This week, get ready to be inspired by the incredible journey of Maggie Deal, a retired New South Wales police sergeant who embarked on a mission to contribute to her community. At 28, Maggie transitioned from managing bars, clubs and restaurants in Sydney to a career in law enforcement. From the Eastern suburbs to the state surveillance branch, she embraced every opportunity, thriving with the guidance of senior officers.

In 2009, Maggie transferred to Lightning Ridge and moved to Walgett shortly after where she was promoted to Sergeant. It's here that Maggie began her journey with isolation and mental illness. A transfer to Wagga Wagga brought new challenges, further impacting her mental health. Battling toxicity and unhappiness within the station, Maggie took a brave step, leaving in 2021 to focus on her well being.

Wagga Wagga may have been tough, but it became the birthplace of Maggie's artistic revival. In 2021, she opened the Little Yellow House Art Gallery and Studio, showcasing not just her work, but that of over 30 local artists. The gallery has become a haven for creative women and a vibrant, supportive community.

Reflecting on her service with pride, Maggie believes that she has truly become the person she was meant to be. Despite ongoing mental health care, she's witnessed the bad days becoming rarer. Maggie shows her story to inspire fellow first responders, proving that life beyond the badge is not only possible, but incredibly rewarding.

Join us as we dive into Maggie's journey of resilience, creativity, and the pursuit of a fulfilling life beyond the constraints of the job.

Just before we get started, I'd also like to mention that we do have a trigger warning for this episode. We will be discussing suicide. Um, so if that's something that you may be struggling with or it's something that triggers you or something just that you don't want to listen to, just be warned that we will be mentioning that throughout this episode.

So if you'd like to give it a miss, just come back next week with that, let's get started.

INTRO:

Welcome to Triumph Beyond Trauma, the podcast that explores journeys of resilience and hope. I'm Rosie Skene, a yoga and breathwork teacher and founder of Tactical Yoga Australia. As a former soldier's wife, mum to three beautiful kids and a medically retired New South Wales police officer with PTSD, I understand the challenges of navigating mental health in the first responder and veteran community.

Join us for incredible stories from individuals who've confronted the depths of mental illness and discovered their path to happiness and purpose, as well as solo episodes and expert discussions. Together, we'll uncover the tools to help you navigate your journey toward a brighter future. Whether you're looking for helpful insights, practical tips, or just a friendly reminder that you're not alone, Triumph Beyond Trauma has got your back.

You matter, and your journey to a happier, more meaningful life starts right here

Rosie:  Welcome Maggie to Triumph Beyond Trauma. How are you?

Maggie: I'm good. Thank you for having me.

Rosie: Oh you're so welcome. I thought we might just get straight into it. So, can you tell us how you came to join the New South Wales Police Force? What led you?

Maggie: Well, it was a long time ago. It was, it was, Over 20 years ago, and it was just after 9 11, not that that was what made me join, but I'd been in hospitality for years, and, you know, getting people drunk and not really doing much beyond that, and I felt like I needed a job that I actually contributed to, you know, played a part in the community rather than just doing something that didn't really seem worthwhile.

So I had no idea what I was getting myself into, didn't know any cops. I don't think I'd ever talked much to cops, just decided that. I wanted to do something to help and I looked at the ambos and I looked at the cops and I went, I don't like bodily fluids, so I'll join the cops.

So, that, yeah, that was 20 years ago.

Rosie: Wow. So, from Goulburn, where did you go after that?

Maggie: So, I went to, Waverley, Bondi. Which was fantastic. I was, I'd already spent a lot of time in the eastern suburbs, so really enjoyed it, enjoyed the pace, had an amazing group of people that I was working with, like my team.

I think it's, it's always the way when you first join the COPS, your first team is like the best team ever.

Rosie: Yeah.

Maggie: I still remember it as being that, but we would, you know, have coffee at the beach and the jobs were varied and it was exciting and I didn't want to have my days off because I wanted to be at work. Yeah. And like everybody. Yeah.

Rosie: What sort of jobs were you getting over there?

