Allen Carrs EASYWAY

[Rooster]

I just finished this book in about 3 days after being recommended it here on the forum and found it incredible. I highly recommend it as well to recent or soon to be non smokers. Even those with more days under their belt will likely benefit. It is amazing because even as I read and new it is clearly using techniques brainwashing, he is using them for good. I likened it to a braincleansing, as we have a number of murky thoughts instilled which need to be scrubbed of we want a happy and easy post nicotine life.

 

As smokers, and even now that we are free, we are all subject to the brainwashing propaganda of the tobacco companies and public conception of smoking. We build up all of these intuitions and concepts of smoking which are not true. they are all just lies to help pull you into a world and keep you there.

 

Alan Carr recognizes that the most powerful force behind a quit isn't "willpower" or tolerance to physical withdrawals, it's perception,attitude. Throughout the book he breaks down ideas I was unaware I was holding onto as false truths, and in there place builds up a framework that transitioning back to being a non-smoker (we all were once) is an easy, pleasurable and exciting thing. We're not giving something up, we're gaining a better life in so any ways.

 

As you can tell, I'm a huge fan, but I want to know what you all think? Anyone else read all or part of easyway? What are your thoughts. Anyone curious have any questions? Let's hear it!

[Doreensfree]

I too read the easy way....

It make me see smokkng in a total different way....

It helped me finally quit after smoking my way through 52 years.....

In my opinion ....this guy is a genius....

High five for reading it....

[Chrysalis]

Yes, Rooster, Alan Carr's book has been a game changer for many of us. You will see many references to his ideas and many recommendations to his book as you continue reading the posts here. I've noticed that the people who seem to have the most success at permanently quitting smoking work at it and continue to work at it for at least one year. Reading Carr's book more than once is often part of the success.

 

What that means is many people read up on quitting smoking, quit for a few weeks or a month, and then think "Great! I did it! I'm free now." They think that they know it all, they kicked the habit and now they can leave the forum, stop obsessing about quitting smoking, and relax. Then they relapse. There are many reasons for this. One of the main reasons is that cravings will keep happening for months-- sometimes they will get really, really bad months after a quit. People get blind-sided by this and impatient with it and begin to fear that they will NEVER be totally free of the desire so they might as well just go back to smoking.  

 

What we have seen on quit smoking forums like this is that it's extremely helpful to keep reading about and educating yourself about how to quit smoking for at least a year. New triggers will pop up that you don't know how to handle. Or you will get rattled by a wave of craving that you thought was gone for good. Or somebody will say something that you heard before but they say it in such a way that this time it "clicks" with you and  makes your quit stronger and more comfortable. 

 

So I'm delighted that you read Allen Carr's book and found it helpful. But don't think that you are finished. You would be wise to plan on reading it again in 3 or 4 months. You will learn new things and renew your motivation to stay quit. I also suggest that every day you watch one of Joel Spitzer's videos (most are less than 10 minutes long) for helpful information, funny stories and reassurance. Some of Joel's best videos are pinned at the top of the QT "Quit Smoking Discussions" sub-forum; his complete collection is on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/user/joelspitz  You don't have to watch them in any order, just pick a topic that intersts you. Take the NOPE  pledge here every morning and reach out to help other people who are quitting-- thinking about others' problems and offering your best advice will help you when you find yourself faced with a similar problem.  

 

You're already developing a strong quit and taking all the right steps. I'm very optimistic that this will be your permanent quit. Just take it one day at a time and keep educating yourself about nicotine addictions. Next thing you know, you will have earned a place on the Lido deck for having completed one whole year!

[Tink]

At first I didn't like it as I didn't want to accept that I was a nicotine addict, but the book explains it very well and when I accepted it, all the rest of the nonsense and lies made sense to me.

 

It's also in pdf form and maybe someone can post it here, I'm on a kindle so can't :(

 

Glad you found your light bulb moment rooster, cockerdoodle dandy :)

[rowlyd]

Awesome. I went to an Easyway clinic and haven't smoked since. Surprisingly the withdrawal symptoms were very slight and my moods were perfectly good during the quitting process. I recommend Allens method to anyone looking for an easyway to quit smoking.

[rowlyd]

Oh one more thing, I agree completely with what Chrysalis said and done it says it in the book too. Keep the book in a safe place for future reference. And find a support system/group that works for you. Personally I have found that Nicotine Anonymous meetings and quit train work well with what I have learnt from The Easyway clinic because I am able to help others get or stay smober.

[Rooster]

Thank you for taking time to write that excellent post Chrysalis. It is certainly advice I will do well to heed as I improve my longer term quit plan. It will definitely help with what I think is one of the biggest aids to my quit this time, keeping it front of mind. Unlike previously this is fully the only goal/habit change I am permitting myself to work on for 2 months. Immersing myself daily in my motivations, a supporting community and continuing the commitment have helped make this my most successful and enjoyable attempt so far. I knock on wood as I am only 2 weeks in, but I will definitely heed your recommendations and keep surrounding myself with great resources like those and this forum right here.

