Quitting Cold Turkey
by Beth Livingston
Certified Recovery Facilitator
I wondered where the expression, “cold turkey” originated, so I looked it up online and found an explanation. Supposedly, the terminology originated in the early 1900s as a description of a heroin addict who was going through withdrawals. The person’s skin lost its color and developed raised bumps all over it resembling an uncooked turkey’s skin.
When you quit anything cold turkey, you decide that you’re finished with the habit, so you throw away your last pack of cigarettes, flush your pills down the toilet, pour all your liquor down the drain, etc. You’re determined. You want this drug or behavior out of your life forever. Wouldn’t it be nice if that were really the last of it for everyone who quits? Unfortunately, most people resume where they left off and the vicious cycle of quitting, relapsing, quitting resumes.
Once a person has truly quit using a substance, there is a season of withdrawal where the body and mind react negatively to not having their drug anymore. In some addictions, the withdrawal process can be life threatening without proper medical care. These people (many alcoholics, narcotics, heroin, meth, and cocaine addicts, etc.) need professional help along with group and/or individual counseling.
A time of distress is the most natural time for anyone to seek God’s help. For most of us, combating withdrawal is a time we’d welcome losing the whole “free will” aspect of our lives and let God run the show entirely. We know God can cleanse us of the addiction! We wish He'd simply take it from us with a prayer and we'd be free from that moment on. Certainly, it can happen that way because God can do absolutely ANYTHING! However, it usually doesn’t work that way. The drive to return to our habit, our addiction is remarkably strong. God wants us to lean on Him as He walks alongside us while we learn to live our lives without the drug or compulsive behavior. He will strengthen us to say no to the temptations that come our way when we ask Him in the midst of our trials. He will come to our rescue when we humble ourselves in prayer asking for His intervention. Recovery is a process, just like the rest of life - and it's best lived with our focus on our creator, our loving heavenly Father.
From what I’ve seen, God usually won’t take the crack pipe from your hand or pour your beer out for you. He’s not necessarily going to stop your dealer from calling you when he’s got a new delivery or keep your drinking buddies from asking you to go to parties. No. This is where the hard work begins. This drug or habit came in to your life with ease and became an important part of your life. It was not God’s idea for you to choose this drug. Anytime someone gave you the impression that your habit was unholy, you may have given them the brush off. And now that you want to be free, you will have to go through the tough job of denying yourself time and time again! Just remember that Christ is there to help you through. He will offer a way of escape if you’re looking for it. You got yourself into this mess and God will help you get out of it.
Do you feel like God has let you down because you are still using or because you still stumble? If you do, please look at your situation from a different perspective. Look back at the last time you relapsed. What choice did you make that was out of line with God’s way of handling things? Have you confessed this to Him? Have you asked for His forgiveness? Have you asked Him to help you choose differently if presented with the same situation again? Hold yourself accountable to God for your choices; don’t blame Him for not fixing you!
says, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."
Are you willing to lay your burdens down again? Give them to Christ. Hand over your slavery to this lifestyle and take the steps with Him to be free forever.