Maggie: Uh, it was a mix. We would do, we did a lot of, obviously a lot of break and enter. Um, a lot of stealing. We could do, we used to have competitions to see how many shoppies we could do in one day. Because we had Bondi Westfields and we would do a massive amount.

But then, we had a good mix of everything. So it was, it was really interesting work and they were really encouraging of us to become involved and participate. So we had GDs had a really good relationship with detectives and they would let us come and help and it was just a really good learning station.

Rosie: That's so nice, isn't it? For your first one.

Maggie: Yeah.

Rosie: And from there, where did you end up after that?

Maggie: Oh goodness. From there I decided to join surveillance. State Surveillance Branch. Did because I met a girl from the branch who had been there for four years and just talking to her, the way she talked about it, she absolutely loved it. And I thought if someone's talking like that after four years of being somewhere, it's got to be a good place to be. So, again, had no idea what I was getting myself into, went and did the, the tests, passed, went and got put on the course, that was two of the hardest months of my life, I think, that was.

It was. un learning all of the skills that you've learned as a cop or all of the mannerisms and relearning all these new things but it was great fun. So went into that, worked on what they call the dark side of surveillance. So a little bit of PSC work. We did terrorist work, high profile stuff.

So I was away a lot. We spent a lot of our time traveling around the state and doing really interesting, interesting work. And that was for. Kind of four years and then, then out west to Lightning Ridge.

Rosie: Oh, so you're at Lightning Ridge before Walgett?

Maggie: Yeah, yeah, I, I had been out to Walgett because friends of mine, my best friend Trace, uh, and her husband were transferred out there.

Um, I'd gone out for some, like, to help them get settled and things and met the commander out there and decided that I really wanted to try something different. He said, well, , we need people at Lightning Ridge if you're prepared to do that for, a few months, six months, then I'll transfer you to, to Walgett.

And um, he did. And I was there for, I think I was there for about eight months. All right. Which was pretty weird. So, definitely an eastern suburbs girl going out to Lightning Ridge where most of the people had no teeth, which I found out later was because the dentist out there had pulled them all out and defrauded them and then not put new teeth in.

So, it was, it was strange. It took me. I reckon it took me a good six months to stop yelling at the boys when they were driving the truck to stop so that I could take pictures of the animals.

Rosie: There is a lot of wildlife isn't there compared to Waverley.

Maggie: Bad! I couldn't believe it. Wild pigs and emus and I felt like I was in a zoo. Yeah. I was like this is, this is not, anything like what I'd ever experienced before. Yeah. But it was good. The team were awesome. And yeah. And then down to Walgett for six ish years and then from Walgett to Wagga.

Rosie: And that's where you are now

Maggie: and that's where I am now and have been for eight years and love it.

Yeah. It's home.

Rosie: That's so lovely. I don't know if people know this about you, but you have struggled in the past with some PTSD. Yeah. Do you want to talk about that?

Maggie: Yeah, well I'm, um, I'm pretty open about it and I try and be open about it because I think there's not enough people that just talk about their situations and normalise it. Yeah. Um, I think the organisation, without being critical, I think the organisation is like a lot of other big government organisations and they, they do talk a really good line about mental health, But when it comes to the crunch of actually impacting on day to day rostering and things, I think there's a real, there's still a real lack of understanding, and empathy shown.

So I always thought I was actually pretty tough. And I thought I was very good at putting feelings aside and putting them in boxes. Yep. And tucking the box away and just not dealing with it again. And that was my way of, of getting through. I remember when I, when I did my SPO, we went to a deceased and the inspector had said to me, do you come on, Maggie, come along, you need to see a dead person.

And I'm like, yeah, yeah, no worries. Went along and it was, It was a little old guy who'd killed himself, and he had taken some pills, but before that, because he didn't want to be a burden on anyone, he'd cleaned his whole apartment, he'd lined up his reading glasses, his hair comb, his wallet, his keys, he'd written a letter.

He cleaned out his fridge.

Rosie: Oh bless.

