Staying free of nicotine using Allen Carr's system

[Babel_17]

I'm so grateful for his system, and his words.

http://www.wikihow.com/Quit-Smoking-by-Using-an-Allen-Carr-Book

I quit smoking on April 4, 2011.

I used Allen Carr's "The Easy Way to Stop Smoking".

Border's had a nice compilation of some of the best quotes from that book in a nice pocket sized paperback that I carry around and which was very helpful and inspirational.

Great free videos that were also helpful here.

Lol, I quickly figured out that I'd feel at a loss when walking past the spot I'd stash my cigarettes when at home. I'd have a cup of coffee in my hand and feel like I was forgetting something.

I've had several nightmares about smoking. Supposedly this is ok/"a good thing".

Dreams of smoking 2.38mb 7.10mb UTube 2.92mb 06:28 11/10/06

https://www.youtube.com/joelspitz#p/u/41/Dvkxt_GMG-0

Allen Carr’s 7 Tips To Stay Quit

Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Smoking

If you follow these simple instructions, you cannot fail.

1 Make a solemn vow that you will never, ever, smoke, chew or suck anything that contains
nicotine, and stick to your vow.

2 Get this clear in your mind: there is absolutely nothing to give up. By that I don't mean simply that
you will be better off as a non-smoker (you've known that all your life); nor do I mean that although
there is no rational reason why you smoke, you must get some form of pleasure or crutch from it or
you wouldn't do it. What I mean is, there is no genuine pleasure or crutch in smoking. It is just an
illusion, like banging your head against a wall to make it pleasant when you stop,

3 There is no such thing as a confirmed smoker. You are just one of the millions who have fallen for
this subtle trap. Like millions of other ex-smokers who once thought they couldn't escape, you have
escaped,

4 If at any time in your life you were to weigh up the pros and cons of smoking, the conclusion would
always be, a dozen times over, 'Stop doing it. You are a fool.' Nothing will ever change that. It always
has been that way, and it always will be. Having made what you know to be the correct decision, don't
ever torture yourself by doubting it.

5 Don't try not to think about smoking or worry that you are thinking about it constantly. But
whenever you do think about it –whether it be today, tomorrow or the rest of your life think,
'YIPPEE! I'M ANON-SMOKER!'

6 DO NOT use any form of substitute.
DO NOT keep your own cigarettes.
DO NOT avoid other smokers.
DO NOT change your lifestyle in any way purely because you've stopped smoking.
If you follow the above instructions, you will soon experience the moment of revelation. But:

7 Don't wait for that moment to come. Just get on with your life. Enjoy the highs and cope with the
lows. You will find that in no time at all the moment will arrive.

http://allencarr.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Allen-Carrs-Easyway-Stop-Smoking/dp/0615482155

[underpants]

1. Bookmarking

I really need to quit again

[Babel_17]

6. I must have read Allen Carr's book several times

It really worked to change my mind as to how I looked at, and felt about, smoking. He's right about that being the actual battle. Once my mind was set, then stopping smoking was relatively easy.

The little twinges of nicotine addiction were seen and felt for what they were. They weren't a desire for "a nice relaxing cigarette" but rather my addiction dying out. Lol, I saw the twinges (and maybe because I was mentally prepared, they were mild) as the defeat of an enemy, it was the cries and whimpers of its losing the war.

To be honest, my exact approach was one that Carr warns about though IIRC he said that while not ideal, it was plausible. And his reasons for warning about it turned out to be on the money. Allen Carr says not to try to stop until you've finished reading the book. You can/should smoke if you feel an urge to do so while reading. I spent several days reading and rereading it until I felt fully made up in my mind that I would and could stop smoking. During that time I started smoking less.

Carr, and other experts warn about trying to wean down as it's a risky approach. Long story short, it makes the cigarettes feel even more precious and it gives the false hope that one can manage ones addiction at a "safe" level. I saw that this was something that was at risk of really happening so I felt compelled to give the book a final review and then just stop smoking.

