Allen Carr was an addiction treatment specialist with a groundbreaking point of view: abstaining from alcohol doesn’t have to be hard. According to Carr’s pioneering program, quitters only need to unlearn common messages about the benefits of drinking. Here are two top insights from THE EASY WAY TO CONTROL ALCOHOL.
Key Insight 1: There are no benefits to consuming alcohol.
Some doctors have claimed that drinking alcohol in moderation has medicinal benefits for physical or mental health, but alcohol’s effects on the general public prove that there’s nothing to be gained from imbibing. If alcohol were capable of providing the benefits ascribed to it, then the general populace would be much healthier overall. Once an alcoholic acknowledges that drinking has no mental, physical, or social advantages, he or she will be able to solve some of the life stressors that alcohol abuse exacerbated.
Key Insight 2: Drinking doesn’t increase happiness.
Drinkers will often claim to be at their happiest while intoxicated. When their drinking habits are more closely examined, however, an observer may discover that the casual drinker largely imbibes during events that are already happy in nature. A father may have some whiskey while waiting for his child to be born, and conflate the happiness he feels over the birth with the intoxicants in his flask. Alcohol may be enjoyed during joyful occasions, but it does not cause joy in and of itself. Instead, it dampens the ability to truly experience and remember the moment.
