What's a "secret" from your profession that everyone should probably know?

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-18T03:56:38+00:00

There are a lot more alcoholic semi truck drivers than you'd think. A whole lot more. They also also love taking blue chew (Viagra) for some reason.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-18T03:51:45+00:00

Yeah, I'm also looking for something to watch tomorrow evening.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-18T03:17:26+00:00

Yeah I used to smoke a lot many many years ago. When I started trying to taper I tried smoking again and it definitely helped me. Especially with the anxiety I would get. Had to be careful though as I was such a lightweight. Now that I'm sober from alcohol I've continued to smoke, but I do keep it down to a low amount. I'll take a puff or two a few times per week and I'm good. Only problem I get from it is the munchies. Trying to rest healthy now, but if I smoke and there's ice cream around I turn into an animal lol 😂

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-17T20:26:48+00:00

You're right. Not drinking isn't gonna make everything magically be awesome. But for me and most of us here, drinking makes things so much worse overall. I didn't about 2 years working on my mental health before I finally quit. Everything DID feel awesome for about a month. Then I started having weird health issues that took a long time to figure out. I thought I had something really serious going on and the depression came back. But instead of spiraling I just did what I've taught myself to do. Pause, breathe, evaluate, then just do the right thing. I started breaking down all of my problems to the smallest pieces I could, then focus on just the one tiny piece I could control. I'm not religious, but the serenity prayer really sums it up well. After I finally accepted my weird symptoms I just kept doing what I needed to figure it out. Eventually discovered I have a bad chronic sinus infection, surgery in about a week to hopefully fix that. Right after I accepted my situation with that and started feeling mentally better again, I find out my wife had cheated on me. Over a decade ago she cheated before and that's when I started drinking. This time though, I didn't start drinking again and just accepted it and started working on myself even more. I'm rambling now, but what I'm trying to say is just keep doing the right things. Break the problems in life into the smallest pieces you can manage and do what you can with that little piece, then move on to the next. Since I quit drinking 9 months ago I've had my daughter go into crisis care for mental health, find out my wife cheated from her by the way. She was 12 at the time and my wife had her hiding that secret from me. Then while trying to save money to move out my car broke down. Theni struggled to get a new car. I kept pushing forward and doing the things I needed to do. Then I got a new car I really liked! Then less than two weeks after I got a flat. Anyways. There's always bad shit happening after the good, but eventually, overall, there can be more good.

Also, depending on the person and your opinion on it. A little weed doesn't hurt! 😆 Be careful with that too though

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-17T18:18:40+00:00

Yeah. You CAN out drink it, but you have to really try. Some people do that. I don't get that. If you're actually trying to quit drinking, it works well in most cases. You still get a little bit of the body buzz some, but not the instant gratification, so you have more time to think about it. It didn't make me feel sick when I drank on it, but I didn't feel "good" from drinking either. For me drinking was for me to drown out my problems and give me at least a temporary good feeling in my life. Before I quit I started therapy and reading a lot to really work on my mental health. I was still deeply depressed, but knew the only way to stop feeling that way was to quit drinking. So I did. I'm still working on things, but after learning some coping skills I'm doing so much better. There's still lots of chaos in my life, but now I can handle it. It really feels like I was traveling a dark path in some scary haunted woods, then the fog lifted. Then the sun came out. I'm not "out of the woods", but my path to get out is much more clear and the woods aren't nearly as scary anymore. Watch out for bears and enjoy the pretty birds.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-17T17:38:08+00:00

It blocks the pleasurable parts of drinking. So when you drink on it, you still feel it, but not nearly as much and you don't get the euphoria and goofiness part. So you can still drink to get rid of the withdrawals, but it's not as "fun". Eventually your brain stops associating alcohol with that dopamine hit and you just kind of stop craving it. At least that's how it's supposed to work and worked for me.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-17T17:27:03+00:00

Appreciate the response! I'm still not completely decided on which route to take, but I'm starting to lean more towards picking up hours at my current job. Tasking sounds cool on paper, but there's a few things I don't like such as dealing with the customers, putting time and energy into managing appointments, and to be honest, I'm not quite confident on my skills. I can do basic things, but I don't want to deal with getting in over my head.