Well, my approach worked but I see now that Carr and the other experts are correct in their view of just stopping and being done with it. The "trick" is in making up your mind and realizing your not leaving anything of worth behind.

[RobinA]

8. I Could Never

"trick" my mind into believing I wasn't leaving something behind. I enjoyed a smoke. I quit by using e-cigs and tapering. The reason it worked for me is because I didn't have quite as strong a feeling that I was leaving something behind, because I knew I had the e-cig. Eventually it just faded once I tapered to no nicotine in the e-cig. AND I held cigs the entire time. Still do, actually. That was to prove to myself that I could really do it. I have never smoked one of them. Kinda the opposite of Carr. However, whatever works. My point is there's no one right answer.

My suggestion to people is to try as many ways as you can if you think you want to quit. If one doesn't work another might. Hell, I didn't even want to quit, I just felt like I should. It's been two years. Actually, I do feel as though I have left something behind. I just look at it as one of those things in life you move on from, even if there were some good things about it; college, some friends that fade away, that job that was fun but going nowhere, your English roadster that kept breaking down...

[Babel_17]

12. It's not actually tricking your mind, Carr walks you through understanding how ...

It's not actually tricking your mind, Carr walks you through understanding how the brainwashing works with cigarette smoking/nicotine addiction. It's all about reinforcing the dependency. When you fully see how Carr lays out the mechanism of the trap you can have an "ah-ha" moment. You see how it applies to yourself, and you then can can just simply walk out of the prison cell of addiction that you've been living in.

It's brilliant, but the caveat is that you have to read the book with an open mind and a desire to stop smoking. This is why Carr says it's OK to smoke while reading the book. He wants you at ease so you can take in his message.

[melman]

2. The only way to really quit is just to quit

Just stop doing it. Everything else is nonsense.

[Mariana]

4. Everyone who quits just stops doing it at some point.

Whatever method they choose to get themselves to that point doesn't really matter. The result is what matters.

[Babel_17]

14. A happy non-smoker

Yes, it's the result that matters. In his book, Allen Carr goes into that. He doesn't just want to get you to stop smoking. He wants you to become a happy non-smoker.

He talks of his own past attempts to stop smoking that ultimately failed. They did however give him the insight to come up with the method that did work for himself, and then millions of others.

He talks of the will power approach, and the danger of thinking you had to give up something. Those aren't conducive to being a happy non-smoker.

Carr talks to you till you get to the point where you'll be happy about being a non-smoker, and you're exciting about getting started. IIRC he uses "chomping at the bit" as an expression to describe the ideal state of mind for going into stopping smoking. I remember being pumped up for it.

[Brickbat]

3. I quit almost 20 years ago and still dream about it occasionally.

[RobinA]

9. I've Been Two Years

and have never dreamed about smoking. For awhile I kept waiting, but it never happened. I never smoked in my dreams, though. Kinda strange.

[w0nderer]

5. :-)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1153
smoking cessation group

also Allen Carr
2009-Nov for me
still nicotine free
27-30 a day to nothing overnight
and i was laughing at how easy it was most of the time

[Babel_17]

7. So nice to breathe without wanting a cig

[LanternWaste]

10. I'd be crushed if I crunched the numbers to gauge how much my pack-a-day habit

I think I'd be crushed if I crunched the numbers to gauge how much my pack-a-day habit since the summer of '84 has cost me. A brand new car with all available options, I'd guess.

[Pastiche423]

11. That did not work for me

What did work for me, after smoking for 39 years, was an ecig.

Stopped smoking cigarettes five years and 5 days ago with no nicotine ecigs.

[Babel_17]

13. OK, sounds like you hit on a sideways approach, I'm glad you're free!

Carr talks a bit on how his looking at the power of hypnotic suggestion gave him insight into how nicotine addiction works, and how he could break the brainwashing of people addicted to cigarettes.

Perhaps you came up with your own personal method of breaking its hold on you, and your no nicotine ecig was like a totem that reinforced your power over the addiction.

Because the bottom line is that you freed yourself of being in thrall to the addiction of cigarette smoking.

