laser warning
The Carr `camp’ seem to be strongly divided (as evidenced by the
debates that rage in various quit smoking sites (like about.com) about
how `good’ Alan Carr is or isn’t). I remember finding Alan Carr’s
book (long before I found cognitivequitting) I only ever read a few
chapters because I personally found his style to be patronising, and
his dialogue very repetitive. He makes some good intellectual
arguments about why smoking is such a pointless exercise/how bad it is
for us etc, but other than maybe motivating us to quit, there’s little
else to help us sustain our quits, or quit comfortably. As I think we
cogquitters would agree, intellectualising and making reasons to quit
rarely sustain a quit, let alone a comfortable one.
If someone asked me about the book, I’d probably say `go read it, make
up your own mind, and then when you want to quit comfortably and
permanently, come to cognitivequitting.com’
Pam
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:00 am
PS I’ve got off my soap box now……
Pam
I said….
etc etc
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Hiya Flops,
I don’t think I’d agree that the book (any of his) are hypnotic. I found
them more repetitive.
I think that for most of us, a critical part of quitting smoking is the
realization or understanding of what smoking really is. And I think that
too many smokers, and quitters, hold onto beliefs like “a cigarette is my
best friend”, “I love/enjoy smoking”, or “I can’t relax without a
cigarette”. Carr does an excellent job of exposing those beliefs as flawed.
There are also the smokers who have never even formed beliefs about
smoking, they’ve simply not thought about it at all. For them, Carr is an
eye opener.
All of this examination of smoking and how it fit into your life makes an
excellent motivator to start a quit. And if you’re the sort of person who
can repeatedly choose not to smoke simply because you realize the logical
fallacy of smoking, then Carr may be the way for you to quit.
However, if you find that your smoking is a behavior that needs to be
addressed in ways other than just ‘realization’ and reading, then Carr may
get you started, but isn’t likely to keep you going.
If you’re looking for a way to change your smoking behaviors…. (ready
for it?…) set a timer.
That’s my few cents.
June 23rd, 2007 at 4:18 am
non rah rah type hugs… ok, I have no idea what that is
Diane, how long have you been quit? Must be a bit over a year?
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:33 am
At 06:17 AM 10/17/2006 +0000, you wrote:
Steve
“I’ve been quit 14 months now, but 11 months comfortably. I came here
because you had said something that made me think that
there was a way that didn’t involve fighting craves every day and finding
the whole thing exhausting”
Nicely done Dianne!
I remember the start of the comfortable part of your quit (just couldn’t
remember when). If I recall correctly, it took you about 2 days to focus in
on your body cues. As soon as you did, you were off and running. Apparently
you’ve not stopped running, Congrats on both MVP awards