"Joining Lives lived well to quit smoking and gain coping strategies as I have vascular stenosis and was at risk of losing limbs"

After spending my whole life looking after my mother. My mother had passed in November last year and I was unable to walk more than half a block. I though this was related to my back issues. I seen a medical service to start addressing this. I ended up getting ultrasounds on my legs and this is when I found out I had stenosis. I was referred to a vascular surgeon and had day surgery scheduled to get a stent put in to open my femoral arteries, this surgery took place in July but only in one leg to open up the blood flow which enabled me to walk without a cane.

During the time I was waiting for the surgery (Jan to July) I was trying to do everything to improve my life which meant quit smoking as well as addressing my mental health issues of my fear of dying and the grief and loss, and trying to be able to return to the work force which I've been out of for 12 years. 

I tried desperately to quit smoking but just couldn't, and this was affecting me so much because this was my stress relief so I was really struggling. I ended up googling "quit smoking courses available": I could not find anything that I haven't tried, this is when I called and booked an appointment and booked in for the course.

In the course I experienced social cohesion being able to hear and relate to others experiences even know they weren't the same as mine but were similar. This gave me accountability to myself to keep trying, it provided me with understanding how to use coping mechanisms and that there are things I could do to get through the cravings.

Being able to talk about my experience and my struggles was very helpful, as well as hearing other peoples stories, this provided a base for growth to happen. I'm taking on board the tools i learned from the course I was able to use these in situations that happened in every day life.

In the first two courses I did I felt that time was slightly disconnected. I felt happy doing the work and learning the knowledge, although the walks were an important part of the course as it allowed people to be social and be open to a group setting if there were an extra hour of the course, and the walk was done at the in the beginning to check in or the end to sum up the day, I feel this would allow the modals to be addressed in a more satisfactory way. Everything in the course was relevant but I felt like an extra hour would have been beneficial and help run more smoothly so we can do check in, modules lunch and check out. 

I feel really good about my care. Everyone was so supportive and I felt so comfortable being a part of the course! I felt supported, encouraged, cared for, listened to and essential. This helped me recognise I'm important and I'm worth putting the effort into which a lot of addicts struggle with. This gave me belief that I am worthy of a better life. I was shown its okay to be a bit broken but I was worthy to gain the experience to grow.