Four Ways Cars Help You Get Through Depression

This is my first article on CT so hopefully I get this right.

Depression is the ugly truth not many people want to talk about. It runs rampant throughout our society and causes so much damage in our relationships, friendships, families, and even careers. Not to mention it causes a lot of pain. Luckily for us petrolheads, we have cars.

Depression is serious business and it can destroy lives or worse. It can end them. According to the World Health Organization, a global estimate of 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression. The causes and symptoms differ from person to person but the impact is the same; a debilitating sadness. As someone who has gone through depression, here are my four tips to help petrolheads deal with depression.

Project Cars

Having a project car gives you a sense of purpose and accomplishment, especially when you’re first starting out. It’s an amazing feeling when you install a new exhaust system on your project. You saved a few bucks by doing it yourself and who doesn’t like to save money? You also feel a sense of accomplishment because you did something to your car that you can be proud of. You worked hard for that expensive exhaust system and now you just installed it and it sounds euphoric.

Working on your project car helps you take your mind off of what ever is making you depressed. I don’t know how many of you can relate to this but the sound of a ratchet relaxes me sometimes. At times I find myself twisting the ratchet in my hand just to hear it. We tend to dwell on what is making us depressed and it dominates our mind throughout the day making it worse. By working on your project car, you’re almost forced to focus only on the project at hand. You find yourself stuck and you don’t know what to do so you hop on YouTube and look for the answer on Scotty Kilmer’s channel or ErcTheCarGuy’s channel. Maybe you can’t find it there so you search through the forums. Either way, your mind is being distracted. Yeah, sometimes that bolt that doesn’t want to come off infuriates you and you feel like turning Super Saiyan but it’s part of the game. At least you’re not thinking about your problems.

Driving

For me, driving a manual vehicle is an unparalleled experience and I’m sure many of you reading this feel the same. I have this activity I call midnight run where on stressful nights I would go out at midnight when the highway was clear to roam and just drive. I combine driving with a special playlist just for these nights, which enhances the experience.

Driving for a petrolhead releases endorphins within our brains. What are endorphins, you ask? In short, endorphins are morphine-like chemicals that our bodies produce naturally that help alleviate pain and produce a positive feeling. They are commonly referred to as the “feel good” chemical or natural painkiller. You know that feeling you get when you have sex, or laugh, or see the UPS man pull up to drop off your new car parts?

Yeah, that’s endorphins coming into play. That’s that “feel good” chemical coursing through you. It’s your own personal stash that gives you a natural high. Here’s a good example that better illustrates my point.

Create a play list of songs that make you feel good while driving and go for a long drive when you’re feeling down or stressed out. I once drove to the other side of Miami just for a Chinese Buffet. Yeah, I have a Chinese buffet right here but I needed that long drive to clear my head and that one place has the best pigs in a blanket.

Goals

A study conducted by Dr. Joanne Dickson from the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Psychology, Health and Society found that people with depression tend to make generalized personal goals. In other words, they aren’t very specific with their goals. They are too general making it difficult for the individual to focus on accomplishing it therefore, they don’t accomplish anything and become more depressed. Here’s a link to the study in case you’re interested.

Every time I was very specific about my goal, I accomplished it and I felt elated. I was happy because I got what I wanted and I felt accomplished. Whether it is in fitness, finance or vehicles, I make very clear goals, I come up with a plan and I execute it. When I accomplish those goals, I feel elated and my self-esteem goes up. I set small goals for myself so I don’t feel so overwhelmed. It’s nice to think big but you have to start somewhere.

I’m going to paraphrase Will Smith here but one important point he mentioned was when he said if you lay a brick every single day, soon you’ll have a wall. To me, those bricks represent small goals and the wall represents your major goal. If you want to build a drift missile, don’t start with planning to build a drift missile. Start with creating a system to save money first. Then set a goal to put a certain amount of money each paycheck into that savings, then set a goal to get the car and so on. They may seem like small goals but each goal will bring you satisfaction that will combat sadness or depression and bring you one step closer to your major goal.

Every single time I generalized my goals, I failed and felt much worse. Every single time I was very clear about my goals, I made a plan, executed it, I got what I wanted and I was happy.

The community

It’s virtually impossible to feel depressed at a car meet or car show. They have always given me a sense of hope. Every time I was in the company of fellow petrolheads and their amazing vehicles, I felt like everything was going to be OK. I got pulled out of that place in my head and into a positive place. I always leave feeling driven to go after my dreams.

It feels good to be around fellow petrolheads. It’s an amazing experience to share each other’s rides, ideas and experiences and converse about what we enjoy the most. People who are sad or depressed tend to alienate themselves which helps for a while. Sometimes, people need their space but people do it for too long and it gets worse. I make it a priority to go out to car meets and car shows. Sometimes my schedule does not permit me to make it all the time but thanks to the new CT app, I can always stay connected to this awesome community wherever I go.

I’ve built some of the greatest friendships through the car community. The automotive community is unlike any other. We support each other whenever needed. Sure, you have those rude individuals who like to ruin it for everybody but thankfully they don’t make up the majority of the car community. Being apart of a community gives people a sense of belonging and they don’t feel so alone. We’re all part of the daily grind. We’re all going through our own problems in life but the car community has each other to tell stories, crack jokes, offer support and encouragement. We all go through sadness or depression in one way or another at some point in our lives. It’s a part of life and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s not what happens in our lives that define us but it’s how we go about dealing with it that shapes who we become. I want to dedicate this article to somebody close who I lost to depression.

RIP Stacey