How to quit smoking? The famous British writer Allen Carr studied nicotine addiction in detail, tried to understand the thoughts of smokers, and on this basis he published a book called "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" and also opened a network of clinics with the same name. Allen Carr's recommendations were so effective that his "method" became a national property and his book is still being published around the world. According to some reports, Allen Carr's book was able to help 10 million smokers get rid of the addiction.
Why is quitting smoking easy?
Allen Carr's position is somewhat paradoxical. He assures: to get rid of such a powerful addiction as smoking, no willpower is needed!
According to him, any violence against oneself will only worsen the problem. You must act delicately: based on logical arguments and facts, convince yourself. Well, the book will help with that.
The text is written in vivid, figurative language, with many examples and analogies.
Allen Carr expresses his opinions openly, clearly and without any sign of humiliation for a smoker. The author treats the reader positively, does not scare or scold him, but tries to convince the smoker: friend, objectively, you do not urgently need to smoke several cigarettes a day!
The need for tobacco is an illusion
Why do people smoke? Most claim that in this way they are trying to get rid of problems, remove stress or it is just a way to have fun. That is, smoking is an effective, albeit harmful, type of action.
Allen Carr thinks otherwise. He declares: this is self-hypnosis! The brain's attempt to justify itself, to pass off addiction as a conscious choice. Unconsciously, no adult wants to be a smoker.
In fact, smoking does not bring any positive results. Each new cigarette only gives you the chance to avoid withdrawal symptoms for a while. But people who do not smoke do not suffer from it at all!
According to Carr, the only objective reason why smokers continue to smoke is fear. On the one hand, a person is afraid not to cope, "to break". On the other hand, he is afraid of future painful sensations caused by withdrawal symptoms. If you overcome this fear, your body will quit smoking easily and painlessly.
Enemies of merchants
Allen Carr, studying the problem of smoking, considered this issue extensively and thoroughly. He conducted numerous surveys, collected statistics and immersed himself in psychology and physiology. In many ways, it was this profound approach that determined the popularity of his teaching.
He paid a lot of attention to the "external enemy" - those who make money from the sale of cigarettes. Carr describes the tricks marketers use to get people to buy more and more packages and urges them not to give up.
The book "The Easy Way" was written in 1985. At that time, smoking was considered fashionable and was actively promoted by the media. Now the situation is different - at least in our country. A smoker should not be afraid of external pressure. Society will approve and support his desire to quit. In shops, cigarettes are not put under the nose, but hidden.
And television confidently broadcasts that smoking is bad and harmful.
However, it is worth reading about these "enemies" for the modern smoker. If only we could ascertain in what favorable position he is compared to the Englishman of the 80s. You can also draw analogies and find out what marketers are intensively feeding us today.
Programming in Allen Carr's book "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking"
If we consider Allen Carr's work through the prism of programming, we can highlight some interesting points.
The main idea that is repeated over and over in the book is that anyone can quit smoking and that it will be easy to do so. Perhaps, these phrases are deposited in the subconscious of a person, programming, inspiring and motivating him to understand the "ease" of this decisive action.
The word "easy" appears more than 60 times in the book.
The book also regularly conveys the idea that smoking does not give a person any advantage, and instead describes many negative consequences of smoking.
"Smoking is a drug addiction, a disease and the number one killer". Becoming addicted to nicotine is terrible, but being addicted to it for the rest of your life is even worse. "
The book contains constant repetitions that encourage action:
"Try to look at shiny cigarette packs in a new way - try to see the junk and poisons inside. Don't be fooled by the cut glass ashtrays, the gold lighters and the millions that have already been fooled. Start toask yourself questions: Why am I doing this? Do I really need this? NO OF COURSE NOT! ". . .
"Take six deep puffs of this amazing tobacco and ask yourself, 'What's so great about this flavor? '". . .