Maggie: And I've never forgotten it and I was, it made me so, so sad. I thought, can you imagine like cleaning your fridge is a pretty crappy job at the best of times, but knowing you're doing it because you're gonna, you're gonna kill yourself. Yeah. Like being that alone, it just hurt my heart.

But I remember the inspector said to me, cause he could see I was getting a little bit teary and he said, it's not about you, Maggie. It's not about you. Put it aside. And I went yep, yep, gotcha. Not about me. And I think that was my thing in my head for the next 20 years was whenever anything was horrible and I was feeling heart sick or not dealing with it well, I just said it's not about you.

Get over it. It's not about you. Yeah. So, and put it aside. And I only noticed that things weren't getting put aside I think when I went out to Lightning Ridge and I was lonely. Yeah. I had no family or anything out there. So I had my dog. But we had a couple of really hard situations and I had a really good team around me.

It wasn't that, but. I think I was lonely and it allowed other feelings to creep in and then a friend of mine in the job killed himself and then another one killed themselves and I remember distinctly one day I called in sick to work because I couldn't put my uniform on because it hurt my skin.

Rosie: Yeah.

Maggie: But I, you know, not about me. So yeah, I got on, keep moving. I got on and I, I kept being the police officer that I thought you were supposed to be, you know, went to Walgett. Had a few, had a few curve balls thrown at me through my own creation. I guess, but Again, was ended up in a position where I was incredibly isolated, incredibly lonely, dealing with some, some complaint issues, at the station, but also not having family or anything and, decided I would kill myself,

Rosie: but didn't thank God,

Maggie: which is. is, yeah, which is like, thank goodness in retrospect, but , yeah, got to a place where I thought it was better to not. Not keep going. was very lucky that I had, I had a friend, highway patrol bloke. Yeah. God bless him. Who, saved my life. Yeah. Was my friend. Looked after me. Talked to me. Brought me cigarettes.

Just, just. was there and made it really clear he was there and he was not going anywhere and then I was lucky to, I, I was transferred, I was forced transferred so it was a, it was an awkward situation to Wagga, um, but the commander here was a friend and his wife was one of my friends and they literally took me here and said we will take care of you and they did which was great.

Yeah, I turned up here. I was pretty broken. I was a broken unit. But, I came here and, and loved it. Like, Wagga is the world's busiest place. I couldn't believe it. I went from Walgett, and I don't think I'd use the siren in six years, because why bother? Here. Oh my God, use the siren 20 million times a shift.

Yeah. You know, you get armed robberies. Like, you might get three armed robberies in a shift. I was like, wow, this is, this is crazy town, but I really like it.

But new, like I'd, I'd started, I'd seen a doctor at, um, at Walgett. Psychological assistance out there wasn't good, though. So pretty much got prescribed.

An absolute truckload of antidepressants and, you know, sleeping tablets and wakey tablets and just general feel better tablets. So, it was only, I just started taking them because I thought that would, that would help and it did. Like, it kind of numbed everything and got me here. and I was able to kind of...

muddle my way through until I got to a point where I was really struggling, was very lucky that there's heaps more mental health services in Wagga, found an amazing GP and an amazing psych, who kind of kept me on track for a little bit and I did it as long as I could until I couldn't do it anymore.

Rosie: There comes a point, doesn't it, when you have to say... I think that's enough now.

Maggie: Yeah well I think, I think if I hadn't had the art that point would have come a lot earlier. I really do think I started painting again when I moved to Wagga because I moved in autumn. The place is amazing, the trees here are amazing.

I moved from Walgett which was like brown and dust and I hadn't painted in 20 years but I just wanted to paint so I did and just kept doing it and then my psych was like you need to Like, this is good for you. You need to do it. But I found the better I got at my art, the worse it was at the police station.

Rosie: Oh, really?

Maggie: Yeah. I couldn't, , I, I couldn't put the act on as well, you know, and there's a lot of people I was talking to someone this morning who went, I never would have known. And I was like, yeah, it was, it was hard. But I think art opens up feelings. And you start to let feelings in and you have to deal with all of them that come.

