"Why is it that perfectly competent, functioning adults cannot just stop lighting cigarettes?"
Peter and Peggy Holmes both smoked for more than 10 years. After several failed attempts to quit smoking, they found the key to permanent freedom from nicotine addiction. They came to the understanding that even though nicotine creates a strong physical dependency, it's the psychological part of the habit that must be overcome in order to quit smoking successfully.
Peter and Peggy Holmes both smoked for more than 10 years. After several failed attempts to quit smoking, they found the key to permanent freedom from nicotine addiction. They came to the understanding that even though nicotine creates a strong physical dependency, it's the psychological part of the habit that must be overcome in order to quit smoking successfully.
Out of the Ashes - The Book
Pocket size and portable, Out of the Ashes is put together in an easy-to-read format that presents thoughts about the psychology of smoking as individual meditations under headings that any smoker will understand: Cravings, Commitment, Rationalization, Fear and Motivation, to name a few. Absorb them one at a time or read a group of them together. However you choose to approach the book, the content will help you understand the mental side of this addiction, and give you the tools to break free of it.
From the book:
From the book:
Motivation...
All smokers have years, if not decades, of smoking experience - the shame, the guilt, the complete lack of control, the physical deterioration, the obsession to stop.And yet when people quit, they often can not remember anything bad about smoking. As a matter of fact, smoking starts to seem far better than it ever did in real life - until they go back to smoking.
I want to remember what smoking was really like - not just the first cigarette, but the tenth, the hundredth, the thousandth.
The Pros...
Education is empowering. Understanding the psychology of nicotine addiction will enable you to overcome its grip.
Peter and Peggy Holmes do a fine job of describing how addiction plays with our minds and twists our perceptions. While nicotine is highly addictive physically, the real enslavement comes through our psychological dependence on the habit of smoking. We build up hundreds of associations over the years, and smoking becomes a part of who we are. The Holmes discuss these links we have to smoking in ways that encourage the reader to see addiction in a new light. The book provides insights that can help pave the way to permanent freedom, which is after all, what we all want!
Peter and Peggy Holmes do a fine job of describing how addiction plays with our minds and twists our perceptions. While nicotine is highly addictive physically, the real enslavement comes through our psychological dependence on the habit of smoking. We build up hundreds of associations over the years, and smoking becomes a part of who we are. The Holmes discuss these links we have to smoking in ways that encourage the reader to see addiction in a new light. The book provides insights that can help pave the way to permanent freedom, which is after all, what we all want!
The Cons...
There is only one attitude put forth in the book that I take issue with. It has to do with cravings to smoke. The idea that as smokers we will always have cravings to smoke is limiting and false. From the Holmes:
I know better than to believe that I'm destined to be plagued by cravings to smoke forevermore. Smoking holds no allure for me, and cravings to smoke are no longer a part of my life. True recovery from this addiction involves changing what cigarettes mean to us. Once we make that mental shift, cravings to smoke eventually fade away to nothing.
Cravings...
Smokers do not become non-smokers, they become ex-smokers. The distinction is crucial. Non-smokers are people who do not want to smoke. They have never smoked, and have no interest in it whatsoever. Ex-smokers, on the other hand, do want to smoke. It is just that they want to stop smoking more.I will never be a non-smoker. I will always have cravings, at least once in awhile. But if I understand that these occasional feelings are the only alternative to smoking, I can treat them as a small price to pay for the freedom, better health, and peace of mind that I get from not smoking."
I know better than to believe that I'm destined to be plagued by cravings to smoke forevermore. Smoking holds no allure for me, and cravings to smoke are no longer a part of my life. True recovery from this addiction involves changing what cigarettes mean to us. Once we make that mental shift, cravings to smoke eventually fade away to nothing.
In Summary...
Out of the Ashes gets a thumbs-up, 5-star rating from me!
Other than the issue with cravings outlined above, I have nothing but the highest praise for this book. It's absolutely packed with tips that will help you begin to change how you perceive cigarettes and your need for them. Carry this little gem of a book with you, and let it help you free your mind. You'll be on your way to true recovery from this killer of an addiction.
Other than the issue with cravings outlined above, I have nothing but the highest praise for this book. It's absolutely packed with tips that will help you begin to change how you perceive cigarettes and your need for them. Carry this little gem of a book with you, and let it help you free your mind. You'll be on your way to true recovery from this killer of an addiction.
