The Temporality of the Withdrawing Body: A Qualitative Analysis of the Role of Time in the Experience of Withdrawing From Heroin in Prison

Heroin withdrawal is one of the most challenging stages of an abstinence-based recovery journey, yet its subjective experience has received little attention from alcohol and other drug researchers. Drawing on the literature on temporality and qualitative interviews with ten individuals who self-detoxified from heroin in prison, the article introduces the concept of “withdrawal time” to capture the subjective experience of heroin withdrawal. “Withdrawal time” refers to a distinct temporal experience shaped by the disruption of bodily rhythms caused by heroin leaving the body and the institutional and social environments of the prison. The analysis shows that withdrawal was marked by forms of temporal suffering, including the anticipation of withdrawal symptoms, the painfully slow passage of time and the sense of serving “double prison time.” The participants employed strategies to manage temporal suffering, such as breaking time into smaller intervals and engaging in bodily practices to accelerate the withdrawal process. Finally, the desire to protect the time that they had invested in this process influenced how they navigated drug offer situations in prison. By conceptualizing withdrawal as a temporal, as well as biological and psychological process, this article advances understandings of addiction and recovery. The findings also have implications for community and institutional settings that support individuals during the detoxification process.