Well, last week was a strange one, came back from a weeks hols, run down the road on monday afternoon. all week i’ve had no appetite, tightness in my chest , feelings of anxiety about where to park up and fuel up … last half a stone since sunday afternoon, didnt eat a hot meal until i got home last night .
Ive handed my notice in and am turning my back on the industry.Ive never felt so good as when i was taking my gear out of the wagon, it was like a wieght had been lifted off my shoulders.
Just wondered if anybody else has had similar issues with confidence and anxiety when down the road ?
gray_nw:
Well, last week was a strange one, came back from a weeks hols, run down the road on monday afternoon. all week i’ve had no appetite, tightness in my chest , feelings of anxiety about where to park up and fuel up … last half a stone since sunday afternoon, didnt eat a hot meal until i got home last night .
Ive handed my notice in and am turning my back on the industry.Ive never felt so good as when i was taking my gear out of the wagon, it was like a wieght had been lifted off my shoulders.
Just wondered if anybody else has had similar issues with confidence and anxiety when down the road ?
I’ve dropped into a nice little number no nights out 5 week rota so I know what I’m doing every night. not done a single days OT since Christmas salary pay etc. best thing ever happened apart from the divorce 
yes I have had all you said take break may be other things in your life may not be
helping have some time out .
Hi gray_nw.
Sorry to hear that but im glad that you feel alot better now. I sometimes suffer from anxiety whilst out on the road too. I dont have a stressfull job and im very rarely under any pressure from my office but i still feel anxiety from time to time. Sometimes its about trying not to get stuck out on a Friday night and then other times im not aware as to why i feel anxious.
Did you feel it every day or did it vary? Ive certainly not lost appertite (judging by my gut) but sometimes feel drained and tired even afted a very quiet day. Theres a history of depression on my family and its made me wonder if its this sometimes.
Luckily i have a close family and its always good to talk about things like this. After all, it can be a lonely job of you let it.
Glad to hear you feel better now your out the cab mate.
I always feel like that when I’ve had a break longer than a weekend. I’m not ashamed to actually admit I feel homesick for the first week back tramping.
Usually wears off after the week after for me though.
Good luck,
I did it 10 yrs ago and not looked back,
I know you will get negative feed back from other drivers on here telling you your mad and they will give you a couple of months before your back behind the wheel ,
Corr, thought it was just me , it was every day i felt rubbish …just wondered why i was doing this … money was good , but everything else wasnt, i have suffered depression in the past and wondering if thats coming back due to various personal issues … any hoo, feel tad better ,if still a little weak form no food .
Listen mate when your health is being effected coz of the job then its time to get out…you know the phrase health before wealth.
But I suspect this applies to most industries…I spend 20 old years in a industry and the weight was lifted from my shoulders when they decided to end my contract… relief…
End of the day, it starts with getting bored with the job, then hate for the changers etc etc… sooner you know it, things get on top of you… Take a few months away and see how you feel… what have you lined up in the mean time…
What other industry allows you to work 15 hrs then take 9 off but in that time your to shower eat and sleep , most nights I was only getting 5hrs max sleep .
I decided my health came first
I suffer with anxiety and panic attacks too and sometimes it is almost impossible to control.
Just to add, if you drink a lot of tea and/or coffee it will help if you cut down on it or stop altogether.
I get anxiety over parking and finding fuel stops.
A back up plan if the truckstop is full.
They normaly are after 17.00 to 18.00.
Ringing them up to reserve a parking space.
Hearing noises at night, thinking somebody is in the trailer or stealing diesel.
Airline pilots may have to work longer and have shorter rest periods.
They say they will be more tired.And mistakes maybe made.
A 9 hour rest is not enough.If you cab hop and drive the car home that eats in to the rest period.
By the time you have eaten,washed,it is 4 hours sleep or less.
Try driving with irritable bowel syndrome…
makes every journey an adventure !! 
gray_nw:
Well, last week was a strange one, came back from a weeks hols, run down the road on monday afternoon. all week i’ve had no appetite, tightness in my chest , feelings of anxiety about where to park up and fuel up … last half a stone since sunday afternoon, didnt eat a hot meal until i got home last night .
Unless your holiday involved having your ■■■■■ replaced with a ■■■■■■ I can’t understand this. bet you cried like a girl as well…
Seriously though I would mention this to your doctor, it sounds like an proper anxiety attack which could have been triggered by stress and moving away from driving may only be a temporary fix. There could be a more serious underlying issue. Hope your OK (the first paragraph of this post really is just an immature attempt at humour, apologies in advance).
thanks for the replies , even yours Dave …
Im taking some time out , and taking stock of things … change is as good as a rest anyway … see how things develop …
I went through this 11yrs ago I had to hand in my HGV as I was feeling under so much pressure I was making a lot of mistakes when driving. It was 4yrs before I retired I got another job on a truck wash but eventually had to go on the sick. I have been on medication since and am now considering handing in my car licence as I am struggling to cope even on the quite roads around here. Eddie.
No probs… but seriously seek some indpendant (real world) advice on this, the underlying issue could have nothing to do with driving trucks.
Good luck and focus on the positives…
The ironic thing is that tacographs and strict enforcement of riduculous arbitrary hours regs,that either make you keep moving when you want to stop,or have to find somewhere to stop when you need to keep moving etc,are probably more of an ingredient for stressed out drivers,than going back to good old fashioned domestic regs of log books etc would be.
There was a guy reported about in the news a few years ago, think he was from ■■■■■■■■ His job involved traveling a A and B roads for a good few years. They put him on another run, it involved going on Motorways. He was gonna jack, they accomodated him. Made the press at the time. He just couldn;t handle the stress of the Motorway.
Thats a good point, with all the rules and reglations forced upon us it can be a nightware to stay legit, without having to keep track of every minute of the day. Note pad works for me, if I even ■■■■ I tend write it down (well not really but will make a note of poops). Sure we aren’t the most heavily regulated profession but we have to be in the top 5.
Time to take stock of what you want to do in life but trust me mental illness’s (sorry couldn’t think of a better phrase) may not be down to a state of mind, there could be a simple expanation… see a chuffin doctor. 
Theres a lot of truth in that. Say you start 8 o clock monday morning you could me starting at 1 am by friday and be perfectly legal that cant be good long term.
Then again todays timed deliverys with very little leeway is as much a problem for many drivers and companys.
Anyway good luck with everything i went through a bit of a breakdown and depression not work related this time last year. Id certainly go to your gp and have a chat as the job may have just been the straw that broke the camels back.