REVIEWS/ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS ON LIFE CHANGES

From the Springfield Business Journal's Salute to Health Care, Vol. 22, No. 10, September 24-30, 2001, pgs. 28-29, Springfield, MO, "Eight Family Deaths Inspire Stop-Smoking Workbook," by Mike Schilling, Excerpts: "The Johnsons base their program on three major principles: Tobacco is the problem, not yourself... Nurture, protect, and care about yourself MORE than tobacco... Set a date and quit tobacco for life changes... People don't have to go to meetings... They can pick and choose... They can do it themselves (with LIFE CHANGES) ... a core base for working on skills to quit and stay tobacco-free... People (can) make a dramatic healthful switch in their lives...onto an entirely different pathway..."

Read Dr. Johnson's online interview on writing the book, Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for Life Changes
with Dallas H. Franklin, publisher of Sell Writing
Online. Use Microsoft's Navigator Browser to access the link to the interview below:

Excerpts from Dr. Blaine's review of LIFE CHANGES:
"I have been helping patients quit for over 25 years. Many smokers look for something that works (fast) so they try gum, a patch, or drug (Zyban aka Wellbutrin or Buproprion). What they must realize... the essential ingredient in the quitting formula is their determination to succeed... stopping tobacco use has a little bit to do with intelligence and a lot to do with persistence. It has everything to do with packing the brain with reasons to
quit and the techniques to help you accomplish your goal... LIFE CHANGES is packed full of reasons to quit and exercises to help you take control of your life back from tobacco. It helps expose tobacco not as the friend that settles you down and keeps weight off, but the enemy that robs you of over a decade of what should be golden years.
I like this book and whole-heartedly recommend it to my patients. Congratulations to David and Carole Johnson! Through their book they will save and touch more lives than they will ever know... (LIFE CHANGES) helps you develop tools that, when achieved, will be far more powerful forces to combat tobacco reduction than any patch or gum could ever possibly do."
James Blaine MD
Anti-Tobacco Activist

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Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES
By David l. Johnson, Ph.D. & Carole A. Johnson, I.D.
2001, Infinity Publishing.com, ISBN=0-7414-0481-8
$19.95 Preview at:
www.buybooksontheweb.com/description.asp?ISBN=0-7414-0481-8
Reviewed by Billie A. Williams

Life Changes is more than just a healthy read. It is an activity book that will take you step by step through some very positive life style changes that can help you cease to use tobacco products or, I would venture to include any other challenges you face in life.

With the Johnsons help you identify the problem situations where you would use tobacco. Then you develop specific plans for each situation so that you can visualize yourself dealing positively with the situation. Then you can use your plan when the situation or one similar presents itself. By mentally rehearsing the plan, success is more likely. They stress that you should reward yourself when you do well, but not be afraid to modify your plans when necessary.

The Johnsons have designed an interactive read and do program. First you read about tobacco and all its effects on your life and health. Then (they) address the principles you need to adapt to focus on your plan for action, these include confidence, competence, commitment and creativity which he calls 4-Cing the future.

Key principles in Life Changes makes it a book of crucial strategies that provide effective cessation tools with skill-based exercises, scripts, options and resources while outlining specific activities that can you can use to target issues you define, and strategies you design to cope with the issues. The Johnsons provide reinforcements for these actions through scripts and (sample) scripts you can record to personalize the program.

The book has worksheets to provide places for the reader to work through the specific methods the authors define. It has affirmations for helping to instill a confidence and competence in designing ones own program. Dr Johnson inspires and re-enforces with his poetry and quotes from other sources. Stress relief through laughing, refocusing, relaxation and affirmations provide a failsafe for those wishing to cease the habits of tobacco use. (They) discuss the use of hypnosis as an aid in this program. He defines ... hypnosis ... spontaneously occurs when we relax, focus attention, and engage in imaginative activity. Then he walks the reader through some guided imagery that helps to focus attention on positive images.
The imaginative/creativity exercises that follow involve exercises with word association, squiggles and shapes you turn into stuff, headlines that are laughable, and other humorous one-liners.
The Johnsons never say they are the only or the best solution. They say you are the only solution. You are the best solution to cessation of tobacco use.

The back of the book is a veritable tome of resource places to further your education and find additional help. There are even worksheets to develop a maintenance program for yourself and one in the event that you slip.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a way to end the habit of tobacco use, but also to those with other issues in their lives that they are having problems facing or dealing with.
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Stop Smoking and Chewing Tobacco for LIFE CHANGES
David L. Johnson, Ph.D. & Carole A. Johnson, I.D.
Infinity Publishing.com, Haverford, PA (Paperback)
http://www.bbotw.com Cassette tape sold separately.

As a motivational speaker that wants results, I was happy to see that Life Changes is a learning-skills-by-doing approach to stressors and events that on a daily basis can thwart must folks efforts to quit tobacco for life. The workbook uses over 120 powerful techniques to help you quit tobacco. Techniques and strategies proven to help people make meaningful changes in one's life.
All the more than 120 techniques and strategies together form a strong, supportive, personal framework for empowering one's short, then longer-term results with less fear of relapse. I like how the workbook uses imagnative activities to create, apply, and repeat cognitive-behavioral skillsdaily to quit tobacco for life.

You may have tried to quit tobacco many times, but this workbook will build on your strengenths as you develop new skills for life.

Edward W. Smith/Motivational Speaker
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(Another review excerpt/July, 2006) ... LIFE CHANGES is applicable to all forms and histories of tobacco use, self/mood-management, stress reduction, emotional eating, daily/situational problem-solving, passivity, denial, behavioral problems, and needs for self-identity and expression which challenge and require a sustainable, healthy lifestyle. The authors, both ex-tobacco users, have incorporated cognitive-behavioral principles, reinforcement activities, creativity, visualization, imagery exercises, hypnotic suggestions, affirmations, written verbal strategies, a healthy dose of humor and innovation in a safe, user-friendly, self-monitored program of change that promotes quitting tobacco with, or without, nicotine-replacement products. The program embraces a variety of learning styles. Persons oriented visually will enjoy the reading, writing, and imagery exercises. Individuals who learn by listening will find the personal scripts for daily mental relaxation, focus, empowerment, and taped audiocassette playbacks involving and helpful. Individuals who prefer an active, learning-by-doing approach will find the variety and execution of aversion exercises sufficiently challenging and powerful to make any quit plan more effective with fewer relapses and more rewarding life experiences... The title expresses a core theme of the workbook, ‘Life changes without tobacco!’ Highly recommended... J. J. Rinas, MA, LPC Counselor