White knuckling is the term used to describe the process of fighting or powering through a situation that you find anxiety provoking.
"Imagine yourself on a scary roller coaster ride and how tight you might hold onto the metal bar that sits on your lap. It may feel like holding on tightly is the only thing that will keep you safe. You cope with your fear by squeezing the bar so tight that your knuckles turn white," says ADAA member Glenda Carman-Gray, MSW, RSW.
Some good points on what to do instead of white knuckling.
“Choose to stop avoiding the discomfort of anxiety. Instead, be willing to experience fear and even panic.
Remember that the goal of an exposure is not to feel unafraid, relaxed or safe but rather to willingly experience the anxiety and uncertainty. Doing so will likely lead to more positive and longer term change.
Expose yourself to your fears in a real way. Going through the motions of an exposure is a form of resistance or avoidance because you’re not authentically in the moment while facing your fears. The how you do exposures matters!
Be where you are and pay attention to the here and now. Be in the moment, even when it feels scary. Expect that it may feel uncomfortable to let go of the feeling of control.
Acknowledge that you have the agency to drop the white knuckling. It won’t happen on its own. You have to choose to do it, even if at first you can only do so for a moment or two. Instead of trying to feel less through white knuckling, work toward being better at feeling more.
Accept that this is a process. It takes time, patience, and repetition. Like music legend Bruce Springsteen said when he got his first guitar at the age of fourteen: “I practiced and practiced and practiced, 10,000 times? Way more than 10,000 times!”
Be compassionate and hold yourself gently. This is really hard work.”
The term “white knuckling it” can be applied to the disease of alcoholism as well. Sometimes when people drink to relieve the stress in their life, which often times can include mental health issues and they continue to use alcohol instead of dealing with the stress itself, they can become addicted to the alcohol. In times when the craving (addiction) for the alcohol isn’t met, the person “white knuckles it” until the craving is satisfied by the consumption of alcohol. In this instance, the craving will wane over time when the alcohol is completely abstained from and possibly therapy and a support system is incorporated to help with the reason the person or persons started drinking in the first place.
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