"First of all, identify those moments or events when smoking seems absolutely necessary. If you are a businessman and smoke for the illusion of stress relief, choose a period of relative calm, such as annual vacation. If, as a rule, you smoke fromboredom or laziness, proceed from this by choosing the opposite state. In any case, take the problem seriously and make this effort the most important event in your life. "
All these are quite simple methods to influence a person. But, surprisingly, it is with simple techniques that great effectiveness can be achieved. However, it is worth noting that this effect is short-lived. According to our observations, 7 out of 10 people return to smoking even after some time. This probably happens when the attitudes a person has taken are forgotten and weakened.
Revolutionary technique!
After finally deciding to give up, she did not rely on her will, but went to a man who promised deliverance in a medical session. Well, two at most. The miracle doctor pierced my mother's ears with needles and twisted them from time to time, like the dials of a radio receiver. Mom stubbornly endured the pain, trying to quickly catch the desired wave, but did not know in which range to look. "Do you want to smoke? " - asked the magician angrily. "Wish! "- mom answered honestly, and he returned it even harder. After five visits, tired of the exoticism of oriental medicine, with red ears from injections and depleted "qi", she stopped going to the magician.
Mom quit smoking after a month. To my question "how? " answered: "I was angry with myself. Not only endured all these needles, but also paid money. It would be better to buy shoes! "And then she shrugged: "Or maybe the needles worked . . . "
"Quit" smoking overnight. That's what I tell everyone. And I immediately add: however, this was preceded by four years of suffering. During this time I tried everything. Reduced the number of cigarettes (following my father's example). It is traditionally thrown on Monday, New Year's Day, birthday and May 31; from early morning and at full moon; on an empty stomach and on a full stomach. I tried to "substitute" by eating handfuls of barberry and crackers. I tried an electronic cigarette - these nicotine vapor sticks. I asked my friends not to smoke in front of me. He even left the city. I have read hundreds of scientific (and not so scientific) articles on the problem of smoking. I picked up a book by Allen Carr, then out of stock, and read it cover to cover. All to no avail! Why didn't Allen Carr help me? I think I knew almost everything there was to learn from this book at the time, so the necessary wow effect the author was counting on didn't happen while reading. I was desperate. To all complaints about the futility of my efforts, my father replied: "In life, only the first fifty years are difficult. Then you get used to it. "
I had a lot on my nerves, my self-esteem was rock bottom and my loved ones would leave me if they didn't see a cigarette in my hand. What particularly angered me was the fact that I, a healthy man, had to suffer and humiliate myself, praying every day for freedom from a meaningless essential - smoke. It seemed that the hateful habit had taken over not only my consciousness and body, but also quantities of another order - my past and my future. Over and over, the cigarette looked at me with red Terminator eyes, and I thought I heard her voice: "I'll be back. "And so on for four long years. But one day everything changed. . .
It doesn't matter when the decision to break the addiction is made. It doesn't matter the amount of effort spent along the way. Each of us has a similar story, and all these stories are not related to the main thing. One door closes, another opens, and we make a decision that we don't really care about at first - we just take a step from the past into the future.
One beautiful morning I woke up. Take a shower. I'm dressed. I ate breakfast. I drank coffee. I read the news. He left the house. I got on the bus that took me to work. I didn't know yet that this was the first morning of my new life. I couldn't hope. I was busy with something all day, talking with colleagues and friends. He talked, answered questions, laughed, joked. And with every minute, with every hour, my faith grew and strengthened—it had happened. One of the most important events in my life happened! I came home from work. i ate dinnerI watched a movie, surfed the internet. Lie down in bed. Falling asleep at the end of that day, I said to myself:
You. More. No. You smoke.
And the next day there was life. Jobs changed, friends left, new ones appeared. I've struggled with stress, I've celebrated some personal victories. I learned to accept big losses and enjoy small wins. Everything is like everyone else. It's been five years since I've been single and I've never wanted to smoke again! Even to prove yourself (although that would be completely stupid). I could only rejoice at the changes and wonder why I didn't do it sooner because it is so easy to quit!
