Paper Topic:

developmental psychopathology

Developmental Psychopathology She was the face of compassionate service , charitable , kind - the princess of the hurt , the sick , the weak and the downtrodden . People saw her as this beautiful royalty with a fairy tale life . She seemed to be living every young girl 's fantasy - a royal princess in an extravagant castle , living with and loving her very own prince charming . The outpouring of grief and love the world witnessed when she died in August of 1997 was enough proof that Diana Frances Spencer , Princess of Wales made her mark in the

heart of , not just the British , but people of all nations

But her seemingly perfect life is , in fact , marred by depression stemming from tremendous pressures and isolation . It was a complete shock when in 1995 Princess Diana admitted in a BBC interview that she had suffered from bulimia and self-injurious behavior during her marriage with Prince Charles

You have so much pain inside yourself that you try and hurt yourself on the outside because you want help , but it 's the wrong help you 're asking for . yes , I did inflict upon myself . I didn 't like myself , I was ashamed because I couldn 't cope with the pressures ' Diana said in the television interview (Princess Diana speaks , 1995 , para . 16

Pathological self-injurious behavior is described as a secretive act steeped in shame (Yates , 2003 , Classification and Definition section para .1 . Manifestations could either be direct or indirect . Cutting biting , abrading , severing , inserting , burning , hitting and constricting are forms of direct self-injury . Indirect self-injury meanwhile could take the form of overeating , substance abuse and refusal to get medical treatment (Yates , 2003 , Classifying SIB section , para . 2

In the interview , Diana said she hurt herself by cutting her legs and arms . She also confessed that she binge on and purge food to help her deal with her problems and pressures . The biography Diana : Her True Story ' written by journalist Andrew Morton further revealed that she had thrown herself into glass cabinets at the Kensington Palace razor-slashed her wrists , and cut herself with a lemon slicer at one time and a penknife across her chest and thighs at another (Princess Diana , 2003 , para . 2

At another instance , after a fight with Prince Charles aboard an airplane , Diana locked herself in the bathroom , cut herself and then smeared the cabin walls and seats with her blood . Worse still , during her pregnancy with Prince William , she deliberately threw herself down a staircase because of her pain . Quoted in Simone Simmons ' Diana : The Last Word , she said "I wanted Charles to put his arms around me and say he loved me , but all he ever did was give me a pat on the back (Schimelpfening , 2006 , para . 7

Her self-injury was seen by the royal household as either attention-seeking melodrama or mental instability (Princess Diana 2003 , para . 2

I was crying out for help , but giving the wrong signals , and people were using my bulimia as a coat on a hanger : they...

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