So, when they come with policing, you, you, yeah, , you can't put them aside. No, that's it. I remember my psych distinctly saying to me, she's, because she said, I think you need, I think your time's come. And I was like, no, no, it doesn't. Like, what would I do? Um, I don't have a husband. I don't own my own home.

Like, it was financially, I can't, what would I do? I'll be living in a box. I'll be, my dogs will be in a box with me., and she said, if I told you that staying in that workplace, you would get cancer. In two years, you'll have cancer. Would you stay? And I was like, well, like, probably not. Just like, it's exactly the same.

I told you in two years, you, you will be really mentally unwell. Will you stay? And I was like, well, that's not such a cut and dry no, because you think you can wing it. Yeah.

Rosie: Till you can't. Yeah. I think when you say, you know, some people don't know, I think even like in my experience, I was so good at putting a mask on that I didn't even recognize it at times.

Maggie: Oh, yeah. It's, it's does sneak up on you. You're the best actor in the time, by the time I finished, I would spend my four days off. I wouldn't shower. I would stay in the same pyjamas. I would try and paint. and I would just hide at home. But no one at the police station would ever have known that. Yeah.

Like there's no one. And that tells me that if I'm Putting an act on and you were putting an act on, then how many other people are going in there every day and and putting an act on? And that's not a way to live.

Rosie: No, it's not, is it? And it's such a worrying thought. You know, when there are, especially when we talk about suicide, you know, how many people are having these thoughts and, you know, and they're not getting the support they need because they're so good at pretending that it's not an issue.

Maggie: Yeah. Yeah. And I think you, you feel like you have to pretend it's not an issue because there is still as much as people say they're supportive. There's that niggling feeling in the back of your brain that says they're not going to be. No. Yeah. It's slowly, slowly, slowly changing, but there's still a lot of stigma around mental health and especially policing.

Rosie: I find, you know, you don't wanna get taken off the road and you don't want your gun locked up and Mm-hmm, , even though you probably can still do the job, you know, but you just need a bit of extra support, which is it definitely. There's a lot of work to be done.

Maggie: Yeah. Well, I, that was my fear being, you know, I ended up as a substantive sergeant.

I'd been relieving as an inspector like officer in charge of Wagga for a lot of the time. I was like, I don't want to get my gun taken away. I don't want to be not operational. And I was really lucky in that. I was very open with the command that I was seeing a psych, and I had a P902. So, you know, the seeing her was paid for, But I didn't take any time off until it got to a point where I thought I just need to cut myself some slack and give myself some extra time.

So, um, decided to go part time for a little while. Didn't do it as work cover because I didn't want the stigma. I just said, I'm going to paint a little bit more. So, I'm going to come in here a little bit less, went part time, took the hit to my pay and just kept seeing my psych and tried everything to manage it on my own.

You know, you don't want to be that person who's off on work cover. Because it, it is. I've sat in injury management meetings and had conversations about people that I now look back on and think I wish I'd looked at that differently. I do. Yeah.

Rosie: You don't know, do you? Until you know, which is so sad. Yeah.

Maggie: Yeah. Well, I think about like women that I worked with, young women who I gave advice to them, you know, just put your feelings aside, put it aside, you'd be right. Yeah. Put it in a box. And I think what terrible advice . I don't punish myself because of it, but I certainly look back and go, I wish I'd given, I wish I'd known, I wish I'd given better advice.

AD:  Big shout out to Tactical Yoga Australia. Empowering first responders and veterans on their journey to enhance mental wellness through the transformative practices of breathwork, yoga and mindfulness. Our mission is to guide individuals from burnout and anxiety to a state of calm, well rested happiness.

Life can often feel like a challenging rollercoaster and we're here to help you navigate those ups and downs. Our commitment is to assist you in achieving self regulation and consistent positive progress. Toward mental wellness for additional valuable resources and ongoing inspiration, visit Tactical Yoga, Australia.

com. Now back to the podcast.

Rosie:  We've just been talking about some pretty rough times for you. And I know that I've had them too, and off air, we were talking about how our lives lead us to where we're supposed to be. And obviously I'm doing this and I'm trying to get the word out to other people that it's normal and, and emotions and your mental health is completely normal.

