On July 15, 1983, Allen Carr, an avid smoker with thirty years of experience, put out a freshly smoked cigarette and announced the discovery of a new method of quitting nicotine. A method that allows any smoker to quit a bad habit once and for all - without volitional efforts, gimmicks or substitutes, without suffering from withdrawal syndrome, without gaining excess weight and, most importantly, without spending the rest of his life in a hard struggle with the desire to smoke in secret fear, that at a party without a cigarette it would not be so much fun, and stress without it would be impossible to cope with.
At that moment, few could believe in the reality of such a magical healing. After all, everyone knew that quitting smoking requires tremendous willpower, usually accompanied by weight gain and painful consequences of abstaining from nicotine. In general, quitting smoking is as difficult as conquering Mount Everest. Unfortunately, millions of smokers continue to suffer from this delusion.
Considering thousands of working hours and millions of dollars spent by doctors in search of an effective method of quitting nicotine, it is quite understandable how difficult it is for them to believe that a former smoker without any medical education alone coped with a problem that professionals cannot overcome. This is more likely to be believed by members of the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous. As a former Alcoholic Anonymous, I am well aware that millions of us owe their lives not to doctors, but to comrades in misfortune.
Allen Carr is now widely recognized in the world as a leading expert in helping smokers to get rid of their bad habit. His first book, The Easy Way to Quit Smoking, has been a bestseller since 1985, when it was first published by Penguin. This book has been translated into more than 20 languages and became the bestseller in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Based on the Allen Carr method, a worldwide network of clinics has been created.
I first heard about Allen Carr from friends who underwent treatment at his clinic and were very pleased with the results. I was skeptical about these enthusiasm, because most of them at that time had quit smoking just a few days ago. I had no doubt that they had paid a fortune for the latest "magic" remedy and would try to persuade me to fall for the same bait. Now I myself do not believe in it, but then I wanted them to return to the old habit. It annoyed me that they were not bothered at all when I smoked in their presence, and gradually I realized that they were genuinely enjoying their new life. Instead of sympathy that they lost the pleasure of smoking, I began to envy them.
For many years I felt like a pariah because I continued to smoke. As an ever-wobbling member of the "brotherhood, " I was fully aware that alcohol was ruining my life. My excuse was that I considered alcohol to be an essential social prop. Now, because of my addiction to alcohol, I again felt like a pariah. So I ended up at the Allen Carr Clinic. In full confidence that this would not help me, I did not say a word about my intention, even to my wife, let alone my friends. Four hours later, when I left the clinic, I was eager to tell the whole world about it.
Carr claims that his method is equally effective for all types of addiction. I am delighted to be able to testify that this method not only saved me from smoking, but also helped me wake up from the nightmare that ruled my life - alcoholism. I was once convinced that alcoholism was incurable. Carr proved that I was wrong. Today my only regret is that I didn't know anything about Allen Carr before. Don't worry if you're skeptical at first. This is exactly what Allen expects of you. I will not talk about how his method works and what is its effectiveness. I can only say one thing: when you finish this book, it will be a mystery to you, as you did not understand such obvious things before. Enjoy your book!
Emanuel Johnson
An easy way to stop drinking
More than twenty years ago, I was able to prove that any smoker can easily quit smoking. Having discovered this method, I seriously expected that in a few years smoking would be a thing of the past. Indeed, since then, by the most conservative estimate, thanks to my method, more than five million people have gotten rid of this habit. For most of them, quitting nicotine was simple and enjoyable. However, there are millions of other people in the world who have not heard of Allen Carr or his method. I see the reason for this only in the fact that it takes a certain time to abandon the generally accepted dogma. After all, everyone knows how difficult it is to quit smoking.
Throughout most of our history, we have believed that the Earth is flat and at the center of the universe. It is well known that it takes a tremendous amount of willpower to overcome alcohol addiction, including several unsuccessful attempts to stop drinking. It is also believed that controlling their drinking habits is most difficult for those who need it most.
