Diana's Eating Disorders and Health Issues - Page 4

Mermaid1962 · #61 10-04-2008, 12:49 AM

I don't think that it affected them during her pregnancies, because they were healthy boys and are now strong, fit men. If there was any damage to them at all, I suppose that it was the psychological effect of having a mother who was ill, and having parents who were having relationship difficulties--whether the bulimia was the cause of the problems or a symptom of those problems.

Madame Royale · #62 10-05-2008, 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

Re the artistocratic remark. Why don't you think so? From what I've seen in interviews with aristocrats and Royals, they seem to go out of their way to put themselves down or appear humble in spite of their station.

Self depreciating remarks in regards to one's station and way of life, is one thing. Self disgust, as was clearly the case, is another. That's why I don't think so.

georgiea · #63 10-24-2008, 09:49 AM

I was wondering about Diana, Princess of Wales teeth. Does anyone no if her teeth were ruined from the acid from vomiting?

My sister-in-law had a very serious eating disorder and she where dentures now.

Jo of Palatine · #64 10-24-2008, 01:00 PM

AFAIK it depends on how often you clean your teeth. If she did it after each attack, nothing would have happened.

georgiea · #65 10-25-2008, 10:16 AM

Didn't think of that. What about nails and hair?

Mermaid1962 · #66 10-25-2008, 03:30 PM

One of her beauticians--sorry, can't remember the lady's name or the source--said that she didn't believe that Diana's bulimia was as intense as she claimed, because her hair and skin were healthy.

Pixilated · #67 10-29-2008, 01:26 AM

You know, I agree on that.Her skin and hair were always radiant, not stringy (hair) or sallow and spotty (skin) that you often see,especially on fashion models today.It seemed like she did not vomit every meal daily, she actually had some food in her system most of the time.I wonder how true it all is.Poor woman.

Lovelydiana · #68 03-05-2009, 11:11 AM

I think at the time that Diana had admitted to bulimia and the Andrew Morton book came out, Diana was at her wits end, so in my opinion she probably exagerated a litle or things probably seemed a lot worse than they had, because afer she got out of themarriage so became healthier and a more positive person, not just with the public but with herself.

Mermaid1962 · #69 03-05-2009, 10:25 PM

I believe that she got physically healthier in the early-and-mid-nineties; but I'm not convinced that she was happier. I think that she was in a downward spiral, still doing things to "get back at" her former in-laws and being self-destructive.

sirhon11234 · #70 03-06-2009, 12:33 AM

By 1997 I don't think the Princess was spiraling downward or self destructive to herself or towards the royal family she was on good terms with the Queen and Charles at the time of her death.

georgiea · #71 07-13-2010, 10:11 AM

I read that Diana, Princess of Wales was on good terms with everyone. When it came out that Prince Charles was giving a 50th birthday for Camilla, Diana got upset and decided to overshadow the party with photos of her on vacation. But I feel that Diana would have finally gotten over Prince Charles and the Duchess marrying if she lived. And finally free of her demons.

Madame Royale · #72 07-13-2010, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

One of her beauticians--sorry, can't remember the lady's name or the source--said that she didn't believe that Diana's bulimia was as intense as she claimed, because her hair and skin were healthy.

It's nonsense.

It can take years upon years before things like nails and hair start turning brittle.

Also, her skin was always fair so she had no colour to lose. Add to that the use of makeup and it would be near impossible to detect any real change in colouration. Again, it takes quite some time before the effects of Bulimia can come to surface.

Also someone made mention of cleaning the teeth straight away after a purge and subsequent vomit. That's the worst thing someone with this eating disorder can do. It doesnt clean the teeth, it actually increases the risk of a breakdown of enamel. The best thing to do is wash their mouth out.

Mermaid1962 · #73 07-14-2010, 01:08 AM

Sometimes I wonder if Diana's having an eating disorder and actively talking about it actually glamorized bulimia. Here's a gorgeous princess--beautiful hair, beautiful skin, praised for her slim figure--who suffers from a real illness but looks healthy and beautiful. I can imagine a thought process where a person might think, "Diana is slim and beautiful. Perhaps if I do what she does, I can be the same."

