Really?

[chandos]

Today the ex-President of my company and I were making small talk at a BBQ. He said, "I can't eat bread, the carbs... they make me bloat."

I think I just looked at him like a stunned animal.

My thoughts in no particular order were:
1) What sort of sort of person man talks about feeling bloated

Comments

[sunshine_two]

yup. I have lots of friends (male or female) who would mention something like this.

I had a co-worker tell me about all her health issues when she drinks milk or, eats yogurt today.

[abbeyrd]

Depends on the person, I guess. I wouldn't tell a coworker that (that's just me), but I did tell a close friend the other day that I think I might be lactose intolerant, and all the grossness that entails.

[billijean]

Yep :) Vulnerability - in this case, revealing something like this about yourself - is an important part of forming closer relationships. Being vulnerable with another, and finding safety there, is how deeper relationships develop. Starting with the fact that certain foods don't agree with you is a pretty inncocuous vulnerability to share, a good first step.

When self-disclosure becomes TMI...

[bk2theinnocence]

While I'll agree with billijean that this may have been an example of self-disclosure intended to show that an executive has the same issues a normal person might have, I can see how that could be perceived as a TMI detail by some