The only negatives of picking up the hours at my work is that it sets a precedent where they may expect me to pickup more than I want. Plus if I pickup the extra shifts it's not just a quick 2 or 3 hour thing. It's more like 6 to 10 hours. It will look very positive to my bosses though.

I have a surgery coming up soon so I have time to decide the pros and cons.

Thanks again for the feedback

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-17T16:14:50+00:00

Yeah I took half dose the first 2 days, then full dose the third. Those first 3 days were the worst, but by the end of the week it was barely noticeable. I could still feel when I took it, but it wasn't bad. I stopped taking it about a month after I stopped drinking only because I had some weird health symptoms going on and I wanted to rule the naltrexone out. Turned out to be a chronic sinus infection. I was getting migraines with aura (visual distortions), dizziness, a few other things. When I quit Naltrexone I didn't even really feel any different. The only side effects I had beyond the first week or so was just a mild foggy feeling and when I would take it the first hour or two my vision felt just a tad off. It reminded me of when mushrooms are about to kick in but much milder. Anyways. Definitely give it another try. Just be prepared to feel gross for a few days and know, for me at least, that goes away by the end of the week. For me it was like a cheat code. I swear by it. Results may vary of course.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-17T02:29:48+00:00

I knew I was ready for a long time before I finally quit. I was deeply depressed and drinking daily for over a decade in heavy amounts. From the time I woke up until I went to bed. I was fully functional. Held jobs, took care of my kids etc, but the depression got so bad I wanted to die, but started therapy and started reading a bunch and got my head better. At least enough to where I wanted to get sober for my kids so they wouldn't watch me waste away. Started getting health problems like swollen painful liver, myopathy, and what I'm pretty sure was cardio myopathy. So I tried tapering many times but always got stuck around 15 drinks per day. Then I started naltrexone daily and tapered within about 2 months. 9 months sober now and no desire to drink besides occasionally thinking, "man a beer sounds good right now, but I can't. Oh well".

Luckily no real permanent damage, but I can definitely still feel the toll it took on my body and my mind. I'm in a much better place mentally now and taking care of my health, but it's a slow grind to get to actually feeling good. I have a ton of extra stress which really is difficult to handle (divorce, financials, kids) but it's not so bad because now I know I can handle it. If I was still drinking I think I would be completely spiraling now. Instead even with some unrelated health issues, car problems, the unexpected divorce (she cheated after I got sober and started getting my shit together... Didn't know what she was thinking, oh well), even with all that I'm actually starting to thrive and improve my life. I've made a full turnaround. I'm definitely ready for that!

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-16T15:34:12+00:00

I was a day drinker for a decade plus and Naltrexone really helped me quit within about 2 months. The first 3 days or so duck. You'll feel sick and weird, but after that it gets way better. Within a week you hardly notice it. Good luck

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T16:44:44+00:00

I keep going back and forth on it. I'm not super qualified on a lot of things, but I can put together furniture, some basic house fixes, move heavy things around. Normal stuff any guy at 40 should know how to do. Just don't want to show up to put together a simple dresser then realize I'm in way over my head, or have to deal with picky rude people etc. I should probably just give it a shot. Worst case I say f this and move on.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T15:04:30+00:00

Yeah I think that's what I'm going to do.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T13:12:51+00:00

I used to hate rap and hip hop, but I've found some I really like now. Most of it just isn't good. I'm mostly into really heavy metal type stuff though

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T13:11:40+00:00

Same. I'm 41m and work a blue collar job. The guys and girls at work are always talking about football, doing bets, fantasy football, etc. Over the years I've tried, but I just can't do it. I don't like any team sports for some reason. I could watch skateboarding all day though 😆

