Do you care for your mind and body as well as you care for your vehicle? That’s a question gig drivers have to ask themselves. Your car goes in for regular maintenance, and if it breaks down, you will go to great lengths to get it repaired as soon as possible. But what about you? Do you always go for help when your body needs attention? What about your mental health?
You can have the steadiest, most reliable vehicle imaginable, but if your body isn’t in top shape, you won’t be able to work to your greatest potential. That’s why it’s so important to care for yourself even more vigilantly than you care for your car. We know. It’s so expensive to get health care insurance, let alone pay out of pocket for the cost of visits with health care professionals.
You need to find a new way to stay healthy while you continue your work as a rideshare and/or delivery driver, and we’ve found it for you. Sesame was ranked as America’s #1 telehealth provider in 2021, and they offer affordable physical and mental health care around the clock. You’ll learn all about the health issues drivers face and how Sesame can help you avoid and overcome them in this blog post. Here’s how we’ll line things up:
- How gig driving can affect physical and mental health
- The no benefits blues: why it’s so hard for drivers to pay for health care
- Sesame: a new and affordable way to stay in good health
How gig driving can affect physical and mental health
Compared to many jobs, gig driving doesn’t have a lot of obvious occupational hazards. You don’t have to dangle from the top of a scaffold, expose yourself to poisons and biohazards, or crawl into tight spaces while breathing through a respirator. Still, there are many ways that sitting for long periods, driving, and dealing with rideshare and delivery stress can put even more wear and tear on your body and mind than what your brakes and tires suffer.
There’s plenty of great DoorDash driver advice out there about wearing the right shoes, as well as Uber driver advice and Lyft driver advice about taking breaks and stretching your legs, but even when you follow those tips, you can still develop health problems.
Here are just some of the ailments drivers commonly encounter:
- repetitive stress injury: Fingers, wrists, elbows, and shoulders get overworked; necks and legs get cramped.
- poor sleep patterns: Driving at night can trigger disruptions in your sleep cycle.
- dehydration: Many health problems are worsened when you don’t drink enough water.
- poor nutrition: Eating junk food and/or noshing on the go can lead to gastric problems, cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and other side effects of obesity.
- immune system challenges: Being around a lot of people exposes you to more diseases, placing extra stress on your immune system.
And that’s just your body! Your mental health can also suffer when you use gig driving as a way to make a living. You might need help coping with mental health issues such as
- anxiety: The stress of working with the public, plus dealing with traffic snarls, can trigger unpleasant responses ranging from fear and discomfort to agitation and road rage.
- isolation: Driving around in your car, missing out on a vibrant social life, and dealing with an array of strangers can easily lead to loneliness.
- depression: Financial worries, plus the isolation and stress of driving, can put drivers on a spiral of negative thought patterns and a sense of hopelessness.
- substance abuse: We hope you’d never drive under the influence, but what happens when you get home? Many drivers seek to escape harsh realities through unhealthy indulgences, and some even develop harmful addictions.
Obviously, mental and physical health issues can be complex and are often intertwined. For instance, dealing with chronic pain can lead to a negative frame of mind, resulting in depression. Issues such as these require the attention of professionals. The problem for drivers is consulting professionals can cost a whole lot of money.
The no benefits blues: why it’s so hard for drivers to pay for health care
If you’re a gig driver, you’re not an employee of the companies you drive for. You’re an independent contractor, and therefore you’re responsible for providing your own benefits, including health insurance. Even with the healthcare marketplace, buying an insurance policy that covers your medical and mental health can take a substantial bite out of your earnings.
If you pay directly to the provider, you’ll wind up spending even more money. The operating costs medical and mental health professionals carry are astronomical, and unfortunately, they get passed along to their patients and clients. When the costs are covered by insurance companies, a $25 or $30 co-pay doesn’t seem so bad to the person seeking help.
However, for those who don’t have insurance, a simple doctor visit at an Urgent Care facility can cost as much as $100–$150. If further treatment is required, the costs can multiply rapidly.
Now, imagine what could happen if you don’t maintain your health. When you let a seemingly small problem get out of hand, you could wind up in a lot of debt. For example, if you let high blood pressure or shortness of breath go without treatment, you could wind up with advanced heart disease or even a life-altering event such as a heart attack or stroke.
You don’t want to know how much that could cost you, but we’ll tell you anyway. In addition to your health suffering , a major medical event such as that would run you up in the range of tens of thousands of dollars. No matter how much you’ve learned about how to earn more as a rideshare driver or how to earn more as a delivery driver, it’s unlikely that your earnings would be able to cover such a catastrophe.
Prevention goes a long way toward saving you money over time. You know this from taking care of your car. You wouldn’t let an oil leak or squeaky brakes go without repair, would you? Your body is multitudes more sophisticated and intricate than any vehicle. It requires constant maintenance, and without it, the “breakdowns” can have dire consequences.
Lucky for drivers, Sesame is here to provide the kind of care you need at extremely affordable prices.
Sesame: a new and affordable way to stay in good health
One of the best unintended benefits of the recent lockdowns has been the emergence of telehealth. Now, rather than taking time off work to go to a health care professional’s office or clinic, you can “see” a doctor or counselor right from your phone! Simply go to the Sesame website, fill in the information about the service you need, and book an appointment!
Sesame is a leader in the field of telehealth, and they offer affordable options for physical and mental health care at times that suit drivers—around the clock, each and every day. With Sesame, you can
- book appointments in minutes
- pay direct at discount prices, as low as $19 per visit!
- get professional help for all kinds of conditions, including skin care, dental issues, mental health, wellness and disease prevention, care for chronic conditions, diabetes care, men’s health, and even sleep disorders
Sesame also offers affordable access for in-person visits, lab procedures, and prescription drugs. Sesame’s wide network of thousands of providers is available to you with a few taps on your phone’s screen. Book an in-person appointment or go online with a telehealth provider.
With Sesame at your fingertips, you get the health care you need, when you need it, without breaking the bank. What’s more, Sesame’s got a great partnership with your favorite free mileage tracker app, Gridwise!
If you’re a Gridwise user, you receive a 20% discount on your first telehealth appointment. Use the code GRIDWISE20.
Download the Gridwise driver app now to use the free mileage tracker and access tons of driver discounts like this one!
Now that the best telehealth company has joined forces with the best mileage tracker app, you’ve got your health care needs covered!
