Diana's Eating Disorders and Health Issues

[Mermaid1962]

I think that she tried very hard to be a good Princess of Wales and succeeded wonderfully in that. But I do think, also, that her troubled childhood contributed to her bulimia. If she had been a more secure person--secure in the love of her parents, for one thing--I don't think that Charles's remarks would have had the effect that they had.

[Jaya]

Originally Posted by Madame Royale

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.

I said he triggered- it- not caused it- read again- one needs certain triggers and he was one.Idid not say he was the cause - the trigger. Diana had various triggers.One of the biggest ones was her persecution complex

[Madame Royale]

My statement remains as is, though I acknowledge the correction. Diana's emotional state of mind, which was always fragile, triggered it. It's entirely likely that Diana would have had bulimia even if she hadn't have married Charles. Very likely infact.

Myself being someone who battled the said disease for the best part of a decade, I know what it's like. People can have an influence, to an extent, but it comes down to the person and the way they percieve themselves.

[QUEENECE29]

I think that is entirely psychological. This may be due to the lack of peaceful. I think there was quite a delicate structure.

[agogo]

This type of disorder is very difficult to treat, especially if the cause of the problems can not be changed. As in Diana's situation, her family situation and being a public person probably were the causes of her stress and sadness.

[r0yalty]

I think she was under alot of stress and because she wasable to control very little in her life she developed "mia" . I think that was the only thing she felt like she could control was herself [weight] My heart goes out to her she was a good person. < ed Warren >

[Marie of The Sea]

Right, Chelly, after her death, Penny Junor, as a friend of Charles wrote a book claiming that Diana was mentally ill. The Telegraph showed evidence that Charles' office collaborated with the book. It was a letter between Mark Bolland and Junor that aked her to ask for help but be discreet with quotations.

Junor quotes what Diana was supposed to have said to Camilla privately, if Camilla didn't tell Junor, how would Junor know? Based on what Camilla and Charles 'reportedly' said, Diana was bonkers.

Book About Charles Stirs New Battle Royal - NYTimes.com

[ghost_night554]

I don't doubt Camilla was present but I do think atleast for a short period of time he gave her up though I don't doubt that once the marriage began to crumble he brought Camilla back into his life. As for depression yes I so agree she herself that with PP you feel really depressed and I'm pretty sure that was a factor in the breakdown though I find oddly enough it seems to be underestimated in most books that I've read. I find they fail to mention it in detail in most books.

[Tyger]

I, for one, can only go by Diana's actions and what she said. I have up to now read very little and am only just starting to look at the books available, etc. Most all of the 'spin' has been Diana's and I look at that 'text' and go from there.

One has only to watch and listen to the Panorama Interview to be aware that something was seriously amiss with the young woman. If there wasn't something amiss, then she was a cold-hearted manipulator, I'm afraid. There are examples of Diana lying in order to 'get back' at someone. What I have come to think of Diana is based on her words and her actions. To me, it is patently clear that she was unwell – and because of that she has always had my compassion. Insisting that she was not unwell forces me to see her in a harsher light, which has started to happen as I go into the details more, actually.

The quote from the psychiatrist is strange since bulimia, suicide threats, stalking, lying and attention seeking (among other things) are clear indications of emotional and mental problems. Diana reported the efforts of those around her to get her help or get her to seek help (apparently) and twisted it to be that they were saying she was loony and walking away from her. Her take on this doesn't wash. She says she was crying out for help and when help was offered she accuses that she was being seen as crazy – none of it makes sense except as the convoluted thinking of a person trying to have it all her way. Why should I take at face value the words of a woman who has demonstrated that she will fabricate the 'facts' when it suits her? Its a dilemma.

As I just read someone write: "Diana's fans did not really know her. Only a person who lived with her and has lived with people like her, day in and day out, could even begin to understand her and Charles' predicament."

[ghost_night554]

Tyger you make good points. She was crying out for help then was offered help yet claimed that by offering her help they were claiming she was loony, doesn't make sense at all. We also have evidence she lied about falling down the stairs while pregnant with William. My friend sent me the original scan from The Sun the day after it happened and all the original reports claim she tripped from one or two steps not the grand suicide attempt she made it out to be. It's also very well documented in other books such as Diana: Story of a Princess or "Diana"

About Camilla I'm going to read about on what Penny Junor has to say since I also have that book but from everything I've heard the trouble of Camilla's presence by fact started after 1986.
Ooh Diana Story of a Princess has 2 versions of an apparent lunch Diana had with Camilla prior to the wedding it's quite interesting actually...either Diana came back and said "it went brilliantly we had a good understanding" or she said " she asked me if I was going to be hunting much...." It also says that she spent alot of time with Camilla and her husband at her house prior to the wedding which she found odd.