"The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" - Quit Smoking Using the Allen Carr Method
Smoking is a bad habit that leads to addiction. The symptoms of smoking cessation are so distinct that even strangers may ask the addict, "Why are you so angry? Are you quitting?
Narcologists believe that it is difficult to get rid of nicotine addiction. But Allen Carr, an accountant by profession, invented a simple way to quit smoking and wrote a book about it, which became a bestseller.
Allen Carr - Biography Facts
A. Carr (1934-2006) himself started smoking at the age of 18 during his military service. He worked as an accountant and could smoke up to 5 packs of cigarettes a day. Allen Carr suffered from addiction and tried unsuccessfully to kick it. When he had been using for about 33 years, he turned to a hypnotherapist, but "he started smoking as soon as he left the clinic. "
However, this visit was useful. 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 actually easy, and he was filled with the desire to tell all smokers about it.
A. Carr wrote "The Easy Way to Quit Smoking" and soon opened his clinic, which was named after the written book. Over time, an institution turned into a network of medical centers around the world. They work according to their method and guarantee a refund in case of failure.
A. Carr also became the author of books on the fight against alcoholism, excess weight, fear of air travel and a motivational publication on achieving success.
At the age of 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, dispels myths and shares personal experience and describes how to deal with the "little nicotine creature".
Why do people continue to smoke?
Smoking leads to mental and physical addiction. A person develops several rituals associated with cigarettes; 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 the symptoms of withdrawal symptoms. If a person continues to smoke, he maintains his addiction. And the sense of relief he experiences when he lights the lighter and takes the first drag after a break indicates a return to a normal, conditionally normal state. In the same place where people without cigarettes are constantly found.
In other words, withdrawal syndrome arises from the fear of being deprived of a habitual activity. If you overcome this fear, quitting smoking is easy and painless. Only by understanding where he ended up, what is the nicotine trap, can an addict get out of it. Allen Carr shares the secret that the connection between smoking cessation and willpower has been exaggerated. And this thought is a good help for those who do not hope that "they will be able to grit their teeth and hold on as long as necessary. "
A. Carr is convinced that most smokers do not really know why they continue to kill themselves with such an unpleasant and expensive tool. They feel cheated: to start getting used to cigarettes, they already had to overcome the feeling that it was frankly unpleasant. Implicitly, smokers understand that those who are free of the habit know about it. Nicotine addiction and "brainwashing" are two reasons that make you run for a new pack. "Will I really be happy when I quit smoking? " - thinks another addict and continues to destroy his health.
Myths about smoking
In his book, the author dispels myths and describes the traps that smokers fall into. "What would you say to your current self when you light 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 increasing? Communicating with them, Carr assembled a "collection" of illusions that support addiction:
- in fact, smokers enjoy the process;
- smoking looks cool and manly;
- Smoking is a habit; once you start, it's impossible to stop;
- it takes a strong will to quit;
- quitting smoking is extremely difficult, withdrawal symptoms are severe;
- the smoker must be regularly reminded that the habit is taking him to his grave;
- Smoking is a way to overcome boredom, relax and overcome stress.
All myths about smoking boil down to three statements: cigarettes are pleasant, quitting smoking is almost impossible, giving up nicotine is an irreparable loss. Allen Carr mocks the idea that smoking is a way to gain pleasure and unconditional acceptance (by analogy with a child at the mother's breast, S. Freud's concept of the oral stage). "That's not true, " says the bestselling author. – People who light up a cigarette want to look mature and bold. Invite them to take a walk with a pacifier in their teeth - they will die of embarrassment.
A little about withdrawal syndrome
Nicotine is a drug. It works quickly and removes organs and tissues just as quickly. What happens if you stop supplying the body with this substance? "Rumors of terrible experiences are exaggerated, " Allen Carr writes in his book. Unbearable "withdrawal" is nothing more than a feeling of lack of inner support or joy.
