Smoking is a harmful habit that leads to addiction.The symptoms of quitting smoking are so recognizable that even strangers can 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 Alan Carr, an accountant by profession, invented an easy way to quit smoking and wrote a book about it that became a bestseller.
Alan 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.Alan Carr suffered from addiction and tried unsuccessfully to get rid of it.When he had been using for about 33 years, he saw a hypnotherapist but "started smoking as soon as he left the clinic".
However, this visit was worthwhile.The hypnotherapist explained to him that "smoking is just an addiction to nicotine".Sometime later, Carr read in a medical manual that the physical symptoms of withdrawal consisted of feelings of emptiness and uncertainty.Comparing these two facts, he came to the conclusion that giving up the harmful habit is actually easy, and he was filled with a 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 in their own method and guarantee refund in case of damage.
A. Carr also became the author of books on the fight against alcoholism, obesity, fear of flying and a motivational publication on 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 and accessible language.The author examines in detail the reasons that led to the formation of a deadly habit, debunks myths and shares personal experience, describing how to deal with the "little nicotine creature".
Why do people continue to smoke?
Smoking leads to mental and physical dependence.One develops certain rituals associated with cigarettes;nicotine is integrated into metabolic processes.To avoid stress and maintain comfort, the addict must smoke at certain intervals.
Alan Carr said that cigarettes do not provide pleasure, but only temporarily relieve withdrawal symptoms.If a person continues to smoke, he maintains his addiction.And the sense of relief he feels when he lights his lighter and takes his first puff after a break indicates a return to normal, tentative normality.In the same place where people without cigarettes are constantly found.
In other words, withdrawal syndrome is born from the fear of being deprived of a usual activity.If you overcome this fear, quitting smoking is easy and painless.Only by understanding where he got into, what is the nicotine trap, can the addict get out of it.Alan Carr shares the secret that the connection between quitting smoking and willpower is overblown.And this thought is a good help for those who do not hope that "they will be able to grit their teeth and last 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 means.They feel deceived: in order to start getting used to the cigarette, they already had to overcome the feeling that it is frankly unpleasant.Smokers implicitly understand that those free of the habit know about it.Nicotine addiction and brainwashing are 2 reasons that make you run for a new pack."Will I be really 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 yourself now 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 that mistake and certainly would not be happy for a child who smokes.
So why is the number of smokers only increasing?Communicating with them, Carr assembled a “collection” of illusions that support addiction:
- in fact, smokers enjoy the process;
- smoking looks cool and masculine;
- 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 must 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 boil down to three statements: cigarettes are pleasant, quitting is almost impossible, giving up nicotine is an irreparable loss.Alan 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, Z. Freud's concept of the oral stage)."That's not true," says the best-selling author.– People who smoke cigarettes want to look mature and bold.Invite them to walk around with a pacifier in their teeth - they will die of embarrassment.”
A little about the withdrawal syndrome
Nicotine is a drug.Fast acting and just as fast leaving the organs and tissues.What happens if you stop supplying the body with this substance?"Rumors of terrible experiences are exaggerated," Alan 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 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 appears when a person starts smoking regularly.This is the "little nicotine creature" that sits in the stomach and needs food.The urge to pick up a cigarette begins almost as soon as the butt is thrown into the bin.By choosing to continue, one only prolongs a chain of episodes of craving and short-lived relief.
Alan Carr compares smokers to heroin addicts, describing the injection process in vivid colors.Changes in perception - completely unpleasant actions, alien to those who do not suffer from these diseases, cause relief to addicts.
Of course, one could say that the deprivation of cigarettes and the deprivation of food cause similar suffering.But eating is a vital necessity, smoking is not.
Description of the method
"It's incredibly easy to quit smoking," writes A. Carr.Describing the methodology, he states 2 conditions:
- A clear decision to stop smoking.
- Do not be discouraged by such privations.We should be happy.
The author of the method explains that people who do not start smoking are not actually weaklings and scavengers.They have the power to deal with stress and anxiety.They are much more lively and active than those who need 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 will be followed by others.
- Smoking is a disease that shortens life.
- Having decided that the last cigarette is 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 being cleansed.It will be interesting for the reader to understand why it is not worth giving up smoking for a certain period of time (month, six months, year).
Alain Carr claims that his method works only if you completely give up cigarettes and without replacing them with 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 things by their true names and offered good motivation for action.
Why do failures happen?
"Giving up smoking is easy. I myself have stopped hundreds of times" - Mark Twain's famous quote very accurately describes that the intention to part with a cigarette does not always lead to a person really becoming free once and for all.Repeated failure to quit is what supports the myth that addiction is impossible to break once it's formed.
In his materials, A. Carr states that the effectiveness of his method is 95%.There are 2 main reasons behind the 5% of failures: failure to follow directions and misunderstanding.
Inability to follow instructions - lack of desire to follow the methodology, attempts to adapt to oneself by distorting the idea itself.Perhaps the recommendations seem too harsh, but they facilitate the process and make the addict believe in the success of the endeavor.This includes:
- immediate cessation of smoking;
- ban on products containing nicotine.
The author agrees that even among those who ignored this advice and sought other treatment options, there were those who did quit smoking.However, he urges not to value gimmicks as ways to deal with the habit.
The inability to understand is the desire to receive a ready answer.Smoking culture and the tobacco industry regularly emit thousands of installations to the world.To break the habit, you need to choose those statements that have 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 confidence in the correctness of the decision taken are other smokers in the environment and "heavy 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.