I actually really recommend watching that documentary it's on youtube or if not buying the book if you don't already have it, I find it to be one of the more balanced books about Diana and Charles.

[Mermaid1962]

Have you seen the tapes that Diana made with Peter Settleton? She talks proudly about slapping her father when he remarried and pushing her step-mother down some stairs. The latter was when she was a married woman with growing children. There were stories about her that I doubted until I heard them from her own lips. She didn't seem to have any sense of the pain that she caused people who were close to her. In the Panorama interview she talked about "bringing light into people's lives," as though she was some kind of messianic figure. I think that there was something wrong with her, although I don't think that she necessarily had a personality disorder. As Dr. Marks says, she couldn't have carried on her public work the way that she did if she had that kind of problem.

Originally Posted by Marie of The Sea

Diana , Princess of Wales had no mental illness issues.

[Nice Nofret]

Diana allways reminds me a lot of my elder sister; she is not mentally ill in a medical sense but still unstable, laking selfesteem and always feeling to be the poor one - every other person got a better lot then her.

Thats what I also see in Diana, manipulativ, selfserving, nevertheless doing a lot of wonderfull thinks in life; but feeling cheated - and out of that comes a lot of "cruelty" and selfharming actions (like the panorama interview) ... soooo my sister.

All people have a lot of different sides .. not just two but Dianas personallity wasn't allowing her to be really happy .. and if you want to - there are allways things you can focus one and blame it to someone else. Not seeing that a big part of your unhappiness lies within you.

[georgiea]

Originally Posted by Marie of The Sea

Book About Charles Stirs New Battle Royal - NYTimes.com

What does a book like this have to come out now? Is there agenda to put the Duchess in a better light for her future title? We all know Diana, Princess of Wales' was mentally sick. Why bring this up before Prince William marries?


Seasons Greetings to all. Have a Merry Christmas.

[sirhon11234]

Originally Posted by Mermaid1962

By the context, I think that it's Diana: Story of a Princess. I have it on video, and it's excellent. It's a fact-based documentary and doesn't go off into speculative realms.

IMO its the best documentary on her I have it on DVD. It discussed all aspects of her life including her mental health, which many documentaries never did before.
I too am happy that this discussion is calm and respectful. One of the lessons Diana's life has taught me, is that you can't expect other people to make you happy and feel better about yourself. The person you must rely on for that is your own self. It takes a while to figure that out. Maybe, Diana realized that before she passed I hope .

[Mermaid1962]

That book came out in 1998. It's title is Prince Charles: Villain or Victim. Hope that you have a Merry Christmas as well, georgiea.

Originally Posted by georgiea

What does a book like this have to come out now?

[ghost_night554]

I see that it has now been removed but Tyger had writtne an amazing post which quite honestly I very much agreed with. I dunno why it got removed if it was by a mod or Tyger did it but either way wanted to see very well said.

[Tyger]

Originally Posted by ghost_night554

I see that it has now been removed but Tyger had writtne an amazing post which quite honestly I very much agreed with. I dunno why it got removed if it was by a mod or Tyger did it but either way wanted to see very well said.

It was me that removed it - I'll put it back given your take on it. I thought it was a bit scattered and had second thoughts. i really do fuss over my text.

I'd like to place an Amazon book review here because I think this person has perfectly said so much of what I have thought. My main 'thesis' about Diana's tragedy has been concerning self and identity - and this reviewer captures the essence because speaking from experience.

This Look Behind the Smile Reveals A Sad, Damaged Princess
This review is of the book: Diana in Search of Herself: Portrait of a Troubled Princess

I have just finished "Diana In Search of Herself" and suspect Sally Bedell Smith will catch all sorts of hell for it. I also think the story is largely true and this made it sadder still. I am a huge fan of Diana but always suspected her amazing face hid a lot of misery.

Smith's work is thorough and delivered with great effect and authority. I don't think I seriously considered how much pain there could have been - one gets side tracked by the beauty, the clothes and all the other trappings of her life. When she died, I did realize her walk down the aisle of St. Paul's in 1981 was the first choreographed step into a hall of mirrors from which she would never escape. This book takes us into that hall and it's not a pleasant place to be.

