Lisa and the Wellness Service: My Six Month Journey to Freedom
A client recently shared this piece about their smoke-free journey and the support they received along the way. We are grateful for their permission to share it.
I smoked my very first cigarette when I was sixteen years old. Back then it felt like growing up, something to do with friends, a little bit of rebellion. What I didn’t know then was that it would wrap itself around my life, day in and day out, for thirty‑eight long years. By the time I turned fifty‑four, smoking wasn’t a choice any more — it was a habit, a crutch, a constant companion I both hated and relied on. I’d tried to quit before, on my own, more times than I can count. Each time I lasted days, maybe a week or two at most, and then I’d be right back where I started, feeling like I’d never be free.
That all changed six months ago, when I walked through the doors of the Wellness Service and met Lisa.
From the very first moment we spoke, I knew this time would be different. Lisa didn’t judge me. She didn’t tell me off or list all the things I already knew about how bad smoking is for me. She sat down, she listened properly, and she spoke to me like a person — not a statistic, not a problem to be fixed, but someone who was tired and struggling and really, truly wanted to change. She said, “We will do this together, at your pace, and we will put everything in place that you need to succeed.” And that is exactly what she did.
Over these last six months, the support Lisa and the Wellness Service have given me has been nothing short of amazing. It hasn’t just been one appointment and off I went — it has been steady, constant, caring help every step of the way. Lisa checked in with me regularly, celebrated every tiny win with me, and on the hard days — the days when every part of me ached for a cigarette, when I felt stressed or low or like I might crumble — she was there. She talked me through it, reminded me how far I had come, gave me practical tips, distractions, breathing techniques, ways to handle cravings and triggers that I had never even thought of before. She understood exactly what I was going through, because she knows how deep this addiction goes, and she never once made me feel silly or weak when things got tough.
She put all the right things in place to give me the very best chance. She explained everything clearly, helped me access the right medication, and talked me through exactly how it would work, what to expect, and how to use it properly. That medication made such a difference — it took the edge off the worst of the physical cravings, it calmed the restlessness, and it meant I wasn’t fighting every single second of every day completely empty‑handed. But it was never just about the tablets or the patches. It was Lisa’s knowledge, her patience, her kindness, and her absolute belief in me — even on the days when I didn’t believe in myself — that was the real medicine.
She does such brilliant, real, good work. You can tell straight away that this isn’t just a job to her — she cares, deeply, about every single person she helps. She is organised, she is thorough, she is warm, and she has built a service at the Wellness Service that actually works, because it is built around people. She tailored everything to me — my life, my routines, my weaknesses, my goals — and that is why, this time, it stuck.
Today, I am nearly six whole months completely smoke‑free.
Thirty‑eight years of smoking, broken in six months, because Lisa and the Wellness Service stood beside me all the way. I breathe easier now. I sleep better. My clothes, my home, my hair don’t smell of smoke any more. I have money in my pocket that used to go up in flames. Most of all, I have my pride back, and a sense of freedom I honestly thought I would never feel again.
Lisa, I want to say a huge, heartfelt thank you. Thank you for your service, thank you for your time, thank you for your kindness and your expertise and for never giving up on me. You are doing an absolutely brilliant job, and the work you do changes lives — you have certainly changed mine. You put every single right thing in place to help me stop smoking, and because of you, I have succeeded.
I am so, so grateful. Thank you for everything. You are amazing, and I love what you do — keep shining, because you truly make the world a better place, one person at a time
-David (Client of the Wellness Service)