Smoking tobacco is a bad habit that leads to addiction.The symptoms of quitting smoking are so recognizable that even strangers may ask the addict, "Why are you so angry? Are you quitting smoking? Are you quitting smoking?"
Narcologists believe that it is difficult to get rid of nicotine addiction.But Allen Carr, an accountant by profession, invented an easy way to quit smoking and wrote a book about it, which became a bestseller.
Allen Carr – Biography Facts
A. Carr (1934-2006) himself began smoking at the age of 18, during his military service.He worked as an accountant and smoked up to 5 packs of cigarettes a day.Allen Carr suffered from addiction and tried unsuccessfully to get rid of it.When he had been using for around 33 years, he sought out a hypnotherapist, but “he started smoking as soon as he left the clinic”.
However, this visit was beneficial.The hypnotherapist explained to him that “smoking is just an addiction to nicotine”.A little later, Carr read in a medical manual that the physical symptoms of withdrawal consisted of a feeling of emptiness and uncertainty.Comparing these two facts, he came to the conclusion that giving up the bad habit was really easy and felt the desire to tell all smokers about it.
A. Carr wrote “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” and soon opened a clinic called Easyway (“easy way”).Over time, one institution grew into a network of medical centers around the world.They work according to their own method and guarantee refunds in case of failure.
A. Carr also became the author of books on the fight against alcoholism, overweight, fear of flying and a motivational publication on how to achieve success.
At age 71, he was diagnosed with an inoperable form of lung cancer, which caused his death 4 months after diagnosis.
About the book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking”
The book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” is written in simple and accessible language.The author examines in detail the reasons that lead to the formation of a deadly habit, debunks myths and shares personal experiences and describes how to deal with the “little creature of nicotine”.
Why do people keep smoking?
Smoking leads to physical and mental dependence.A person develops certain rituals associated with smoking;nicotine is integrated into metabolic processes.To avoid stress and maintain comfort, the addict must smoke at certain intervals.
Allen Carr said that cigarettes do not give pleasure, but only temporarily relieve withdrawal symptoms.If a person continues to smoke, they maintain the habit.And the feeling of relief that he experiences when he lights the lighter and takes the first puff after a break indicates a return to a normal, conditionally normal state.To the same place where you constantly find people without cigarettes.
In other words, withdrawal syndrome arises from the fear of being deprived of a habitual activity.If you overcome this fear, quitting smoking will be easy and painless.Only by realizing where he ended up, which is a nicotine trap, will the addict be able to get out of it.Allen Carr shares the secret that the link between quitting smoking and willpower has been overstated.And this thought is a good help for those who do not expect that “they will be able to grit their teeth and hold out as long as necessary”.
A. Carr is convinced that most smokers really do not know why they continue to kill themselves with such unpleasant and expensive means.They feel deceived: to start getting used to smoking, they already had to overcome the feeling that it was downright unpleasant.Implicitly, smokers understand that anyone who is free from this habit knows this.Nicotine addiction and “brainwashing” are two reasons that make you run after a new pack.“Will I really be happy when I stop smoking?”- thinks another addict and continues to destroy his health.
Myths about smoking
In his book, the author debunks myths and describes the traps smokers fall into."What would you say to your current self when lighting your first cigarette? Would you praise your children for this new activity?"- asks A. Carr.And addicts sadly admit that they would not repeat this mistake and certainly would not be happy for a child who smokes.
So why is the number of smokers only growing?Communicating with them, Carr gathered a “collection” of illusions that sustain addiction:
- in fact, smokers enjoy the process;
- smoking looks cool and manly;
- Smoking is a habit;once started, it is impossible to give up;
- it takes a lot of will to give up;
- quitting smoking is extremely difficult, withdrawal symptoms are severe;
- the smoker must be regularly reminded that the habit is leading him to the grave;
- Smoking is a way to overcome boredom, relax and overcome stress.
All myths about smoking boil down to three statements: smoking is pleasant, quitting smoking is almost impossible, giving up nicotine is an irreparable loss.Allen Carr ridicules the idea that smoking is a way of obtaining pleasure and unconditional acceptance (by analogy with a child at the mother's breast, S. Freud's concept of the oral phase).“That’s not true,” says the bestselling author.– People who light a cigarette want to appear mature and courageous.Invite them to go for a walk with a pacifier in their teeth - they will die of embarrassment.”