Mental illness, especially for first responders is actually sadly completely normal. What are you doing with yourself now?

Maggie: So I am, , Running my gallery, which I opened two and a half years ago, I opened it while I was still in the job, so I was doing both for a while. , and the only reason, honestly, the only reason I got to open it was because there was a program with Create NSW that subsidized the opening of a business.

and that slowly evolved when I took some time off. I knew nothing about running a business. I just knew that I wanted a place where I felt safe, because I didn't, apart from home, I, my problem has been like a lack of feeling safe, and I think that would be a lot of people who go through this. You don't feel safe anywhere.

So I made this place be my safe place. And over the last two, two and a half years, it's evolved into quite a few people's safe place. So I've now got. Like over 30 artists that show their work, but I've also got tons of women who just spend time here and I tell them about my experiences and we share information and support and that's what I do with myself now.

I want to turn that bad stuff into something positive and I really want to do that. We have run workshops and things for emergency services workers and health workers and AMBOS and defence personnel in here. Because I get the need for a safe place, and I know I can give that here, so. That's kind of what I'm doing with myself.

I'm still healing. That's okay.

Rosie: I think, I think we're always still healing, aren't we?

Maggie: Yeah. I think it's, I had a realization a couple of years ago, I think, yeah, this is going to be forever. You know, every day you've got to show up for yourself you do. Well, I thought I'd get fixed. Yeah. My shrink, my shrink is in my phone as what was it? Leah who will fix me. Oh, Leah who will make me not crazy. That's right. I've got her saved in as and I'm like, what did he like? It's I've been seeing you for like three years now. Why am I not fixed? And she's like, A, you're an idiot. And B you don't get fixed from PTSD. You don't get fixed from depression and from anxiety.

You just learn to manage it. And the effects get less as time goes on. And you've just got to do the things that... Make you happier, don't you? 100 percent you do. You need to be, firstly, be honest about how you're feeling. I think that's a big, a big stumbling block. You need to be able to admit it to yourself when you're having a bad day, when you're spiralling and, you know, your thoughts are going everywhere.

I thought for a little while I could just depend on the pills, you know, I would take the happy pills and I would be happy. I would take a little bit of extra Valium and that would put me in a nice bubble and nothing would touch me and, you need to face your feelings and know that it's okay when it's a bad day. Yeah.

Rosie: Giving yourself permission, isn't it, to feel the feelings that you feel and.

Maggie: Yeah. No more boxes. Yeah. Like, just experience them and they're not pleasant sometimes. And you know, I have bad days and I'm lucky here that I've got a couple of people particularly who I can ring and go, I can't today. I can't, Maggie, today. Like, I just need some time. And they're like, you know what? We don't care. We'll open the gallery. And that's awesome. They give me a certain amount of time, but then they also check back in and go, you've had your time. Now you pick yourself up and that's I find that's the thing that helps.

Yeah, absolutely. You need an end. Allow yourself to feel it. Allow yourself to stay in bed for the day and not have a shower, but know that That's going to end and you're going to have a shower and you're going to get dressed and you're going to go in. And life is not always going to be the way it feels in that minute.

It's actually going to be really amazing. You just have to work through the bad stuff.

Rosie: Yeah, I really like the saying, this too shall pass. And I've seen it, you know, on social media a few times. I think it's Tom Hanks that talks about it and it's like, you know, you're having the worst day of your life, but this too shall pass.

And then sometimes you're having a great time and that will pass as well. And that will pass. Yeah. It will pass. Like it. Yep. The world keeps spinning and it will pass and sometimes you've just got to, like you said, just have a day in bed and watch TV but then, you know, get yourself back up again. Dust yourself off.

Maggie: Yep. There's, there's been a few things over the last couple of years that will stuck, have stuck with me about that kind of stuff and that, that I think of, but I think about Someone said to me, there's, there's days that are going to be awful, awful, horrible days. And there's days that are going to be amazing and top of the world and like the best day ever. But the majority of days are just going to be somewhere in the middle. They're going to be ordinary and there's beauty in the ordinary. But recognizing that life has this pattern. I think we get where we come undone is when we can't see the end of it and people that get into a space where they can't.

