Dealing With Homesickness As a Commercial Truck Driver

While being a commercial truck driver can be an extremely rewarding career, there are some drawbacks. One of the hardest things for drivers to deal with, particularly new ones, is their loneliness and homesickness. After all, it’s hard to go from being around your partner, family, and friends all the time to seeing them a few times a month for limited durations. Here are some ways to help curtail your feelings of isolation so that you can better enjoy your job on the road.

Acknowledge Your Feelings

Pretending like you don’t care about your family and friends or that you aren’t sad to not see them won’t help you, no matter how much you try to convince yourself that it’s more professional to hide your feelings. In fact, being open and honest about your feelings with fellow truckers can help, because they’ve undoubtedly experienced them, too! It may even be helpful to look into getting a therapist or counselor that does video or phone calls to discuss how you feel.

Stay in Touch

The nice thing about having our smartphones around is that they allow us to instantly connect with anyone, no matter where we are. Make it a point to set up a call or text schedule with the people you miss the most so that you can look forward to a video chat with your partner each evening. You can also play online games with a friend. Sending postcards from the places you’ve been will certainly make your friends and family happy to hear from you, and it can help you feel more connected to the people you’re writing to.

Adjust Your Schedule

If you’re finding it hard to be away from home for long-haul trips, talk to your supervisor about different opportunities or shorter trips that can have you home on a more regular basis. This can especially be beneficial if you’ve just started a family and want to be around your young children. 

Come see us at our Sanford, FL, dealership today to view our stock of new and used commercial trucks for sale. DeBary Truck Sales serves our Florida customers in Tampa and Orlando and our Georgia customers in Atlanta.