Mental Health Commissioner for South Australia

Looking forward to joining the "Forks in the Road Podcast" to talk about lived experience leadership, hope and recovery, and what it takes to lead change in complex systems. Episode coming very soon. Look out for an update for when its available.

https://spotify.pulse.ly/iscm1lo87j

Yesterday at Parliament House I had the privilege of spending time with families who know eating disorders not as a statistic, but as something that lands in the middle of ordinary life and changes everything.

We had quiet conversations about resilience, not something anyone wants to hear when the preference is that you don't go through it at all - not just become more 'resilient'. But what I mean by resilience here is the kind families build when they are supporting someone they love through things no family should have to go through.

As one mum said when asked at the hospital if they were coping "do I have a choice?" families need to keep showing up, even with a laptop on a work zoom call in the emergency department because caring doesn't happen in isolation of all the other things life throws at you daily.

Penelope, a mum, shared her daughter’s story with us, with her daughter’s permission. It was generous, careful and deeply human. Like many stories, it carried the complexity of coming to understand a neurodivergent brain, the pressure to fit into a world not always built with enough room, and the ways eating disorders can become tangled with shame, control, identity and belonging.

It also reminded me how much damage is done by the world around our young people. Social media can leave us more disconnected when what we most need is real connection. Feeds can push diet and appearance culture straight at those who are already vulnerable. And too often, families are left trying to counter all of that with love, patience and whatever support they can find.

The strength in the room yesterday was tangible and sometimes a little raw. So was the importance of the work EDFA does with families and carers who are so often holding things together quietly, out of sight.

I’m also looking forward to reading Strong Enough: 11 stories of caring for a loved one with an eating disorder. I was honoured to support the safe storytelling process for this book. Stories are important, but how we hold them and responsibility to share them is the most important bit.

Thank you to everyone who shared their stories with me, and with the room, and to the families who keep showing up with love, even when the path is frightening, unfair and far too heavy.

If you, or someone you know needs support you can contact EDFA Counselling Ph: 03 9125 5670. You can also purchase a copy of Strong Enough here https://edfa.pulse.ly/lj0vjxkgpa.

A Severe Weather response for people experiencing homelessness has been activated statewide. Damaging winds are expected across the state with some rainfall.

Activation is in place for Monday 1 June and Tuesday 2 June 2026.

Call Homeless Connect SA on 1800 003 308 (24 hours, 7 days) to find out what support may be available. ❄️

We would love your help in designing this incredible programme for South Australia!!!

[EXPRESSION OF INTEREST STILL OPEN]: LELAN has been commissioned by the Office of the Mental Health Commissioner for South Australia to guide them in contextualising and evolving the Tall Trees Initiative with people with lived experience.

We are very excited about the collaboration though have a very small timeframe to complete it. Will you join us!!

Here are the ways you can contribute:

OPPORTUNITY ONE - Review the Tall Trees Training Program.
* Thursday June 11th and Friday June 12th 9:30am-12:30pm online and open to people across Australia (must attend both).
* Monday June 15th 10am-4pm in the Adelaide CBD.
* Tuesday June 16th 9:30am - 3:30pm in Murray Bridge.

OPPORTUNITY TWO - Exploring Training Needs Related to Media Narratives and Spokesperson Training [limited places available].
* Thursday June 18th and Friday June 19th 9:30am-12:30pm online and open to people across Australia (must attend both).

Complete the EOI before this Thursday June 4th at 5pm via www.surveymonkey.com/r/75MYBRG .

If you have further questions contact the LELAN team via [email protected] on 0431 953 526.

Today our small team marked World Eating Disorders Action Day by wearing purple.

Just wearing purple may feel like a trite thing. A shirt, a scarf, a photo in the office. But the reason behind it is not small, and I went all out as you can see - with a homemade crochet skirt I made for the occasion which drew looks on the street, and a lot of questions - which helped open conversations.

Disordered eating is far more serious, complex and life threatening than most people realise. They are not vanity, attention-seeking, a phase, or a simple matter of food and weight. They can affect anyone, across age, gender, culture, body size and background. They also reach deeply into families, friendships, schools, workplaces and communities.