I saw myself at a younger age, repeatedly - grateful that I managed to live past 36 because I didn't get it right until about I was about 42. I think many women will identify even more strongly with Diana after reading this book. Baby boomer women born through the early 60's grew up in confusing times. Learning from Smith's book how deeply her pain, confusion and recognizable symptoms were, I can't imagine she could smile at all let alone on cue. It hurts to realize the avenues of treatment were all but forbidden to her - in fact or in her own fear of retribution.

There was a moment - after she died -when people were angry because they felt she had lost her chance at a happy future but this book makes that wishful thinking very unlikely. It is hard to accept but quite believable, that as her nest grew emptier and her choices in men grew worse she would have spun out of control sooner than later. Perhaps that trip through the tunnel was an awful fulfillment of the magic thinking, omens and portents Smith mentions Diana believing.

It was a sad and disturbing book - I imagine the author must have felt this as she became more embroiled in it. It has definitely changed some of my perceptions about Diana - although nothing can change how lovely she was for all those years. I am surprised she didn't drink like a fish or throw public fits.

The desire for constant approval and attention is exhausting and consuming. There is never enough until one can learn to be alone happily. I can empathize tremendously. Many of us who have gotten better in some way or another can pinpoint what stopped or helped us; I have a strong streak of pragmatism that she lacked. I don't, however, believe Diana would have had a miraculous epiphany and that is sadder still - she couldn't or wouldn't see deeply enough and no one would tell her nor would she have listened if they had. The real pity is that when one friend was honest, she dropped them and there were always others ready to jump into the space they left.

I can't say I enjoyed the book - but I don't think it was one meant to be enjoyed - it was well written and hard to put down - and the research was excellent. I think Smith did a hard job well and I think anyone who admired or loved the Princess of Wales at all should read it. Die hard Diana protectors and fans will surely hurl bricks at the author for what they may see as the maligning of their Princess. I don't think this part of the truth diminishes her at all.

I think enough people - the media in particular and her friends and family, grew rich and smug on her misery to be called more than just enablers - the book names names and we all come away knowing that she was encouraged in her behavior by anyone who wanted a photo, a story or a little of the glow that spilled onto them from her presence. She may have been her own worst enemy but no one who claimed to care for her did much to change this. Shame on them.

More than anything, I wish none of it were true. I know otherwise though because I have been there with many of my generation. It isn't pretty no matter how pretty you are. What is even less pretty is that rarely are borderlines or near borderlines fortunate enough to fall off the edge to safety - I was very lucky. I am so sorry she wasn't.

I urge people to read this insightful book about this misunderstood and lonely Princess and I hope they will see past what they may feel are perceived slights to Diana. What they will realize is that she was more like many of us than we ever imagined. It is a shame no one was able to really touch her and guide her back to a safe, happy place where she could enjoy herself as much as we all enjoyed her.

I recommend 'Diana, In Search of Herself'' highly - for the important truths we need to know to better understand both the life and death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

[Marie of The Sea]

Originally Posted by georgiea

We all know Diana, Princess of Wales' was mentally sick.
.

Speak for yourself please. Dr Neville Marks, renowned psychiatrist said that she was not mentally ill, that no one with her amazing work load was in the least bit sick. He knew her personally. She accomplished more good in her short life time than many people who lived decades longer. Her Memorial Fund is still helping millions.

Some fragments of psychobabble scribbled in desperation by Penny Junor is nothing in the way of a medical diagnosis.

She was said to be imaginin g that her husband was having an affair with Mrs Parker Bowles. The CamillaGate tape proved her to be absolutely spot on.

The Queen's own biographer spoke out on that topic, thus 'Three in the marriage' from the Panorama interview:

[georgiea]

Originally Posted by Marie of The Sea

Speak for yourself please. Dr Neville Marks, renowned psychiatrist said that she was not mentally ill, that no one with her amazing work load was in the least bit sick. He knew her personally. She accomplished more good in her short life time than many people who lived decades longer. Her Memorial Fund is still helping millions.

Yes, Marie of the Sea you are right about Diana, Princess Of Wales' work ethic. But her personal relationships are where you see bizarre behavior.

In my opinion Princess Diana got sick with bulimia during her engagement from pressure. She needed psychological help but got pregnant twice and could not take medicine. If she got help probably she would be alive and married to Prince Charles today.

[Mermaid1962]

When do you think that this residential treatment might have happened? After she asked for "time and space", perhaps?

Originally Posted by murrayskeeter

Therapy is essential and I think there was a possibility that she was homed in a residential treatment center for some time.