Smoking is a bad habit that leads to addiction.The symptoms of quitting smoking are so distinct that even strangers may ask the addict, "Why are you so angry, are you quitting smoking?"
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 a clinic called Easyway ("easy way").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 certain rituals related to 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 really do not 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 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 dispels 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.
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 quit;
- 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 horrific 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 away, you do not leave, but you 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?
"Quitting smoking is easy. I myself have quit a hundred times" - 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 free once 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 made are other smokers in the environment and "difficult days" that cause a common 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.