A little about withdrawal syndrome
Nicotine is a drug.Fast action and exit from organs and tissues just as quickly.What happens if you stop supplying this substance to your body?“Rumors of terrible experiences are exaggerated,” writes Allen Carr in his book.Unbearable “withdrawal” is nothing more than a feeling of lack of internal support or joy.
There is no physical pain in its usual meaning.Smokers may complain of bad mood, anxiety and an obsessive desire to “have something to do with their hands”.The reason is habit, addiction.It occurs when a person starts smoking regularly.This is the “little nicotine creature” that sits in your stomach and needs food.The urge to smoke a cigarette begins to appear almost immediately after a cigarette butt is thrown in the trash.By choosing to continue, the person is only prolonging a chain of episodes of thirst and short-term relief.
Allen Carr compares smokers to heroin addicts, describing the injection process in vivid color.Changes in perception - completely ugly actions, alien to those who do not suffer from these diseases, cause relief in addicts.
Of course, it can be said that cigarette deprivation and food deprivation cause similar suffering.But eating is a vital necessity and smoking is not.
Method description
“It is ridiculously easy to quit smoking,” wrote A. Carr.When describing the methodology, he points out 2 conditions:
- A clear decision that there will be no more smoking.
- Do not be discouraged by such deprivation.We should be happy.
The author of the method explains that people who do not start smoking are actually not weak and purifying.They have the power to deal with stress and anxiety.They are much more alive and active than those who require stimulation in the form of cigarettes.
Anyone can quit a bad habit.To quit smoking on your own, you just need to understand the following:
- You can achieve your goal, in this you are no worse than others.
- There is nothing to throw away, you don't leave, but you acquire.
- There is no single cigarette: each one will be followed by others.
- Smoking is a life-shortening disease.
- Having decided that the last cigarette has been smoked, the person becomes a non-smoker.
According to the author, if you get into the right frame of mind, it will be easy to avoid smoking during the first 3 weeks, when the body is cleansing itself.The reader will find it interesting to know why it is not worth quitting smoking for a certain period of time (a month, six months, a year).
Alain Carr stipulates that his method only works if you give up smoking completely and without replacing it with any product that contains nicotine.Why?The author's view of the problem is described in detail on the pages of the book.
What do readers think?In their reviews, they say that the book really helped them get rid of their addiction.Readers note that the author did not write anything supernatural, but called things by their names and offered a good motivation for action.
Why do crashes happen?
"Quitting smoking is easy. I've quit a hundred times myself" - Mark Twain's famous quote very accurately describes that the intention to part with a cigarette does not always lead a person to become truly free once and for all.Repeated and unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking are what support the myth that it is impossible to get rid of the addiction once it has formed.
In his materials, A. Carr indicates that the effectiveness of his method is 95%.There are two main reasons behind 5% of failures: failure to follow instructions and failure to understand.
Inability to follow instructions - unwillingness to follow the methodology, attempts to adapt it to oneself with distortion of the idea itself.Perhaps the recommendations seem too harsh, but they make the process easier and make the addict believe in the success of the venture.This includes:
- immediate smoking cessation;
- ban on products containing nicotine.
The author agrees that even among those who ignored these tips and sought other treatment options, there were those who actually gave up smoking.However, he recommends not evaluating tricks as ways to help deal with the habit.
The inability to understand is the desire to receive a ready answer.Smoking culture and the tobacco industry regularly transmit thousands of installations to the world.To break the habit, you must choose the affirmations that resonate with your heart and try to understand them.For example, a person may believe that cigarettes are a source of pleasure.You should think about why it is easier to give up other things that bring more pleasant emotions.
Among the dangerous factors that can undermine confidence in the correctness of the decision made are other smokers in the environment and “difficult days” that provoke a habitual need to smoke.“This is not a loss, but a recovery”, warns the author.
The book “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” is not a medical publication.However, the rigor and sincerity in describing the problem and the author's proposal for an effective way to get rid of the habit make him a good assistant in the fight against a deadly disease.