If I find it difficult to convince people that there is an easy and pleasant way to quit smoking, how much effort will it take to convince you that anyone can easily, permanently and immediately solve the problem of alcohol for themselves? If you suspect that you are addicted to alcohol, or already consider yourself an alcoholic, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), known for its authority on alcoholism, is unlikely to be doing me a favor with its categorical statement:
"Alcoholism is a chronic disease for which there is no known cure. "
Unfortunately, this opinion enjoys the active support of many well-known medical specialists, the media and society in general. The conviction that alcoholism is incurable is so deeply ingrained that I will not be offended if you throw this book into the trash bin without even opening it. But please don't do this. Many physicians do not share the views of A. A. and other similar organizations, but they are very reluctant to speak up on national television with their objections.
One of the most dire consequences of alcoholism is that the victim is left penniless. Sufficiently wealthy people whose alcohol situation is out of control can go to rehab, but for the vast majority of alcoholics, AA is the only way to get effective help. So why am I questioning the core of A. A. 's strategy: the idea that alcoholism is a disease for which there is no known cure?
Because it is based on delusion!
What attracts me most about A. A. meetings is that every speaker who has been given the floor can make any scandalous statements, feel free to sob or express their anger, use expressions that would make a construction battalion sergeant blush, and all this without protests from the audience. . . . Politicians should be required to attend A. A. meetings to learn how to debate.
I understand that some of my judgments may cause you various feelings, from relief to anger, fear and disbelief. But whoever you consider yourself to be, a person with a minor alcohol addiction or a complete alcoholic recovering or vice versa, I have only good news for you. I ask only one thing: do me the same service as any speaker in an A. A. meeting.
Let me make it clear that no matter what I say about A. A. , I am by no means its opponent or competitor. For most alcoholics, A. A. is the only available source of help. But according to the doctrine of this society, alcoholism is incurable, and the path to recovery can be long and painful. Imagine if there was a universal, simple, and inexpensive medicine for anyone with an alcohol addiction that:
- Acted immediately!
- It worked all the time!
- It did not require volitional efforts!
- Eliminated the suffering of withdrawal symptoms!
- It made it possible to get more pleasure from the holidays!
- Helped to cope better with stress!
- Didn't evoke feelings of sacrifice or deprivation and the need to constantly fight temptation!
It's probably easier to believe in fairy tales. But let's imagine for a moment that such a medicine exists. Suppose A. A. will use it. How long do you think alcoholism will plague our planet? What sane person would refuse to use such a remedy?
But it does exist. It is in your hands. If you've read this far, then you are somewhat concerned about the problem of alcohol abuse. In my opinion, in that case, it would be unwise not to read the book to the end. It is only natural to inquire about a remedy, especially if it is said to have an immediate and permanent effect, is effortless, and easy to apply.
Why should you trust me? And I don’t ask you about it. On the contrary, I am ready to accept your skepticism. An important part of my method is that you should question not only every statement I say, but all your attitudes related to alcohol and alcoholism, which you have until now perceived as an immutable truth.
When I first announced that my method would make it easy for anyone to quit smoking, my family and close friends thought it was a joke. They were gentle enough not to laugh in my face, but it was clear that I was considered a potential patient in a mental hospital.
Not surprising when you consider that I had tried to quit smoking countless times before and made this statement by putting out a freshly smoked cigarette. Today passers-by stop me on the street and thank me for saving their own life, the life of a close friend or relative. Every day I receive letters in which they write to me that I am a genius and offer to knight me or even canonize me. I was even offered a seat on the royal podium in Ascot, but personally I think that this is too much. Such honors exceed my merits.
Like all great discoveries, the Easy Way is more a manifestation of luck than any genius in my nature. In truth, the honor and respect that surrounds me today still embarrass me. But like any normal person, I cannot help but feel pleasure from this. All this helped me to assert myself, and I will not in the least risk my reputation by making statements that I cannot substantiate.
If you are a discerning person, then you probably already asked yourself the question:
"If Allen Carr’s method is as unique as he claims, why is it not used by AA, ASH, QUIT, authority figures, etc.? Undoubtedly, with modern means of communication, this method of treatment could spread around the world like a hurricane. "
You may be interested in why people come from all over the world to consult this humble loner with no medical background who does not even advertise his method, and why he is widely recognized as the world's leading expert in the field. There is only one simple answer:
The easy way is effective!