Madame Royale · #74 07-14-2010, 01:33 AM

You make a valid point. Bringing awareness to it can sometimes, depending on the indavidual, glarmorize the issue. Not that that is by any means the intention, but because much of society is of an impressionable nature (particularly teenagers and young adults) it can actually present itself as something worth "trying". Particulary when those talking of it in the public domain are idolised for their beauty, size etc...

It's a tricky subject.

Mermaid1962 · #75 07-14-2010, 02:04 AM

In all the reading that I've done over the years, Diana is usually praised for talking about her bulimia publicly. Those who disagreed with her for exposing so much of her personal life tend to make the argument that royalty just doesn't do such things. But I've never seen an article suggesting the point that I've made. So it's good to know that someone thinks that it has some validity.

The problem that I've had with Diana's speeches about bulimia, married life, addiction, etc., is that--in the later years of her being Princess of Wales--the emphasis in her speeches seemed to be her getting her point across about her problems and her victimization. It was as though, rather than using her speeches to raise awareness about the organization she was addressing and encouraging them, she used the podium as a "bully pulpit" for her own agenda, portraying herself as a victim/heroine battling against the cold family and institution that she freely married into.

Being a "victim" was very much in vogue during the 90s, and sometimes I wonder how much Diana popularized that way of thinking, "Yes, I'm an addict/bulimic/homeless, but it has nothing to do with me."

Diana did do a lot of good for a lot of people. But perhaps she could have done even more good by not sending "coded" messages in her speeches. I actually prefer videos of her earlier speeches, such as the one that she made to the wives of the men serving in the Gulf, or even the rushed, nervous ones of the 80s. They were no less heartfelt than her mid-90s speeches, but they were less about her and more about the people she was addressing.

Madame Royale · #76 07-14-2010, 04:03 AM

I think she did bring awareness to the disease, first and foremost, which until then, hard rarely been spoken of in public as a very real and serious psycholigical condition. To me it's natural that Diana spoke of it on a personal level because it was something very personal and to convey an understanding, she had to talk of her own personal experiences which is what she did.

At the same time, did she perhaps manipulate the opportunity to address an audience, thus turning it to her advantage on occasion? Possibly? I of course cannot say. I was never looking for an agenda.

Depression, anxiety, irrationality...it's all a part of bulimia. You can't have one without the other.

muriel · #77 07-14-2010, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

...The problem that I've had with Diana's speeches about bulimia, married life, addiction, etc., is that--in the later years of her being Princess of Wales--the emphasis in her speeches seemed to be her getting her point across about her problems and her victimization....perhaps she could have done even more good by not sending "coded" messages in her speeches.

I think you have made some very valid points here!

Mermaid1962 · #78 07-14-2010, 10:32 PM

Thank you, muriel. I remember the young Princess of Wales with fondness, but there were some things that she did in her later years that I can't find a way to justify.

I was watching some of the Peter Settleton tapes last night on YouTube. I kept thinking, "How could you talk to a man you barely know about your sex life? How could you talk about slapping your father and then pushing your step-mother down the stairs without a hint of remorse?" And then this was the same man who encouraged her to spit out her pain in those speeches of the post-separation period. He also showed a lack of judgement, I think. To encourage a woman who was so self-absorbed to use her pain for dramatic effect in speeches was unprofessional at the very least.

Jaya · #79 07-14-2010, 10:56 PM

Diana had many choices in life as we all do.She made a lot of wrong choices for which she paid dearly.Charles was evidently a bad choice for a husband in her particular case as he triggered off her bulimia. But Diana did not have to react to what he said to her in extremis. Her bulimia was the tip of a vaster problem I feel was never ever treated properly because she kept going into a circular neurosis regarding marriage and men which cost her her life.I know Diana always had pure intent and I have boundless respect for that. But she needed to break out of her pattern.Bulimia was the tip of the iceberg.

Madame Royale · #80 07-14-2010, 11:21 PM

Quote:

...as he triggered off her bulimia.

It's quite unfair, infact incorrect, to label Charles as having been the reason why Diana suffered an eating dissorder. Bulimia is characterized by more than one trigger.

Personality traits (addictive, obsessive), social values (the need to look and dress a certain way), stress (marital problems) and family history (childhood anxiety and exposure to an eating dissorder) all have a part to play.