surrounded by no trucks allowed signs, etc. and yeah you cannot be a whiner but if you are used to taking crap at a job you can handle being a trucker. After those problems I just look forward to the sleeper, get my 10 hours off to relax and sleep and wake up feeling fresh and hoping for the best. So I guess all of these "OMG it is so hard!!!!" topics are from people who worked simple laid back jobs and then jumped into trucking. Plus their trucking company may suck. I love my carrier they treat me with respect and give me unlimited miles.

    The thing I really like is how the whole country is my playground so if the city that I live in doesn't have something I want, I just wait a few days and visit that place in another state/city. Also with a regular office job, you have to wake up early in the morning, get ready, and drive in crazy traffic to work which takes 2 hours where I live. Then repeat that going home so that is four hours of your day just going and coming from work. By the time you get home and freshen up and eat dinner, you only have an hour or so to wake up and do it all over again. In this truck I wake up, turn the key and I am at work.
     
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  8. Peterbeatinit

    Peterbeatinit Medium Load Member

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    Mar 8, 2012
    San Antonio Tx
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    that means that your life and your upbringing and history have better equipped you to handle stress..

    Just because somebody else isn't just means they need help developing a better set of mental tools and habits to deal with it where you yourself already have them..doesn't make them any less capable of doing the job..for some its a learned response vs an instinctual response..

    I remembered another one a budy of mine used to do..he'd take a fishing pole and tackle box..when he wasn't pressed for time and saw a good place with some room to park..he'd pull over and fish for an hour or two..didn't care if he caught anything..but it was relaxing for him.

    Petey
     
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  9. richter111

    richter111 Bobtail Member

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    Good ideas all. Thanks
     
  10. fortycalglock

    fortycalglock Road Train Member

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    It's hard for some to get to this point, but you have to make your mind and body not stress about things you can't control. You can't control a lot of things as a new driver, especially if you have a family at home. If you can achieve this, it will eliminate a huge amount of your stress load. Proper planning, including back up plans, will help with stress about things you can control. You can't control accidents or brush fires closing roads, so don't stress about it. As a friend of mine said when we ran Jersey shorthauls everyday and huge backups were a daily occurance, If they need it now, they'll really need it when I get there. Last but not least, if you find yourself very agitated and about to blow up, in your cab, as loud as you can, as loud as you can, while putting your whole body into it, shout your favorite expletive over and over until that agitation is drained. I prefer F-it.
     
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  11. Everett

    Everett Crusty Shorts, What???

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    some days in your driving are not planned, this what happen too me, i was driving and and stop in the rest area in utah, too eat my lunch, it was a nice day, so i pulled in got my sandwich stuff out made some , then decide too sit on that concrete ledge, then i felt something poke me in the back , thought it was a twig nope a small type of animal like a wood chuck or something, then ran away, so i threw a piece of bread and he and i enjoyed a nice lunch together , just me and god little freind, i thought about that little fellow all day and seem too make the miles go away faster :yes2557:
     
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