rehab

Help Centers, Hotlines, and Online Resources for When You’re White Knuckling

ByBrianna Hacker

Even as some stay-at-home orders are lifted, people in recovery everywhere are still suffering. Even people who have been sober for decades are starting to the white knuckle as they lose access to resources that have kept them on the straight and narrow.

A common term known amongst the recovery community is white-knuckling. White knuckling is what happens when a sober person is on the brink or cusp of relapsing. Many people don’t realize that you can intervene or arrange for some type of intervention during the white-knuckling phase. Basically, the person you know doesn’t have to relapse to go back to rehab. Contact our rehabilitation experts today.

Resources Available Online, And By Phone

Because addiction blossoms in isolation, it’s no wonder that many people are falling into old habits or struggling to stay sober. People are missing meetings and therapy appointments, and it’s making it nearly impossible for some people to stay away from old habits.

If you’re struggling right now, try to utilize any of these remote access resources for drug abuse and recovery support.

  • Virtual/Phone-in meetings for Families Anonymous, Al-Anon, and NA Anon
  • 12step-online.com
  • Drugfree.org online support community
  • National Helpline from SAMSHA – 1-800-662-4357 (HELP)

There are other resources that you can use to find support, as well. Such podcasts like the beyond addiction show Dr. Josh King and the Hazelden Betty Ford podcast have helped many people. These podcasts are free and available on Apple IOS, Android devices, and online through Apple Podcasts and usually on their websites as well.

The resources here can reduce the feelings of loneliness as you can once again engage with or experience a meeting. You can have access to information that your support system would normally deliver and stay engaged with the recovery community.

Who Should You Call When You Know You’re White-Knuckling?

If you have a sponsor, call them. If you have a therapist, call them too. If you decided to get sober alone, this might be the time that you need support. White-knuckling is not the same as getting sober. Many people realize during difficult times in their life that although detoxing seemed like the biggest obstacle in life, sometimes staying sober is even more challenging.

White-knuckling is a craving far more intense than when you were regularly using. The reason that it’s so difficult is that the logical portion of your brain is in an all-out war with the physiological demand for immediate stress relief. We’re living in extremely stressful times, and your body wants that comforting coping system of just shooting up or smoking the stress away. Except you know, that doesn’t work. That’s amazing, to have come so far in sobriety that you can logically do battle against those urges. But how long can you last?

Recovery isn’t about surviving from one day to the next, hating how much you crave your drug of choice. Sobriety should be enjoyable. With white-knuckling, that’s not possible, though. Start sending out the signals to your network. Call people, text people, go to online meetings, and phone into your old rehab support centers.

Getting Support When Stay-At-Home Orders Keep You Away From Rehab

What happens if you really need rehab right now? Recovery houses and even detox centers are by-and-large, not accepting new patients. Detox centers are taking as a few people as possible, and this pandemic is feeding into the already raging opioid epidemic. Now the people in treatment have some good news… they can’t leave.

But what about you? Many outpatient programs are trying to set up personalized plans to help people from home. It is possible to start building coping mechanisms and building trust between patients and counselors or therapists from a distance. This situation is the best possible setup when social distancing and shelter-in-place orders are in full effect.

Will An Outpatient Rehabilitation Program Still Help You During This Time?

Outpatient programs are becoming more popular as people realize that inpatient centers aren’t realistic for reentering day-to-day life. What happens with an outpatient center is that your day is filled with therapy and other forms of treatment around your daily responsibilities. For example, you could wake up, get ready, come to a therapy session, then return home, take your kids to school, and do another session during lunch.

During the stay-at-home orders, outpatient programs are something accessible, whereas inpatient treatment centers typically aren’t taking new patients. Call our offices at Rehab Carolinas to get a better understanding of what treatments and therapy options are available for you.