Quotes from Allen Carr

kill the Big Monster first. You unravel the brainwashing and see alcohol for what it really is: an addictive poison that controls and debilitates those who take it. Then the Little Monster is easy to deal with. In fact, you can enjoy the process, confident in the knowledge that you're destroying a mortal enemy.

The human brain works partly on instinct and partly on deduction.

what we are 'enjoying' when we smoke after a period of abstinence is not the cigarette, but ending the state of wanting or needing it.

In the past, whenever my logic and my instincts were in conflict, I would back my logic. Today, I back my instincts every time. Why? Because I know that my instinctive brain is many times more intelligent than my conscious brain.

Physically I was so low that I knew that if I didn't stop I would soon be dead, yet mentally I was so dependent on my 'crutch' that I was prepared to die rather than stop.

When I had tried to stop previously there were weeks of dark depression. There would be odd days when I was comparatively cheerful but the next day I would invariably sink back into the misery and depression. It was like clawing your way out of a slippery pit—you feel that you are nearing the top; you can see the sunshine—and then find yourself sliding back down again.

Our intelligence may seem to be the flaw in the machine, but strictly speaking the flaw is our inability to use it properly.

So just relax, keep your mind open, and accept the feeling for what it is: the Little Monster fading away. In this frame of mind, these become moments of real pleasure rather than moments of struggle.

was about ten years old. It was called The Geek.

Try to perceive yourself as a nonsmoker sees you

It's not your personality that addicts you, but an addictive drug.

The body cannot crave nicotine. Only the brain can crave.

artificial void

relaxation is like drinking bourbon to get sober.

Remember: all you actually enjoy when you smoke is attempting to get back to the relaxed state that non-smokers enjoy throughout their lives.

I was in control of every area of my life except for smoking. The cigarette was deciding where I could go, what I could do, when I could do it and with whom.

Place a small child in a crib with a rabbit and an apple. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car." Harvey Diamond, co-author Fit For Life

The only pleasure or crutch smokers receive when they light up is the perceived relief of the empty, insecure feeling of the body withdrawing from nicotine that nonsmokers don't suffer from anyway. 2. Each cigarette, far from relieving the empty feeling, actually causes it, so the perception of a pleasure or crutch is an illusion. It's like putting on tight shoes to get the pleasure or relief of removing them.

These cigarettes are the equivalent of wearing tight shoes to get the pleasure of taking them off.

I'm just generally hugely frustrated, I'm a very, very frustrated man. I'm just a ball of pent-up frustration.

I was at college doing performing arts, and just spending all my time mucking about, and the lecturers thought I would be pretty good at stand-up, so I gave it a whirl.