Tobacco smoking is a bad habit that leads to addiction.The symptoms of quitting cigarettes are so recognizable that even strangers can ask the addict: “Why are you so angry?Are you quitting smoking?
Narcologists believe that getting rid of nicotine addiction is difficult.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 age 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 get rid of 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 beneficial.The hypnotherapist explained to him that “smoking is just a nicotine addiction.”A little later, Carr read in a medical manual that physical withdrawal symptoms 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 was filled with 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 a refund in case of failure.
A. Carr also became the author of books about the fight against alcoholism, excess weight, fear of air travel, and a motivational publication about achieving success.
At the age of 71, he was diagnosed with an inoperable form of lung cancer, which caused 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, accessible language.The author examines in detail the reasons leading to the formation of a deadly habit, debunks 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 dependence.A person develops certain rituals associated with cigarettes; nicotine is integrated into metabolic processes.To avoid stress and maintain comfort, the addict has to smoke at certain intervals.
Allen Carr said that cigarettes do not give pleasure, but only temporarily relieve symptoms of withdrawal symptoms.If a person continues to smoke, he maintains his addiction.And the feeling of relief that he experiences when he flicks on his lighter and takes his first drag after a break indicates a return to a normal, conditionally normal state.To the same place in which people without cigarettes find themselves constantly.
In other words, withdrawal syndrome is born out of the fear of being deprived of a habitual activity.If you overcome this fear, quitting smoking is easy and painless.Only by realizing where he has ended up, what a nicotine trap is, can an addict get out of it.Allen Carr shares the secret that the connection between quitting smoking 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 really don’t know why they continue to kill themselves with such an unpleasant and expensive means.They feel fooled: in order to begin to get used to the cigarette, they already had to overcome the feeling that it was frankly unpleasant.Implicitly, smokers understand that those free from this habit know about it.Nicotine addiction and “brainwashing” are 2 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 debunks myths and describes the traps that smokers fall into.“What would you say to your current self as 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.
Then why is the number of smokers only growing?Communicating with them, Carr collected a “collection” of illusions that support the addiction:
- in fact, smokers enjoy the process;
- smoking looks cool and manly;
- Smoking is a habit; once you start it, it’s impossible to quit;
- it takes a strong will to quit;
- quitting smoking is incredibly difficult, withdrawal symptoms are severe;
- the smoker should be regularly reminded that the habit is leading him to his grave;
- Smoking is a way to overcome boredom, relax, and overcome stress.
All myths about smoking come down to three statements: cigarettes are pleasant, quitting is almost impossible, giving up nicotine is an irreparable loss.Allen Carr ridicules the idea that smoking is a way of obtaining unconditional pleasure and acceptance (by analogy with a child at the mother's breast, the concept of the oral stage of S. Freud).“This is not true,” says the bestselling author.– People who light a cigarette want to look mature and courageous.Invite them to take a walk with a pacifier in their teeth - they will die of shame.”
A little about withdrawal syndrome
Nicotine is a drug.Fast-acting and leaving organs and tissues just as quickly.What happens if you stop supplying the body with this substance?“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 low 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 the stomach and requires food.The desire to get 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 with heroin addicts, describing the injection process in vivid colors.Perception changes - completely unsightly actions, alien to those who do not suffer from these diseases, cause relief in addicts.
Of course, it can be said that deprivation of cigarettes and deprivation of food cause similar suffering.But eating is a vital necessity, and smoking is not.
Description of the method
“It’s ridiculously easy to stop smoking,” wrote A. Carr.Describing the methodology, he points to 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 in fact not weaklings and cleansers.They have the power to cope with stress and anxiety.They are much livelier and more active than those who require stimulation in the form of a cigarette.
Anyone can break 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 do not leave, but acquire.
- There is no single cigarette: each one 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 take a cigarette during the first 3 weeks, when the body is cleansing.The reader will find it interesting to know why it is not worth giving up quitting smoking for a specific period of time (a month, six months, a year).
Alain Carr stipulates that his method only works if you completely give up cigarettes 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 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 a spade a spade and offered good motivation for action.
Why do failures happen?
“Quitting smoking is easy.I myself have quit a hundred times” - the famous quote by Mark Twain very accurately describes that the intention to part with a cigarette does not always lead to a person truly becoming free once and for all.Repeated unsuccessful attempts to quit are what support the myth that it is impossible to get rid of addiction once it has formed.
In his materials, A. Carr indicates that the effectiveness of his method is 95%.There are 2 main reasons behind 5% of failures: failure to follow directions and failure to understand.
Inability to follow instructions - lack of willingness to follow the methodology, attempts to adapt it to oneself with a distortion of the idea itself.Perhaps the recommendations seem overly harsh, but they make the process easier and make the addict believe in the success of the enterprise.This includes:
- immediate cessation of smoking;
- ban on products containing nicotine.
The author agrees that even among those who ignored these tips and looked for other treatment options, there were those who actually parted with the cigarette.However, he urges not to evaluate tricks as ways to help cope with the habit.
The inability to understand is the desire to receive a ready answer.The culture of smoking and the tobacco industry regularly broadcast thousands of installations to the world.To break the habit, you should choose those statements that resonated in your heart and try to comprehend 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 confidence in the correctness of the decision made are other smokers in the environment and “hard days” that cause a habitual need for a cigarette.“This is not a loss, but a recovery,” the author warns.
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 of an effective way to get rid of the habit make it a good assistant in the fight against a deadly disease.