Today was for thinking especially of the families and carers. The people sitting beside hospital beds, having hard conversations at kitchen tables, watching for small signs of hope, learning a new language of support while carrying fear, love, exhaustion and fierce determination all at once.

There is still too much shame around eating disorders. Too much misunderstanding. Too many outside forces telling people, especially young people, that their worth is tied to how they look, what they eat, or whether they can control a world that often feels completely out of control.

We need more human-to-human connection. Not perfect words or judgement. Just people who can sit close, listen properly, and keep showing up.

If you’re worried about yourself or someone you care about, the Butterfly National Helpline offers free and confidential support on 1800 ED HOPE, 1800 33 4673.
https://butterfly.pulse.ly/etuwtlslvt

Eating Disorders Families Australia Ph: 1300 195 626

LELAN has extended the deadline for EOIs to this Friday 5 June

On my first day back at my desk, I was pleased to hear the Member for Davenport, Erin Thompson MP, has been appointed as the new Premier’s Advocate for Su***de Prevention and Presiding Member of the Su***de Prevention Council.

Erin steps into the role after the Member for Elder, Nadia Clancy MP, who I’ve worked closely with as Mental Health Commissioner. Nadia brought real commitment and compassion to this work, and I want to thank her for what she’s contributed during her time as the Premier’s Advocate.

A warm welcome to Erin. Su***de prevention is everyone’s business, and it takes steady collaboration across government, services, schools, workplaces, communities and families. I’m looking forward to working alongside you, and the many community-led Su***de Prevention Networks across South Australia, to keep strengthening prevention, awareness, and support where people live.

You can find the Premier's official media release here https://mcusercontent.pulse.ly/x1wlddmuet

If you or someone close to you is in crisis or at immediate risk, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24/7) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

Weekend Reflections #36: When the body stages an intervention

This week I got Covid. Rude, frankly.

I had one of those weeks in the diary that looked like a game of Tetris designed by someone with a grudge. Important meetings, detailed work, a keynote, the sort of week where every square had been carefully wedged into place and I was quietly convincing myself it was all completely manageable.

Then my body said, “Cute plan.”

I’m immunocompromised, so I’ve had all my shots and I’m careful. Even so, it knocked me for six. Not the glamorous kind of sick where you bravely answer emails from bed with a cup of tea and a soft blanket. More the kind where you wake up unsure what day it is, what you’ve sweated through, and whether the fever dream about the dishwasher giving evidence at a parliamentary inquiry was real.

I could do none of the work things. None of the home things. Not even one stitch of crochet, which is how you know it was serious.

The hardest part, aside from the actual being unwell bit, was the old familiar trigger of feeling like I was letting people down.

I know this one well. The panic of cancelling. The guilt of moving things. The little internal voice that says everyone else is managing, why aren’t you? Very annoying little voice. Needs a hobby.

But illness has a way of stripping things back. Bodies are not impressed by calendars. They do not care how important the meeting is, how many people are expecting you, or whether you had finally found a decent outfit for the keynote.

Sometimes the body forces rest because we were treating rest like a vague suggestion.

And while I don’t want Covid to be anyone’s wellbeing coach, it did remind me of a few things.

Rest is easier to recommend than receive.

Cancelling is not the end of the world.

Being reliable does not mean being available through fever.

And, people generally cope better with your absence than your guilt predicts.

There is also something deeply humbling about becoming a person whose main achievement for the day is showering and then needing a lie down to recover from the shower. Nothing like a virus to return you to your factory settings.

I’m still not quite back in the land of the fully vertical, but I’m getting there.

I’m not very good at stopping. I know this. Many of us aren’t. We praise ourselves for pushing through, then act surprised when our bodies eventually submit a formal complaint.

Maybe the lesson is not to wait until the body has to shout.
For now, I’m taking the hint. Begrudgingly. With fluids, naps, and the unreasonable hope that my immune system has learned its lesson and will now behave like a well-trained kelpie.

Just a personal reflection, not advice, and not a substitute for professional support.