Nancy Mace reveals reasons for getting inked with nine tattoos: provides 'the pain I need to feel'

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C. revealed in a detailed profile why she's received nine tattoos while serving in Congress. 

The tattoos provide "the pain I need to feel," the congresswoman told Politico, adding that they are a way for her to "reclaim" her body and identity. 

One of the tattoos is the first sentence in one of Virginia Woolf's novels: “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” Woolf committed suicide in 1941 over fears she was losing her mind. 

“My story is I am totally broken," Mace said in the interview with Politico, which provides details about her difficult relationship with her father, becoming the first female graduate at The Citadel, and allegations she's the victim of sexual molestation and rape. 

"I have PTSD over what I've been through," Mace said.