Stress
My client is stressed because she has a hard working job, where she is put under pressure regularly to succeed. Also her mother has recently been ill and has had to look after her younger brother a lot. Rushes around a lot, this leaves her feeling exhorted and stressed.
Smoking:
Targets for stopping smoking:
As I said before, I want my client to stop smoking. The plan is for her to cut down to fifth teen a day, and change this into her life style, therefore she will stop having cravings as her free time where she used to smoke is filled with exciting new activities. Then once she is feeling confident to move on to the next step, she can swap to ten a day, and fill her time with more fulfilling activities. Then she will have five, then two a day until finally she feels ready to stop. Hopefully this will be with in five months as a gradual result.
She can use nicotine patches if she is feeling unconfident towards then end of the five months, because when my client gives up smoking she might experience cravings for cigarettes, because they are dependent on the nicotine in tobacco. She may feel irritable, get headaches, be restless, and find it hard to sleep and difficulty concentrating. This will mean my client will find it hard to give, what nicotine patches do is give her small amounts of nicotine, but without the dangerous effects of inhaling a cigarette.
New activities
My client is going to try out some new activities like walking, going to the gym, yoga or, what my client says she has wanted to try for a while, learning a new language. As she quits smoking, she can again a new skill and therefore she will be motivated.
Targets
The chart I have made can make my client want to achieve her goal more, this is because it is a visual reminder and she can see every time she has made an improvement, at the end of each month she can reward her self but going out on a day trip or a shopping spree, ect. These treat will make her associate stopping smoking with treats and she will want to do it more. Though the treats shouldn’t include smoking more.
Photo’s and pictures
I will get my client to put no smoking signs all round her house,
This will be a reminder will make her not want to smoke because of the gore of the pictures. All these visual techniques will give her the inspiration to stop her smoking,
Some other photo’s I could use:
Extra Support
To make sure that the plan is successful, my client can use more support, by having support of friends and family around her so she feels loved and can be encouraged.
There are many groups she can join and use the Internet help to:
NHS stop smoking group;
The NHS offers free local support that really works. They have many groups set up all over the UK, so there we definitely be one in my client’s local community. When she joins, a trained adviser will help her to put her plan into action. The adviser will support her when she is feeling down or like it wont work. There are also other people there who have quit or are in the same situation as her to give her more hope. I think my client would prefer a group like this because she is a friendly person who enjoys other people’s company. Therefore my client will feel less alone if she feels supported by a close group of people, all trying to do the same as her.
Online journal;
http://www.quitsmokingjournals.com, is a online site that helps people who are trying to quit smoking by putting there own experience on the site. There is a section where she can read the “quit smoking benefits to your health” where they explain why smoking will help her, and another where and they explain why she should quit as it will damage her health: “health effects of quitting smoking.” They help people who want to live in a smoke free family or desire a smoke free life, like my client. They will give her the support and help her want to have a successful quit. They get their strength from the many people they have helped by banding together, sharing experiences. These kinds of sites will offer similar types of support as the NHS stop smoking group however she can just log on and go on if she is in real doubt in-between her group sessions. Overall, I think my client can befit better from the first method as she can talk to actual people and they can physically support her to.
Friends;
My client has many friends who smoke, and a common way when quitting something is to do it with a friend. This is because her friend can lend her support and encouragement unlike anyone else because she/he will know what Lauren is like and they are face these problems too. The thought of stopping smoking together will be less daunting as they can share tips and suggestions together as they aim for the goal.
Drinking Alcohol:
Targets for stopping drinking alcohol:
As I said before, I want my client to stop drinking as much when she goes out on the nights and hopeful in the long term, stop all together. The plan is for her to cut down to 4 units when she goes out and to monitor how much she is drinking in a night. Because when my client goes out on Friday and Saturday nights she just orders more and more till it is time to go home, she cannot say how much she is having. I am going to make her count how much she is having, in units, and as soon as she gets to about 4 units, she stops. Or if everyone else is carrying on and she doesn’t think she can, go home. This will make her slow down, as she will want to stay out with her friends, and therefore there will not be any short term damage as in embarrassment.
I advise she takes this plan with her when she goes out:
I will give my client 2 weeks to get used to having 4 units a night then
Stress
The first thing I am going to do is tell Lauren to go to her GP and get a blood test, this is a way to monitor my clients stress levels and see the difference when she does back in 6 months time.
To reduce stress, my client needs to focus on getting some rest and relaxation. This is possible even with a full schedule like Laurens. She should just take ten minutes out every few hours while she is working and sit back and relax. She can relax buy trying not to think about anything.
Conclusion
If my client keeps to this plan, then she should achieve many things. They will all benefit her health and well being,
The main things I wanted her to achieve, long term and short term were:
- Cut down/ quit smoking
- Drink no alcohol on weeknights and Sundays
- On Saturdays drink about 4 or less units
- Have a lower blood pressure
- Do 2 hours meditation a week
- Stop during the day and make sure she is relaxed
If my client follows this plan then I believe she will achieve all the targets I have set for her.
The targets I have set for her are intended to improve my client health in one way or another. Firstly if she is not smoking the risks of getting smoking-related cancers, cardiovascular disease and emphysema and other chronic lung diseases has been reduced dramatically. Stopping smoking will extend her life and she will feel fitter. Secondly, because she has cut down the amount she is drinking also, she will reduce the risk of getting Heart disease, Stroke, and Diabetes. With the combination of not smoking and not drinking she will feel better about her self, increased her life-span and she will be able to fell better about her self and not have hangovers more often so she will be able to get up and work harder for longer. Lastly because she is reducing her stress levels she will be calmer and happier and more patient with her brother and parents. It will also mean that she can get along with her boyfriend more.
I have also discussed many types of support my client can use like:
- NHS
- Support Groups
- Online Help
- Family and friends
- Partner/Boyfriend
- Extra activities
- GP’s and other health professionals
- Exercise and stress release Classes