Just my 2 cents!

P.S. Congratulations! Reward yourself with a breath of fresh air, it's free.

[Mariana]

15. I used an e-cig as well, it's more than 4 years since I smoked.

I don't miss smoking. It bothers me when someone says there's a wrong way to quit smoking. That's crap. Any way that works is the right way. I used e-cigs, my sister-in-law and a good friend used medication, another friend used patches, my mother tapered herself off after my father got viral pneumonia and he had to quit during that long illness. All of those people have been smoke free for years, and all of them quit the right way - although I don't recommend the viral pneumonia route, it's really bad news, but it was probably the only thing short of death itself that was going to make my dad stop.

[RobinA]

16. My Father

is the same way. In fact, being around him coughing up a lung all the time is what made me actually decide to quit. I didn't want to be like that when I was 80. He seems to be way more addicted than I ever was and has tried a couple gums and patches to no avail. He gets incredibly depressed when he withdraws. I suggested the e-cig but he would have none of it. It's probably too late at this point, he's 82. What's done is done.

[Babel_17]

18. Fwiw, that reminds me of a story in Carr's book

A young man was brought to the clinic by his grandmother. She decided to take "the cure" as an example for him. She had been a life time smoker if I recall the anecdote correctly.

Allen Carr says never to push his method on people. It's futile. He points to the rise in cigarettes consumed on the national smoke-out days as one measure of why pushing people to quit is usually futile.

If a person genuinely wants to quit and says so then I guess one can mention the Allen Carr method.

The book is a genuinely good read as Allen Carr recounts his life as a smoker in an interesting way.

[Mariana]

19. My father never smoked again and is in excellent health now

except for reduced kidney function as a result of chemo - he beat bladder cancer 5 years ago. He got pneumonia in 1982, when he was only 43 years old The doctor told him what his life would be like if he took up smoking again, as it's been related to me he said "You'll be a respiratory cripple, Bob, do you understand what that means?" My dad did understand and decided he didn't want that.

I noticed rapid improvement in my breathing and general health with the e-cig. It's not the nicotine that kills people, it's the smoke, and of course e-cigs have no smoke. It's too bad your father blew off the idea. Nothing can undo all those years of damage, but it may help some with the coughing in particular.

[Babel_17]

17. When Allen Carr touts his method vs. using willpower, etc.

When Allen Carr touts his method vs. using willpower, etc., it's based on his own personal experience and, more importantly, his personally dealing with thousands and thousands of nicotine addicts in his personal, and group, sessions. He's also gotten many thousands of letters from those who couldn't stop using other methods.

It's not absolutism, "there's a wrong way to stop smoking", it's about statistics. For decades and decades we've had vast numbers of people failing to stop smoking by using will power, hypnosis, pills, nicotine substitutes, tapering down, etc. The Allen Carr method, and ones similar to his, like Joel's that I link to in my OP, have a much better record.

And I'll mention again that unlike many who stop smoking by using willpower alone and admit that it often feels like a sacrifice, Allen Carr "graduates" generally state the opposite.

The Allen Carr method comes with just the requirement that genuinely want to stop smoking, and that you make the effort to absorb his message. It's great that some people have success by going a different route. But the Allen Carr method has a proven excellent track record, and it's success rate is superior to other methods. And when you're done smoking with his method, you're done. There's no tapering down of your nicotine addiction like with the ecig. And there's no ongoing addiction that makes a cigarette look tempting.

But yeah, there were people who became happy non-smokers before Allen Carr offered his systemized process, and there are people today becoming happy non-smokers while not using his materials.

I'm happy for them, and you!

P.S. In case anyone's wondering, I'm affiliated with nobody, and have no stake in anything. I'm not even any kind of a member of any Allen Carr, or any kind of non-smoking, groups. Not that being a member in such should matter. It does make me feel good to give credit to Allen Carr (and Joel for all his free videos and other stuff), but that's the extent of my personal gain.

Although of course I'll feel really good if any of this helps someone.