Perhaps you are under the impression that mainstream medicine objects to my method as such. Indeed, at first I was considered a fraud and charlatan. But today, it is doctors who seek help from our clinics more often than representatives of other professions, and you will hear most of our recommendations from doctors and nurses. The medical profession is extremely responsible and full of stress, so doctors are more vulnerable to drug traps than ordinary people, especially when you consider that they have open access to drugs.
If a common therapist decided to apply my method to his patients, he would have failed. The full course of treatment requires at least four hours of therapy, and it takes one year to train a specialist. Organizations such as DRINKLINE, [ASH, and QUIT are charities run by well-meaning amateurs, most of the time not personally familiar with these issues. Their recommendations boil down to the hackneyed platitudes that have already caused your past failures and breakdowns.
Nevertheless, I am confident that A. A. members who have been to this pit have sufficient experience, competence, motivation, and enthusiasm. If you add the necessary information to their recommendations, perhaps in a few years alcoholism will remain only in the school history course.
Does this mean that Easy Way cannot operate without the support of an organization like A. A.? No, it doesn't. Patients come to our clinic desperate, convinced that they will get rid of their addiction only after weeks, months or even years of torture. Most of them believe that even with a successful solution to the problem, the holidays will no longer be so fun, there will be nothing to relieve stress, and they will have to fight the temptation for the rest of their lives.
"Wait a second! Wait. I have abused alcohol for over 30 years. Don't consider me a fool. There is no way I can be cured in just four hours. "
I never said that you can be cured in four hours. I said that your problem can be solved in four hours. Have you noticed that a toothache that has plagued you for several weeks miraculously disappears as soon as you muster up the courage to go to the doctor? This is the "law of meanness. "
Have you paid attention to the unhappy expression on the faces of people entering the dentist's office, and how they can hardly restrain a happy smile when they leave the dental chair? Toothache can be relieved by placing a filling or removing a tooth. The recovery period after such pain may take longer. The gums remain inflamed for several days. But regardless of the inflammation, leaving the doctor's office, you feel happy, especially if this is the last visit to him.
This applies to any problem, physical or mental: you feel a surge of strength and confidence if you know the solution. The more serious the problem, the longer it has tormented you, the more convinced you are of its hopelessness, the more uplift you will feel when you find a solution.
"But how can there be a simple and quick solution to such long and complex problems as alcoholism? "
Imagine being imprisoned in a cell with a combination lock. You can spend years picking the code and not get anywhere. But if I give you the code, you immediately, easily and forever go free.
"But alcoholism is something else entirely. "
Alcoholism is exactly that, and the Easy way is a master key to prison constipation.
So this book is just an advertisement for Allen Carr's clinics? No. It offers the same course of treatment, and it alone is sufficient. Clinics and a book are different ways of carrying out the same treatment. The advantage of the clinic is the ability to ask questions to a trained therapist and discuss controversial issues with him on the spot. Unfortunately, this is not possible with a book.
Your doctor can also tell if you have missed something important. Naturally, the book cannot do this. I stated that the treatment is immediate. Obviously, it gives an instant impact only after the completion of the course. Treatment at the clinic includes one session lasting four hours. Healing with the book continues until you finish reading it. The advantage of the book is that you can read it in your spare time. But in practice, this can be a disadvantage. I often receive emails with such comments:
"My daughter bought your book for me three years ago. I finished reading it ten days ago. How right you were! It's so great to be free. Why have I lost these three years? "
Indeed, why? There are many reasons why a person will not take up this book in any way. In the clinic, the patient will most likely go through the entire session. I personally treated more than 25, 000 people who turned to me for help. Only one patient left the session because her husband tricked her into visiting us.
Like many people, I hate manuals and instructions, most of which are as exciting to read as watching paint dry. Therefore, I have made every effort to make the book entertaining. Hopefully I have done well enough for you to read it to the end, as this book will guarantee you will overcome your alcohol problem on your own.
In principle, your problem can be considered solved as soon as you assimilate the information contained here. To do this, you need to have a fresh and sober head so that it is easy for you to concentrate on the task at hand. Some people read a book in one sitting, but I would not recommend doing that.
I have already said that healing is guaranteed. In the clinic, in case of failure, we return the money to the patient (you will find information about this at the end of the book). I'm sorry I can't promise to refund your money when you buy the book. You are no doubt wondering why failures happen and whether you become one of those failures. Luck or failure has nothing to do with it.
