Hi. I have a question about Allen Carr Easyway I hope someone can answer.
I’m looking for the final key.
I stopped smoking with Easyway fifteen years ago, and found it unbelievably easy. Every thing made sense. I simply no longer desired or wanted a cigarette so there were no cravings, no desire, so no willpower required.
I am a chronic alcoholic and have been trying to get sober for a very long time. I have read all the quit lit books …which in my opinion all use some form of Allen’s method - and although I understand about addiction, and there being no benefits to drinking …the penny just will not drop like it did for me with smoking.
I still believe there is something to give up, that I will be missing out if I never drink again. I cannot imagine a life without alcohol in it, and whenever I quit I just obsess about having a drink until I give in.
Has anyone here successfully quit alcohol with Easyway or any other method and can show me how to get my mind to make that final shift? Thanks
For me, i had to figure out the “whys”. Why did I turn alcohol. Why couldn’t I process emotions and daily issues like a “normal” person.
That took a lot of work and re learning how to live. The first 4 years of recovery I usef AA to encover the “whys”. Now I participate in Recovery Dharma.
Welcome!
I don’t have any experience with Allen Carr. I went the AA route and being in a room full of like minded people sharing their experience, strength and hope convinced me that sober life is what I want.
I can’t imagine going the rest of my life without alcohol but I know for sure that today I will not drink. I’ll decide about tomorrow when it gets here. One day at a time is all I can manage.
I listened to this audiobook and “This Naked Mind”. I don’t know that reading these books would’ve worked as well for me as listening to them.
Allen Carrs book was my first listen and it shifted my thinking. I didn’t quit immediately after, actually I drank the final drink it recommended against if you’ve already stopped… so in theory the book started my drinking again but was still a net positive for my journey. I just didn’t think about alcohol the same way anymore.
I was ready when I stopped, it was quit or die… the only thing I was going to be missing out on if i quit was death.
First of all, I’m not an example for anyone since I stopped drinking only 90 days ago… There are people here with much more experience who can give their opinions. I also struggled with the idea of “what will my life be like after becoming sober”… Parties with friends, lunches with clients, dinners with family… But I realized that I couldn’t continue drinking the way I was. I had to stop immediately. I made my plan, made the decision, and set the date… 90 days ago. And since that day, I haven’t had a drink. I sought medical help, shared with my family and (some) friends, and started attending AA meetings.
You need to figure out whether you feel okay being an alcoholic or if, on the other hand, you think you need to change your life. But if you’re here reading about how to quit alcohol, maybe you don’t feel so good being an alcoholic. I felt miserable, and I made the decision!
I cannot imagine a life without alcohol
Neither did I, but it wasn’t difficult to get used to it. I’ve been able to live well without alcohol. One day at a time!
I did. Finished the book and never touched a drink again, now is 7 months (after good 20 years of alcohol abuse). During the book I remembered how I felt before I even started drinking and held on to that feeling. I realized the fun was long gone and it’s never coming back. The small thrill of the first sip is not worth it. So I trained myself to become fun again, without substances. Still working on that, it’s a process and I’m fine with it. I also remembered the first time I tried cocaine. I thought “what the hell is this, I’m just myself, why is this so expensive”. Then the second time I felt it rewriting myself. Never touched it again. The same thing alcohol does, only much slower. So that was sort of my own final key.
Yeah. However you do it, it’s a big miss thinking about forever in my experience.
Ye olde “one day at a time” is a much easier way to go. I don’t need to worry about not drinking forever. I only ever need to not drink today.
If I just do that today, the rest sorts itself out in time. I can’t begin to fathom the rest of my life, but I know what’s in front of me today.
As for program, there’s lots. Many will find one that works for them. I’m yet another AA. I did find that for getting past the obsession I needed a new way to look at things. New way to approach what was really bothering me to begin with. Maybe not everyone does. For me it helped a lot though.
In any case though, it’s still just don’t drink today, no matter what!