‘Everyone has a story’ – Aunty Isabel encourages connection

As a seven-year-old girl, proud Wiradjuri Elder Aunty Isabel Reid was taken away from her family to the Cootamundra Girls Home. At 16 she left and started working with a local GP and believes he changed her life.

‘I WILL BE SOMEONE SOMEDAY’: Aunty Isabel Reid with her daughter Therese and granddaughter Maddison at the Connect, Your Way campaign premiere.

“The doctor and his wife took me in. They built a little unit on the back of their place and I stayed with them until I was 18. I told him everything. How I was feeling, and I think that’s helped me,” Aunty Isabel remembers.

Talking, Aunty Isabel says, is good for your mental wellbeing. It can be powerful in healing past hurts and working through your current challenges.

“I would say, get out there and talk to people. Get someone you’re comfortable with and talk to them. Looking for that right person who will guide you in the right way. You need to tell a story. Everyone has a story.”

“I was angry for a long time, very angry, and frustrated and thought that everyone was to blame. I felt like I was alone and no one cared. I said I would make sure that my life was not going to be like that. I didn’t get an education so I went back to school and got that – went to TAFE – learned to read and write ‘cause I didn’t get that at the home and I said that I will be someone someday.”            

Today Aunty Isabel is a pillar of the community and believes connecting to culture and community is helpful for First Nations peoples’ mental wellbeing.

“I love the river whether it’s in flood or just calming. I think the river is just something that brings you back to earth. You can think while you’re down on the riverbank. Most of your worries go away – like the ripples of the water.”

Aunty Isabel is sharing her personal story as part of Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network’s new mental health campaign Connect, Your Way, which encourages people to connect to support in a way that suits you.

“For me, talking to people and sharing story and culture helps others understand our history, and shows other First Nations people how they too can look after their mental wellbeing.”

For more information or to connect with mental health support, visit mphn.org.au/connect

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis call Murrumbidgee Accessline on 1800 011 511; Lifeline for general support on 13 11 14; or 000 in an emergency.