They don't know that that bad stuff is going to end, especially when you're getting out of the cops. Especially when , people are telling you, you can't be, you can't be in it anymore. Right. But. There's, there's life on the other side of it. Just like there's the day after your bad day.

Rosie: Absolutely. Yeah. And you really have to, even if you're, you know, like you, where your psychologist said, you know, I think it might be time or, you know, I decided for myself, I just couldn't show up anymore.

Maggie: Good on you.

Rosie: Yeah. It's, um, had to happen. That's for sure. But just to, just for us to let other people know that if this is something that's going on for you, that there is a life outside of it and it might take a while to get there and you might have a fair bit of stuff to work through to get there, but there is a life on the other side.

Maggie: Absolutely. I think the hard thing I found and talking to a couple of friends that have been medically retired was that policing and emergency services and defence, whatever you're in, they're the kind of jobs that. They give you an identity just by virtue of what the job is. The uniform you put on, people make certain.

Assumptions about who you are as a person and you start to believe that that is what you are as a person. I was really lucky in the sense that as I was getting out, I was already starting to identify myself as an artist. I felt like I had this other identity coming out. I feel, and I've had other friends say this to me, that where they've really struggled is that loss of identity when they get out.

Who are they now without it? And you know what it's like. You might keep in touch with one or two people, but you don't hear from the majority of people because they're busy. They go on. They've got their lives. So, who are you at the end of the day when the uniform's been handed back? I was really lucky.

I'd started to become this person that I am now who's probably more me than I have been in a long time. And my suggestion to other people would be work through it, but find out who you are, find out who Rosie is as a person, what's important to you, what your values are, who do you identify yourself as, because it's not a uniform.

Once you start being able to do that, you can start moving forward a little bit, but life is awesome on the outside of it. It is. It's nice. It's nice not having to go and lock people up, isn't it? You just, I don't watch the news. I've educated all my friends. I don't want to know about that big accident that happened last week or not.

I don't want to know. Yeah. I want to be one of the general public who are lucky enough not to see the bad for just a little while. Like, I hear sirens and I'm not that person going, God, I wish I was back in the job. I'm that person that goes, oh, poor buggers, it's real cold out there. Oh, I'll just roll over in bed and tuck myself under my quilt a little bit more.

You know, like, I, I look back and I think, I wish I'd kept in mind that 38 hours of your life. They're not paying for more than that. And they get so much more than that.

Rosie: Yeah, they really do. I know even now, I know when my husband Rob was in defence and I know I talked to cops still, but the contact that they expect you to have with them all the time, it's not allowing anyone to switch off.

And you are only getting paid for 38 hours a week. You're not getting paid for the time that you're at home. You know? And it, yeah, it's, it's one of those things that I think is, you know, it's crept in and no one's really doing anything about that. There's no time to switch off, which, no, it's a worry.

Maggie: Which adds to that feeling of you becoming what you need to be to do the job and having it really take over. Yeah. I think because you don't escape it and they tell you you're a cop 24 7. You see a car accident when you're driving down the road you're expected to do something, you know, and you, you want to because you take an oath.

Rosie: That's it, yeah. But it's not healthy. Not for the long term really, is it? . It's not sustainable, that's for sure.

Maggie: No, no, not at all.

Rosie: So I have two more questions. One of them is what advice do you have for people who may be hesitant to seek help for their mental health issues?

Maggie: Do it. Obviously do it. Absolutely. There's so much fear around it and it is a massive decision to make and it will impact your life because, In learning more about yourself and dealing with your mental health issues, yes, there is a chance that what you'll discover is that you can't do what you were doing, that you need to do something different.

So it's scary, but we live for, what, 80, 90 years, if we're lucky. it's a long time to live not living. Yeah. And it might, on the opposite side, it mightn't be the end of everything. Like, get some help. You might become a better copper. You might become a better firey. You might become better in defence. Not everyone that gets help for mental illness gets out.

