I’m going through some changes in my body.

When your body is used to having a certain chemical on a regular basis like THC or nicotine for years or even decades, and you suddenly take away that chemical, your body reacts violently.

I hear some people say they get a headache if they don’t have coffee for a day. That’s a chemical addiction and their body is experiencing withdrawal from that chemical which would be caffeine in this case.

Some chemicals have worse withdrawal effects than others. Nicotine, heroin, and alcohol are some of the biggest offenders. Once they latch onto you, they don’t let go. Nicotine in particular doesn’t become too addictive until you use it for a couple years so something else is usually driving the habit initially, like peer pressure or just the enjoyment of smoking. But other chemicals become addictive almost instantaneously. These addictions will run your life. You will even arrange your life around these chemicals.

I’ve tried to quit smoking many times in my life. Usually I get very depressed and gain weight. When I went to Liberty and TTU, I quit smoking for a short while and gained quite a bit a weight each time I quit. I was on and off nicotine for a few years, and I felt miserable the entire time. It was only with help of another chemical found in a prescription drug that I was able to quit without the withdrawal side effects.

So when you quit using a chemical you are fighting a war against your own body. The chemically dependent addict is a slave to the chemical. Maybe Paul was referring to something like this in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27  ^” Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Paul seems to be saying you need to master your own body by denying it what it really wants.

I’m still a slave to my own body because although I quit using a chemical, it won’t let me rest from this war I’m experiencing. It takes some time for the body to get used to living without the chemical again. So while I’m super thankful for quitting, I feel miserable at the same time. I pray for the grace to stay off addictive chemicals just one day at a time.

So whatever you do, don’t allow yourself to make any chemical a habit. It will save you lots of grief down the road.