A cure is guaranteed to any person, provided that all the rules are followed. Having followed all the instructions, he will be able to get rid of alcohol addiction incredibly easily. Many people do it with pleasure. Now, you might be thinking:
"There is something wrong here. Probably, your rules look something like this: make a solemn oath that you will never touch alcohol again, be faithful to this oath, and as soon as you feel the temptation, say to yourself: "How wonderful it is to be free! " "
In principle, if you follow this simple instruction, it will definitely help you to keep yourself in hand. But I doubt it will make your life happier. Plus, we wouldn't get so much positive feedback and achieve more than 90 percent performance if the method were all about that. You may now be thinking:
"Understand. The catch is that the rules are so complex that only Einstein can follow them, and Allen Carr will accuse me of being too dumb to properly understand and successfully apply his method. "
Nothing like this. If you were smart enough to read this book, you should be smart enough to get it right. Think of each rule as a number on a combination lock. Miss or mix up one number, and the lock will not open.
So the first rule:
Follow all the rules.
Remember, over 90 percent of patients who visit our clinic quit drinking. This is due to the fact that during the session they follow all the prescribed rules. You should act in the same way while reading a book. I have already mentioned that I hate instructions and manuals; if you don’t like them either, then I’m happy to report that there are only seven rules in total, and they are listed on the following pages.
The second rule says:
Be patient.
When I say "be patient, " I mean that you should not go to the next sections of the book without reading all of the previous material. Treat the book like a detective. In fact, this is a detective. The drug trap is the greatest fraud in human history. In the words of Abraham Lincoln:
"You can deceive all people for a while, or you can deceive some people all the time, but you cannot deceive all people all the time! "
This is what could be said about drug addiction until I discovered the Easy way. This does not mean that everyone became addicted, but all this time people were in the captivity of illusions. Like any fraud, a drug can play a cruel joke even with an intellectual. But revealed deception is not capable of fooling even a feeble-minded person.
Unlike other detective stories, this book may have a different ending. For some, reading it may turn out to be sad, even tragic. But for most, this is the happiest ending in their lives. The choice is yours. For a happy ending, you just need to follow all the rules. The third rule says:
Start reading in a good mood.
How can you do this if you are one of those who believe that alcohol dependence is in principle incurable, not to mention easy treatments? Admittedly, this is a question of the primacy of the chicken or the egg. If you could travel forward in time and for a second experience the elation that will arise after reading this book, your mood could not be different.
It's like learning to jump into the water. The depth of the pool is 2. 5 meters, but it seems that the bottom is not more than half a meter. The board you are standing on is only 50 centimeters above the water, but you get the feeling that everything is 2. 5 meters below you. You have no doubt that you will smash your head, and despite the coach's efforts and assurances of safety, you have to muster all your courage to decide to jump.
The thought of getting rid of drunkenness sometimes seems to a person who has already made several unsuccessful attempts, no less frightening. You can experience the sensation of a beginner diver before jumping. But you are not a diver. You are in a much more enviable position to gain everything without losing anything. The worst thing that can happen is failure. In this case, your situation will not become worse than the one with which you started. Follow the rules and you will be fine.
Some people think the Easy Way is to train positive thinking. You know yourself: if you believe in the goal, you will achieve it. This is not necessarily the case. I have always thought positively, but it didn’t help me avoid the drug trap, just as it wouldn’t help me avoid a prison cell. Nevertheless, positive thinking greatly increases your chances of success, and the opposite position is almost doomed to failure. Thus, the fourth rule reads:
Think positively.
Let's discard all pessimistic thoughts. It doesn't make sense to feel unhappy and deprived. You have to find something incredible, something that others consider impossible - a lasting cure for alcoholism. Treat your journey through this book as the exciting endeavor it really is. Imagine how proud your friends and family will be.
The advantage of the Easy Method is that you can continue to drink during the course of treatment. It probably sounds incredible, but I promise you that everything will gradually become clear. So your fifth rule reads:
Don't stop drinking or cut back on alcohol until you've finished reading the book.
There is one exception to this rule. If you are in rehab or have been abstaining from alcohol for more than a day, try to keep yourself in control as much as possible. Sixth rule:
Read this book only on a sober head.
The last, seventh rule is the most difficult to follow:
Be objective and open to new ideas.