Everyone's story is different. But I would just say, just do it. Go and talk to someone. Tell them what's honestly going on. Yeah. And it's a lot of people, you know, there's a lot of help available. There's the EAP. I know in the COPS and I'm sure the other organizations have it as well. And it's there for people to use, you know, like, yeah, go and make the phone call.

It is. It is. And, and look, I used it here and there. Um, but do what feels good for you. If you need to, if you want to keep it private and see someone outside of the job, then go and see someone. Yeah. Talk to other cops who are in the same boat and I got, I only found my shrink because I was recommended to her by someone that I trust.

You know, go and give it a go. What's the worst that can happen? I think while you're in the throes of PTSD, you can't feel any worse than you already feel. . You might as well have a crack and talk to someone. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Hmm.

Rosie: I was going to ask you what message you'd like to share with first responders to give them hope or inspiration, but I think you've already done that, you know, there's, there's, there's life on the other side,

Maggie: There's life on the other side, and it's really, it's a really good life. You don't wear the boots so your feet are happier. That's like, you don't wear the belt. You can take a long time to pee without worrying that the, you know, it's, it's going to be a a code red job going, so you've got to like quickly jump up and get dressed again. You can get to the point where you're just a member of the public and that's an okay place to be because you start to realise most of the people out there are really, really nice people.

Some are, some are assholes. I don't know if I can say that, it's true, but you start to realise not everybody is. You don't, make the judgements that you used to make and you let people in and It's just a good way to live. Especially if you've done your service, you've given what you could give and you've probably given more.

Give something back to yourself and let yourself have some time to just be you. . Well, we don't take any care of ourselves. We took really good care of like our teammates and stuff and the community for years, but We didn't take care of ourselves. You're at the bottom of the list, really, aren't you, of things to take care of?

Of course you know, you're a mum, you add that in, I'm lucky I only have fur children, but you're at the bottom of every list. , and if you do that for too long, you have nothing for those people anyway, so there's no point. . And you deserve to be happy. We all deserve to be happy.

Rosie: Thank you so much, Maggie, for sharing your story with everyone that's going to listen and, and just helping me to normalise what we go through, you know, and, and to know that there is life on the other side.

Maggie: Yeah. I learned a lot about humiliation in Walgett. So, being honest about personal things now. I can do it. And if it makes a difference, then I feel, I feel good about it. Cause I am pretty lucky. Like I come out the other side.

Rosie: Wow, what an inspirational woman Maggie is. The little Yellow House Art Gallery has grown from over three to 30 artists across the river, and Maggie offers classes for adults and children, private lessons, NDIS classes, private parties, exhibitions, charity events, and more.

If you'd like to check out Maggie's Gallery, you can head to little yellow house art.com au. You can also find on Facebook and Instagram at the Little Yellow House Art. I'll link to all of these in the show notes. So go and head there and check out all of Maggie's work. Thanks so much for listening this week.

I'll catch you next time.

  I hope you've enjoyed today's episode, if you have make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss any new ones. We release fresh content every Tuesday. And while you're there take a moment to leave us a review, I would genuinely appreciate your thoughts. Don't forget to connect with me on Instagram and Facebook at Tactical Yoga Australia and share this episode with your friends, family and workmates to spread inspiration.

Your support means the world. My name is Rosie Skene join me again next week for another empowering and positive episode of Triumph Beyond Trauma. Until then, be kind to your mind and trust in the magic of your consistent and positive efforts. Triumph Beyond your trauma is closer than you think. Have the best week.

OUTRO:

 I hope you've enjoyed today's episode, if you have make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss any new ones. We release fresh content every Tuesday. And while you're there take a moment to leave us a review, I would genuinely appreciate your thoughts. Don't forget to connect with me on Instagram and Facebook at Tactical Yoga Australia and share this episode with your friends, family and workmates to spread inspiration.

Your support means the world. My name is Rosie Skene, join me again next week for another empowering and positive episode of Triumph Beyond Trauma. Until then, be kind to your mind and trust in the magic of your consistent and positive efforts. Triumph Beyond your trauma is closer than you think. Have the best week.