Need help identifying a Behavior Change Technique

Help Identifying a CBT technique.

Hey guys

I need help.

I recently accomplished something I was really proud of. I quit smoking. I’ve tried numerous times but I always went back to smoking. I’m proud to say that I’m don’t for good. I’ve been smoke free for over 6 months and there’s not a chance I’m going back.

I used a book many of you may have heard of called Allen Carr’s - The Easy Way To Stop Smoking. This book’s claim to fame is… if you read the Amazon reviews you’ll read the same story over and over. “Wow, this book really works! I read it and just lost any and all desire to quit smoking.” And that’s exactly how it does work. It seems to use methods closely resembling CBT in that he challenges your assumptions about why you do it.

He takes a different approach. Everyone else uses scare tactics. They show you dirty lungs, different diseases, and in theory, these things should work. But in practice, they don’t. Allen Carr argues this is because Smokers don’t smoke for the reasons they shouldn’t, they smoke for the benefits smokers THINK cigarettes are GIVING them. For example, some smokers think it relaxes them, or helps concentration, which is actually BS, so what Allen does is instead of trying to SCARE people with the punishments, he disproves the supposed benefits. Like he presents evidence that smoking does not aid concentration, and does not relax people (it actually brings your blood pressure up.) So without these “positives” there’s no longer any reason to continue smoking and you look at those dirty things like “WHY would I ever use THOSE?!"

Now here’s the thing… this method is really powerful. And I feel like the same logic can be used to change pretty much any habit. So I’d like to reverse engineer this logic in order to help people. Think about if you could apply this same logic to consuming excessive sugar, or other behaviors that are unhealthy, but historically difficult to change.

I found an article that seems to use the same method. I’ll summarize it so you don’t have to read it.

Step 1: List all the things you like or love about cigarettes. Any benefit you think they’re giving you, no matter how small

Step 2: Write down all the things that prevent you from quitting. What scares you.

Step 3: Write down the benefits of quitting.

Now you realize that everything written down in Step 1 is BS. They’re just justifications. There are no benefits to smoking… it’s just an addiction and your mind needs to justify that addiction.

Step 4: You pretend you’re a lawyer in a high profile legal case with the job of defending smoking. Now you switch positions as an Anti-smoking lawyer and DESTROY the first lawyers case. Convince the jury that the first lawyer’s arguments were complete BS.

Since I'm new here it won't let me link to the article, but if you Google "Want to quit smoking?... By the time you finish this article, you'll be ready to stub your habit" it's the first result.

This is also what Allen Carr seems to so. He takes all your arguments for continuing to smoke and systematically destroys them and shows you why they’re ridiculous. For example:

Again, this is is sharp contrast to the normal method of telling people the reasons (they already know) that it’s bad for them.

So, anyway, like I said… I feel like if I could figure out how this works it can be applied to any other “bad behavior,” so any help would be *greatly* appreciated. Any information. Articles, techniques, tips, videos, books, podcasts… whatever. If there’s a name to this technique. I would love to learn more about it. Thanks guys, I really appreciate the replies.

I don't have any answers for you, NYPaperline. But I'm posting the link you mentioned.

Find it here: Want to stop smoking?... By the time you finish this article, you'll be ready to stub your habit | Daily Mail Online

Hello I smoked near enough from age 16 to 44, and that was an increasing habit.
I know people say the weening off way doesn't work , but it did for me.
You have to plan it though
Bye

Thank you. You guys are the best.

Hey, whatever works works... congrats on quitting. I actually wasn't looking for a way in which to quit. I actually already quit and I'm trying to understand the shift that took place in me that allowed me to just never want to touch it again.

The core difference between this and other methods seems to be that everyone else wants to pound in the disadvantages to a certain behavior, while Allen Carr points out that there are NO advantages to that behavior. A subtle, but very important difference.

He really pounds into your head "there are no benefits to smoking" (or whatever other behavior,) and that seems to be why it's so effective.