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John Prescott says stress made him bulimic.
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Prezza's food for thought
Diane Cooke22/ 4/2008
IF John Prescott had declared himself an alcoholic instead of a bulimic, he'd have got more sympathy. Boozing to excess is far more manly than stuffing oneself with chocolate digestives then chucking them up. That seems to be the underlying opinion, judging by the savaging the former deputy prime minister has received from some male commentators. He's been accused of sensationalising his illness to sell his book. If that's the case he wouldn't be the first public figure to make money out of personal misery.
But how is it possible to sensationalise bulimia - it is what it is. The facts speak for themselves. Prescott used to down cans of condensed milk and gorge his way through entire menus and his colleagues were witness to that, just as they are reported to have heard him vomiting after meals.
But then blokes bury their heads where other blokes' personal problems are concerned. How many times have we seen men shifting about uncomfortably when another man tells a personal tale of woe. Expressing emotion is for women.
If we heard a female friend regularly chucking up after meals, we'd be taking her on one side for a talking to. But men cough loudly and ignore it - which is why those with problems are having to find other ways to get it all out. Bulimia is just not something you discuss over a few pints with the lads.
Wrong
It was Prescott's wife Pauline who realised what was wrong. Too many trips to the toilet after meals then emerging with a pale face, the disappearing contents of the fridge, the constant brushing of teeth - any mother of a teenage girl is on alert to those symptoms, you just never expect it of your husband or son.
People have different ways of coping with stress. Some drink, some self-harm, some pop pills. John Prescott's release was stuffing himself on to provide the comfort he needed to get through a pig of a job. Occasionally, he made a hash of that job - he had an affair, he threw a punch at a protestor while trying to run a `super department'. Immense stress caused him to seek solace in the bottom of the biscuit barrel instead of a vodka bottle. And, I suspect, there are many overweight middle-aged men doing exactly the same.
Some have cruelly criticised Prescott for being an unsuccessful bulimic because his weight hadn't dropped but that is often the case with bulimics. They eat so much but only vomit a portion of it. Elton John and Paul Gascoigne, who have suffered with bulimia, were both overweight.
Male bulimia is on the increase. Part of it is that men are comparing themselves more to models, athletes and actors but another part is linked to emotional pain, stress, anxiety and trauma. Well, welcome to our world, boys.
John Prescott should be commended not pilloried for his confession.
If he makes a mint out of his book, so what? If it serves to enlighten a macho male audience to the problem an increasing amount of men are suffering in silence, then it's got to be to the common good.
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22/04/2008 at 13:26