Ecstatic stigmatics and Holy anorexics: medieval and contemporary

As has been shown and explained, the stigmata and other mortifications of the flesh can serve as survival tools for someone who has been severely traumatized, devout Christian or unbeliever alike. When Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed, this nonreligious woman came to be regarded by her admirers as a popular saint who wanted nothing more than to help and serve others. Despite her wealth, she became a waif in the popular imagination, and like many others who suffered great psychic pain, she too inflicted further pain and suffering on herself through starving herself, binging and purging, and cutting herself. This suffering was her visible stigmata, inspiring great popular devotion. When she died, millions cried, carrying candles in the streets as they listened to Elton John's song to this suffering woman whose light flickered "like a candle in the wind".