After a 22-year battle with anorexia, Sir Trevor Phillips' daughter Sushila died aged 36 in April 2021. Now he's calling for a radical shift in how we talk about mental illness – and he's not holding back.

The broadcaster, writer, and equality campaigner joins Crisis What Crisis? to explain why banning social media for under-16s is "preposterous," why celebrity "mental health struggles" make him furious, and what the "seventh circle of hell" really looks like in an eating disorder ward.

Trevor also talks to us about his remarkable upbringing and career across media, business and politics - all of it etched with resilience.

⚠️ Please note: This episode contains frank discussions of anorexia, eating disorders, mental illness, and grief that some listeners may find distressing.

WHAT YOU’LL HEAR:

The brutal reality of a 22-year battle with severe anorexia
Why mental illness and sadness are NOT the same thing
Trevor's message to celebrities who conflate difficulty with trauma: "F*** off"
Why removing friction from children's lives destroys resilience

LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN:

Separate mental illness from sadness: stop confusing clinical illness with being "a bit fed up"
Teach resilience, don't remove pain: you can't take friction out of the human condition
The good guys can win: but you have to fight for it
Know what you cannot do: in crisis, understand your limitations
Light a candle: don't curse the darkness

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 – Introduction: Sir Trevor Phillips' remarkable life

21:23 – What Britain should learn from its racial progress

27:10 – What real resilience looks like in a crisis

31:26 – The Leadership Lesson: knowing what you can't do

33:06 – Shushila: A 22-year battle with anorexia

44:39 – How grief changed everything

49:27 – Mental Illness vs. Feeling Sad: "stop conflating them"

57:12 – Why banning under-16s from social media Is "preposterous"

01:04:30 – What immigrants can teach Britain about resilience

SUPPORT & RESOURCES: If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder: Beat Eating Disorders - www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk

FOLLOW TREVOR:

X – https://x.com/TrevorPTweets

FOLLOW CRISIS WHAT CRISIS?

Instagram – www.instagram.com/crisiswhatcrisispodcast/

TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@crisispod

IF YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL...

If you found this episode useful I recommend heading into our archive and listening to:

Lisa Squire - whose daughter, Libby Squire, was rapped and murdered. Lisa's resilience and methods for managing unimaginable heartache left me beyond moved.

Click here to listen now – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crisis-what-crisis/id1517015748?i=1000592846650

SIR TREVOR PHILLIPS: Why we are WRONG about mental illness