According to The Road Blog, depression impacts 15 to 20 percent of professional truck drivers. That rate is much higher than the national average for depression in general (about 6 percent).

With the high rate of depression among people with CDL trucking jobs, Drive My Way decided to explore the issue more deeply and get to the heart of what helps truck drivers overcome their depression. Here, we highlight two truck drivers who found that trucking itself cured their depression.

Brian Sparks wanted out in the worst possible way.

Not out of his relationship (he already was out of that). No, he wanted out of life. He worked in a factory, had just endured an ugly divorce, was struggling to raise his son and felt like he wasn’t doing enough for anyone.

He lost custody of his son to his ex-wife and later got booted from his apartment. That’s when “I went off the deep end a bit,” he recalls. “It seemed like there was a stretch where I was losing everything around me. I didn’t feel like sticking around.”

With his back against the wall, Sparks was at a crossroads. He had to make a decision. He thought of his dad, who worked as a truck driver. “I remembered the pride he took in his job,” Sparks says. “So I obtained my CDL and started driving.”

Turning Point

It was a decision that changed Sparks’ life.

In the factory, Sparks was working 12-hour days and missing visitations with his son, who lives about six hours away from him. When he began driving for DST, LLC one year ago, however, he noticed a marked change in himself. For once, he felt empowered.

“DST definitely boosted me up,” Sparks says. Sparks rose quickly in his job, which spurred him on all the more. Today, he not only drives for DST, he also interviews drivers whom DST is considering hiring.

“I’m the one who comes in and tells them how it is,” he says. “I go above and beyond in my job. I like to help people. My manager sees I have a desire to do the job and represent the company in a positive manner. I’m solving problems and using common sense. My opinion matters. It’s built up my sense of self worth. It’s made me feel important.”

The empowerment Sparks has gleaned from his CDL trucking job has buoyed his relationships. He and his ex-wife are great friends now as they work together to raise their son. And his son looks up to him. Sparks says it’s all because his outlook has changed. “I notice a big difference in myself,” he says. “A lot of it was my own attitude, I have to admit.”

Samantha Rohweder, an expedited dry van team driver, also says driving empowered her to overcome her depression.

Until she landed her high paying trucking job, Rohweder’s life had been racked by financial hardship and bad credit. It put her in a hole for years and thrust her into the depths of despair that for a time drove her to turn to alcohol and drugs.

But Rohweder began to notice positive, lasting change about a year into her CDL trucking job. Bit by bit, she was able to start repairing her credit. As the cloud of financial hardship lifted, she started to see that she was actually happy.

Having a high paying trucking job turned Rohweder’s life around so much that she no longer needs to take antidepressants.

Every aspect of her life has improved, actually. “After six years on the road, I’m still eager to face the day,” she says. “I don’t drink alcohol anymore. No thoughts of illicit drug use. I have better relations with my kids. I’m now engaged to an awesome man and am just an all-around happier person. And because trucking is not the same old daily grind, I don’t get bored.”

For a long time, Rohweder, mom to three grown kids, didn’t have a relationship with her oldest daughter due to her depression. Today, however, the two have a normal parent-child relationship and share in life’s special moments.

“It was the freedom and confidence of driving that empowered me to change,” she says.

Sometimes truck driving is so much more than just a job. For more great content on how trucking jobs change lives, follow us on Facebook here.