[Nancy]

Allen Carr's book made a huge difference to many of us...like a light bulb coming on!!

[Gemzee]

I loved it too...massive help for me.

[El Bandito]

Big fan here.

[Jclarke241]

I have just a few pages left of Carr's book and I've enjoyed it very much. It was taking a look at smoking in a way I hadn't thought of before. I totally recommend.

[SanDar]

The Easy Way helped me to see just how "brain washed" I was by big tobacco!

This book also helped me realize  that tobacco offers me nothing except a craving for the next fix, which was huge to me!

Thanks for posting Rooster :)

[beacon]

I felt the same way and I have reread sections over time.  This book was a strong tool in my quit smoking kit.  It changed how I thought. Immediately.

[action]

I never read it personally, but I have heard from many that it has helped them tremendously. Glad that it helped you!

[Doreensfree]

On 1/13/2015 at 1:13 PM, Rooster said:

I just finished this book in about 3 days after being recommended it here on the forum and found it incredible. I highly recommend it as well to recent or soon to be non smokers. Even those with more days under their belt will likely benefit. It is amazing because even as I read and new it is clearly using techniques brainwashing, he is using them for good. I likened it to a braincleansing, as we have a number of murky thoughts instilled which need to be scrubbed of we want a happy and easy post nicotine life.

 

As smokers, and even now that we are free, we are all subject to the brainwashing propaganda of the tobacco companies and public conception of smoking. We build up all of these intuitions and concepts of smoking which are not true. they are all just lies to help pull you into a world and keep you there.

 

Alan Carr recognizes that the most powerful force behind a quit isn't "willpower" or tolerance to physical withdrawals, it's perception,attitude. Throughout the book he breaks down ideas I was unaware I was holding onto as false truths, and in there place builds up a framework that transitioning back to being a non-smoker (we all were once) is an easy, pleasurable and exciting thing. We're not giving something up, we're gaining a better life in so any ways.

 

As you can tell, I'm a huge fan, but I want to know what you all think? Anyone else read all or part of easyway? What are your thoughts. Anyone curious have any questions? Let's hear it!

This book has helped millions Quit, what have you got to lose in reading , you can gain so much ,

I read it , and so have many here x

[Christian99]

I am not a fan of Carr's book.  I raise this not to disparage the work or those who find it helpful:  there is absolutely no doubt that it has helped a lot a people and saved a lot of lives.  That's an incredible accomplishment and legacy.  But I mention this because at times Carr and his positions were (and I think to some extent still are) viewed as almost sacrosanct and that if one didn't/doesn't subscribe to his method or identify with his style then there is something deficient in the quitter's approach.  I should note that this almost cult-like devotion was mostly apparent to me as I was first quitting and in the the first decade or so of my freedom, and I don't really know if it's as prevalent today.  That said, I did have some exchanges about and with Joel Spitzer in the 20 teens (maybe on this site, maybe on a previous one) that suggested to me that there's still a kind of "The Easyway is the Onlyway" bias in quitting circles.  And in terms of approach, Carr and Spitzer have lots of similarities, well beyond their shared antipathy toward NRT.  

 

I am sharing this, too, because I want to validate other experiences of and approaches to quitting.  For some people (like me, for instance), there was or is no easy way:  quitting can be messy, complicated, miserable, and seemingly interminable, and simple reframing of the experience does little to mitigate it.  In fact, I'd argue that it can even intensify the difficulty if one internalizes the message that it can and should be easy.  Some quitters, for a range of reasons, need to lean into the misery;  those of us who did or do might find that Carr simply does not resonate with (and even, in the worst case, insults) us.   So if Carr doesn't speak to you, it doesn't mean you're not listening; it could be that you're equipped--temperamentally, intellectually, emotionally--to  respond to a different speaker and message. 

 

Christian99

22+ Years Quit       

 

 

 

 

[Doreensfree]

Your right in saying it’s not for everyone 

I posted this in case Newbies didn’t know it even existed.

It gives them the opportunity to read if they want to .

we all have to find our own path 

and share our journeys .

No matter  what route you take 

you still have to put the work in 
 

[Christian99]

3 hours ago, Doreensfree said:

Your right in saying it’s not for everyone 

I posted this in case Newbies didn’t know it even existed.

It gives them the opportunity to read if they want to .

we all have to find our own path 

and share our journeys .

No matter  what route you take 

you still have to put the work in 
 

Totally understand, and just to be clear I was responding to the original poster's invitation for anyone's thoughts on Carr--I definitely wasn't criticizing any individual or response.  

 

C99