There is no physical pain in its ordinary sense. Smokers may complain of low mood, anxiety and an obsessive desire to "have something with their hands". The reason is habit, addiction. It happens when a person starts smoking regularly. This is the "little nicotine creature" that sits in the stomach and asks for food. The desire to take a cigarette begins to arise almost immediately after a cigarette butt is thrown into the trash. By choosing to continue, a person is only extending 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, foreign 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.
Description of the method
"It is extremely easy to stop smoking, " wrote A. Carr. Describing the methodology, he states 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 lean and clean. They have the power to handle stress and anxiety. They are much more lively and active than those who seek stimulation in the form of a cigarette.
Anyone can kick 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, you do not leave, but win.
- There is no single cigarette: each will be followed by others.
- Smoking is a disease that shortens life.
- Having decided that the last cigarette has been smoked, a person becomes a non-smoker.
According to the author, if you acquire the right state of mind, then it will be easy to refrain from trying to smoke a cigarette during the first 3 weeks, when the body is being cleansed. The reader will find it interesting to know why it is not worth giving up smoking for a certain period of time (one month, six months, one year).
Alain Carr states that his method only works if you give up cigarettes completely and without replacing them with any products containing nicotine. Why? The author's vision of the problem is described in detail on the pages of the book.
What do readers think? In their comments, 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 a spade a spade and provided good motivation for action.
Why do failures happen?
"To quit smoking is easy. I've quit a hundred times myself" - Mark Twain's famous quote describes very accurately that the intention to part with a cigarette does not always lead to a person becoming truly freeonce and for all. Repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit smoking are what support the myth that it is impossible to get rid of the addiction once it is formed.
In his materials, A. Carr indicates that the effectiveness of his method is 95%. There are 2 main reasons behind 5% of failures: not following instructions and not understanding.
Inability to follow instructions - lack of will to follow the methodology, attempts to adapt it to oneself with a 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 enterprise. This includes:
- immediate cessation of smoking;
- prohibition of products containing nicotine.
The author agrees that even among those who ignored this advice and sought other treatment options, there were those who actually quit smoking. However, he urges not to value gimmicks as ways to help cope with the habit.
The inability to understand is the desire to receive a ready answer. Smoking culture and the tobacco industry regularly broadcast thousands of installations around the world. To break the habit, you need to choose those sayings that resonated in 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 shake the confidence in the correctness of the decision taken are other smokers in the environment and "difficult days" that cause a habitual need for a cigarette. "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 accuracy and sincerity in the description of the problem and the author's proposal for an effective way to get rid of the habit make it a good helper in the fight against a deadly disease.
Allen Carr - Quit Smoking
Allen Carr became famous thanks to his books in which he talked about a simple way to quit smoking. This method has helped many people quit smoking.
Allen Carr himself died 23 years after quitting smoking. He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. British anti-smoking guru, author of The Easy Way to Quit Smoking.
The Easy Way to Quit Smoking - Allen Carr
When we pick up Allen Carr's book The Easy Way to Quit Smoking, many are skeptical. And all because they think that now they will see another publication that describes all the pleasures of the consequences of smoking.
As you read, something changes in your perception and you calmly accept the idea that you don't need to smoke. The book can change you a lot because it motivates you to quit smoking. Many people who have read this book agree with this.
In the book there are no horror stories about the dangers of smoking, the author does not force us to do anything, he even recommends to continue smoking while reading. The author brilliantly debunks all the myths and fears associated with quitting smoking, while many postulates are tediously repeated from one chapter to another. By the end of listening to the book, the reader has no doubt that he will smoke again. . . his only desire is to soon finish listening to this fatigue and go out on the road happy as a child, because he is a no. - smokers.
His method, demonstrating phenomenal effectiveness, has gained recognition among specialists, has gained widespread popularity and enjoys tremendous success in many countries around the world. Allen Carr has created a worldwide network of clinics whose specialists help smokers quit smoking and overcome nicotine addiction. Allen Carr's books have been published in twenty languages and have become bestsellers.