One negative side effect of being an over the road truck driver is depression. Depression is an illness that can have devastating health effects on those that live with it. Depression can cause feelings of loneliness, hopelessness, and frustration. Depression can be caused by too much time alone as well as working or living in a high stress environment and can be caused due to an inconsistent sleep pattern or lack of sleep. 1.5% of the population of the United States suffer from depression. In truck drivers that number skyrockets to a whopping 13.6%.
There are several reasons why depression numbers are so high in truck drivers. Drivers spend majority of their time alone on the road for weeks at a time away from friends, family, activities, and places they love. “I feel more like a visitor in my own house when I’m home” says Daniel Rodriguez. While on the road drivers almost never know what the next load will be, when it will pick up or deliver and this can lead to depression by causing high stress and anxiety as they want to maximize their time to make more money. Further investigations show that a driver may start early in the morning on a Monday, be finished later that evening but then the next load may not pick up until late in the evening on Tuesday. This constant change in work times is the norm in the trucking industry but leads to inconsistent sleep cycles as drivers are always switching from working during the day to sleeping during the day. This ever-changing work schedule contributes to depression as the drivers’ stress levels are high due to them not being able to sleep or getting inadequate amounts of rest. Being alone in a truck for days at a time can also make drivers stress levels higher as they have all the time in the world to think and dwell on all their worries whether it be money, relationship or work stresses.
Over the road truck drivers also have extremely stressful careers. They must deal with weather changes, random DOT inspections, picking up loads and delivering them on time. Due to having deadlines to deliver they must plan their driving routes in advance to make sure they do not drive down roads that trucks are not allowed to drive on. Even if they plan everything perfectly, they still must worry about construction zones, car accidents, ever changing weather conditions and other cars on the road that may cut them off at any moment. Drivers unlike many careers do not have the option to go home an relax after a stressful day of work. They may not be able to go home for several weeks at a time. Picture the most difficult day you have had a work and how it made you feel. Then image not being able to leave, no place to go to let loose and unwind. When one looks at it this way it is easy to see how a driver’s stress and depression levels can just increase dramatically and in a short period of time.
Depression is one of the main reasons that truck driver turnover is over 100% and that the average professional drivers career lasts only three months. One of the best ways to deal with depression is to have someone to talk to and express ones concerns which is something that does not happen enough in the trucking industry. Sadly, this type of therapy is almost never used in as this is a male dominated industry. Combined with the societal expectation placed on men needing to be strong, a man sharing his feelings is looked upon as a weakness when in fact the opposite is true.
Trucking companies have a lot of work to do to help deal with their driver’s depression. Most companies offer a suicide prevention hotline number to call or they do pulse checks. Pulse checks are where a company representative will call a random driver and ask how they are doing. Companies that have done this have gotten valuable feedback and have been able to help a driver with some or all their issues.
http://www.truckingsos.com/depression-among-truckers/#:~:text=Depression%20In%20Truck%20Drivers.%20Depression%20is%20a%20sickness,from%20it%20but%20also%20those%20close%20to%20them.
In your first paragraph, you can probably cut down the sentences a little bit so they flow a bit better. It would also be good to have a source citation of where you are getting the info.
Don’t say words like whopping, just say the number increases and let the number jump tell the story.
Good use of your first quote, remember to offset quotes as their own paragraphs.
When you say further investigation, where is that info coming from? Just so it is clear
Try to find some source or scientific study to link your claims to, that way they have some credible backing to them to a reader who doesn’t know you are in the industry.
I don’t know if you can find some other sources to talk to and get a few more quotes – maybe find a phycologist or therapist in your area who you could speak to and get their take on why the conditions of trucking lead to depression? That would also help substantiate your claims in the article.
You have a nice start here, just need to tie it up a little bit and get some more sources – both original and research.