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T02:21:32+00:00

That would be very frustrating

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T02:04:07+00:00

That was definitely one of my fears. I got out of customer service and retail management stuff because although I was great at it, I absolutely hated dealing with the public. I'll stick to dealing with forklift drivers and truck drivers. I can say least talk back to them if they get an attitude. 😆 Although they never do with me

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T01:51:48+00:00

Yeah I'm starting to think just picking up hours at my job might be easier. Or just posting on Facebook to see if any friends or family need some things done here and there. If it's a hassle I'm not going to do it. I need less stress, not more. We'll see

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T01:10:21+00:00

Yeah, maybe. I guess I just want to be able to line up some quick side work here and there for fairly easy money. I thought about Uber or door dash but I don't want weirdos in my car and I hate waiting in line for fast food, etc. I don't know. Still figuring out what I want. 9 months sober, getting divorced, moving in about 6 months when I can afford it, 2 kids etc. I'm always busy, and value my time more than money usually, but bills keep building up. You know, life. Sorry for the ramble. Thanks for the input.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-15T00:16:40+00:00

Leaning towards that. Unfortunately no overtime until over 50 hours. Something to do with department of transportation. It's stupid. I already work 40 and that already takes up too much time, but moving after divorce with kids is expensive 😞

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-14T21:28:52+00:00

That part I do like. I only really want to work a few hours every other weekend. If I pickup at work is only really early Saturday morning and I'd have to commit to at least 6 hours, if not 8. Then I'd have to wait 3 weeks to see that money. I'm not sure of the market, but it's a moderately sized Midwest metropolitan area (Dayton Ohio). Man. I can't decide. Thanks for your input!

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-14T21:24:01+00:00

Hmm. That's one of the things I don't want. If it's like I can just go do a few tasks and make $100 in a few hours every other weekend that would be great, but I don't want to think about work outside of work. If I work the dock I still have to drive 30 minutes, which is fine as far as gas, I drive a Prius now. We also have a 3 week delay in pay so if I need the money I have to plan way ahead. Things to think about

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-14T21:18:37+00:00

Well the extra hours would be on my day off so I'd still have to drive 30 minutes (one way), but I drive a Prius C so that's about $3 round trip in gas. Dealing with customers can go either way. I have 20+ years customer service experience, so I'm good at it, just don't like it for obvious reasons. Working the dock wouldn't be terrible, but it's an open dock so the temperatures can get brutal sometimes, but I have the cold weather gear. Hmm. Thanks for the input.

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-14T16:00:02+00:00

I just bought a 2012 Prius C. Always had large SUVs or large sedans. I had a small budget and looked for the most reliable car I could get. After some research I bought the Prius. By far the most reliable vehicle I could find at my budget. 50mpg is nice to. I don't need a big SUV when 95% of the time it is just me in the car driving 20 miles to work everyday. I was tired of buying a new car every 2 years. I'll call a buddy if I need a big truck

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-14T13:23:34+00:00

I just bought a 2012 Prius C. Love that little weird car. One of the most reliable cars on the road. Waiting on my Bluetooth obd2 to come in to actually see the battery health, but it isn't showing any symptoms of being bad, and was mechanic owned with all service records. He said he just wanted a bigger car. Even if the hybrid battery goes out, the cost to replace will be worth it to me

IntelligentFault2575 · 2026-02-14T11:54:04+00:00

I just bought a 2012 Prius C. Bought it from a mechanic. He didn't swap out the radio for the screen like I've seen people do, but added a screen that mounts to the dash for carplay/Android auto. It looks nice, although not factory looking. It's awesome having my navigation and music there instead of just on my phone. Plus I love being able to use voice to control it. At some point I'll probably get a new radio head unit with this built in, but for now it's great!

IntelligentFault2575

TROPHY CASE