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You<br />
Section<br />
just keep going<br />
You’re twice as likely to quit for good with our help<br />
ucy Dillon is one of the six<br />
team leaders on the current<br />
season of RTÉ’s Operation<br />
L<br />
Transformation. The twentyfour<br />
year old hails from<br />
Clonmellon, Co Meath and on top of her<br />
goal to slim down she has simultaneously<br />
challenged herself to quit smoking. Before<br />
starting the show Lucy was averaging 11<br />
cigarettes a day.<br />
The mother of one-year-old Molly has quit<br />
numerous times in the past but has always<br />
come back to smoking to help her cope with<br />
the stresses of a busy life.<br />
“I have never quit for long periods. For<br />
example, when I was pregnant with Molly I<br />
obviously didn’t want to be smoking but the<br />
minute I had Molly, not that I had planned<br />
to start smoking again, it just happened,”<br />
explained Lucy.<br />
“I’m feeling like it’s time to just quit. I have<br />
a different air about it.”Lucy who lost her<br />
mother to lung cancer just over three years<br />
ago says that despite past attempts, this<br />
time feels different.<br />
“I know the affect they (cigarettes) have. I<br />
lost my mam… smoking was a huge factor<br />
to it. I did want to give them up but I needed<br />
to feel it. It’s hard to explain but I’m feeling<br />
it now. I’m feeling the actual health benefits.<br />
I’m feeling like it’s time to just quit. I have a<br />
different air about it,” she said.<br />
determination<br />
Finding that determination to quit for the<br />
final time can be difficult. Temptation is<br />
everywhere and excuses are hard to avoid.<br />
Lucy said she began to feel differently about<br />
smoking when she allowed herself to really<br />
think about the damage she was causing<br />
her body.<br />
“I was digging a big hole for myself. Smoking<br />
was a huge part of my day. If you count<br />
five minutes for every cigarette, and I was<br />
having 11 or 12 - that’s an hour a day spent<br />
smoking. It’s scary to think about it like that.<br />
“When I get a craving I just go outside for<br />
fresh air.”<br />
Lucy used her will power to quit at the<br />
beginning of her Operation Transformation<br />
journey. Naturally with such a big life<br />
adjustment come the cravings.<br />
“The car is a huge thing for me. Whenever<br />
Molly wasn’t with me, I always smoked in<br />
the car. It nearly passed the journey for me<br />
so that is a huge change for me now.<br />
When I get a craving I just go outside<br />
for fresh air and take a few<br />
deep breathes to get by those<br />
couple of seconds. That’s all it is<br />
but when it hits you it hits you.<br />
The next time you would have<br />
usually had a cigarette it will<br />
happen again but it starts to<br />
fizzle out.”<br />
Trying to quit while<br />
surrounded by other<br />
smokers is tough.<br />
Luckily for Lucy,<br />
her partner does<br />
not smoke around<br />
her and a work<br />
friend has also<br />
recently quit.<br />
“We were<br />
the only two<br />
smokers in the<br />
office so it has<br />
worked in my<br />
favour. If I was<br />
still working in<br />
the restaurant<br />
or the pub I<br />
don’t know how<br />
I’d manage it.<br />
Just being around<br />
people who don’t<br />
smoke has helped<br />
me an awful lot.<br />
“It sounds weird<br />
but I’m focusing<br />
more and I’m not<br />
as distracted.”<br />
Family and<br />
friends have<br />
been a great<br />
support for Lucy<br />
and that has<br />
undoubtedly aided<br />
her in her journey<br />
to remain smoke<br />
free but what has<br />
been most affective<br />
is Lucy’s willingness<br />
to help herself.<br />
“For instance I<br />
gave the<br />
car a<br />
good clean down to remove the smell of<br />
smoke and to help me think that going forward<br />
is going to be a fresh start and a<br />
fresh, new me.”<br />
It’s a fact that after 72 cigarettefree<br />
hours, your breathing will improve<br />
and your energy levels will<br />
increase. With over 500 hours<br />
under her belt, Lucy is feeling the<br />
benefits.<br />
“I’m enjoying things more. It<br />
sounds weird but I’m focusing<br />
more and I’m not<br />
as distracted. When<br />
I’m in work I’m not<br />
always thinking<br />
‘oh it’s my time<br />
to go for a<br />
cigarette now’.<br />
My breathing<br />
is definitely<br />
improved; I’m<br />
not as out of<br />
breath. I know<br />
I am training<br />
more but since<br />
I quit smoking I<br />
feel like my chest<br />
is opening up so that’s<br />
not s<strong>caring</strong> me anymore,”<br />
she said.<br />
“Just actually think<br />
about it.”<br />
Lucy mentioned that she<br />
is beginning to feel turned<br />
off by the smell of smoking<br />
and is starting to replace her<br />
longing with a negative view of<br />
cigarettes. She had this advice<br />
to share with anyone trying to<br />
quit,<br />
“Just actually think about it.<br />
Think about the harm you’re<br />
doing to yourself and others<br />
around you. I went on day to<br />
day thinking yea, yea, I know<br />
they’re bad and I would just<br />
keep smoking anyway but you<br />
need to actually sit down and<br />
think about it. Don’t ever think<br />
you deserve them (cigarettes)<br />
because you don’t.<br />
Just keep going.” You’re twice as<br />
likely to quit for good with our help.<br />
18 | health matters | spring 2016
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