Is Della Suffering from PTSD?
It’s clear she’s suffering from trauma, but a person can suffer from trauma without having PTSD. To know if she’s suffering from PTSD or not, we need to look at the diagnostic criteria.
According to the DSM-5, in order for a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, they must have a certain number of symptoms from eight categories: Criteria A through H.
For a diagnosis of PTSD, someone needs:
to meet Criterion A
to have at least 1 symptom from Criterion B
to have at least 1 symptom from Criterion C
to have at least 2 symptoms from Criterion D
to have at least 2 Symptoms from Criterion E
to meet Criteria F, G, and H
Before I get started, I need to say that if you recognize you fit the diagnostic criteria for PTSD but have not been professionally diagnosed, please, even though it may be difficult, seek to be diagnosed by a professional. Assessing a fictional character in a Tumblr post is one thing, but you are far too complex and important to self-diagnose and leave it here. If you have difficulty talking about your experience(s), see if writing/typing things out and giving them to the professional to read might be easier.
Now as for Della, I will bold the symptoms we have seen her exhibit and then discuss each one.
Criterion A: The traumatic event
A person must be exposed to one or more events involving threatened or actual death, threatened or actual serious injury, or threatened or actual sexual violation in one of the following ways:
Witnessing the event happen to someone else
Hearing about it happen to a loved one
Repeatedly hearing details about traumatic events, such as police officers repeatedly hearing stories of abuse
Della was directly involved in life-threatening situations (being caught in a cosmic storm, crash landing on the Moon, nearly suffocating, and fighting “moon mites” and every other odd to stay alive).
She was also severely injured. She had to amputate her own leg with no medical help or training, and no moral support.
So far, Della meets Criterion A.
Criterion B: Intrusive Symptoms
Expected or unexpected reoccurring, involuntary, and intrusive upsetting memories
Repeated nightmares related to the traumatic event
Some form of dissociation, such as flashbacks, where the individual truly feels the traumatic event is happening again
Strong emotional distress when exposed to internal or external triggers associated with the traumatic event
Strong bodily reactions (such as rapid heart rate) when exposed to reminders of the traumatic event.
Della could very well be experiencing several more of these, but one we have certainly seen is intrusive and upsetting memories.
She also seemed to experience strong negative emotions when she realized the similarities between being stuck on an island and being stuck on the Moon.
So Della meets Criterion B.
An individual with PTSD will frequently avoid reminders of the traumatic event in one of the following ways:
Avoiding thoughts, feelings, or physical sensations that trigger memories of the traumatic event
Avoiding people, places, conversations, activities, objects, or situations that bring up memories of the traumatic event
Della has been avoiding looking in mirrors (and probably now any surface in which she might see her reflection) since a staring contest she had with herself on the Moon.
Because of this, Della meets Criterion C.
Criterion D: Negative changes in thoughts and mood
The inability to remember important details of the traumatic event
Persistent and elevated negative thoughts about oneself, others, or the world
Exaggerated self-blame or blame of others for the cause or consequence of the traumatic event
Pervasive negative emotional state (anger, fear, shame, etc.)
Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
Feeling isolated or detached from others
Difficulty experiencing positive emotions
Della certainly experiences negative thoughts and feelings about herself on a regular basis.
Frank answered this ask in May:
She also feels isolated or detached at times from everyone else and has struggled to figure out how she fits into her own family now that she’s home.
As far as the symptom of exaggerated blame goes, I hesitate to say it’s something she struggles with because we don’t know for sure yet if her self-blame is exaggerated or not. It is, however, likely something she struggles with every day. She may also struggle with fear, anger, and shame.
Even without those symptoms though, Della meets Criterion D.
Criterion E: Alterations in reactivity that started or worsened after the traumatic event
Irritability or aggressive behavior
Impulsive or self-destructive behavior
Hypervigilance (feeling constantly on-guard, or like danger is lurking around every corner)
Heightened startle response
Problems with concentration
Sleep disturbances, such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless sleep
This one is a little tricky because we don’t know a lot about what Della was like before the crash. We know she’s supposed to have the McDuck temper, so that could account for some irritability.
In addition, it’s a popular headcanon that she has ADHD with low impulse control, in which case impulsive behavior and difficulty concentrating would be things she’s struggled with her entire life.
^This thrill-seeking does seem a little characteristic of someone with PTSD, though.
As far as trouble sleeping goes, we know she slept very little while finishing her rocket on the Moon, but that seemed to have more to do with her being in a hurry to finish and get home. How she sleeps now that she’s back hasn’t been addressed the way Lena’s sleep struggles have been.
She does seem to have a heightened startle response.
Some fans speculate one of the reasons she was so upset with Launchpad in “The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot!” was that rebuilding the Cloudslayer/Sunchaser reminded her too much of rebuilding the Spear of Selene, and his crashing reminded her too much of her crash on the Moon.
Della also experiences the symptom of hypervigilance, which can manifest in many ways. In Della’s case, she has the compulsive need to learn and memorize exit routes, which she says is because she was stuck in space.
Many people with PTSD hate entering a space without making sure they’ll be able to leave quickly. They may attend a recital for example and, upon entering the auditorium or theater, scan for every emergency exit before sitting in an aisle seat near a door. In Della’s case, she memorized the exits listed on the map of the vault before she made up her mind to go there.
All things considered, Della does still meet Criterion E, even if we isolate her sleeping issues to her time on the Moon, and attribute impulsiveness and trouble concentrating to an ADHD headcanon, and her irritability to the temper that runs in her family.
Criterion F: The above symptoms must last for more than one month.
It’s hard to know if Della’s symptoms all started at the same time or not, but she’ll need all the ones we’ve identified so far to be going on for a month or more to meet Criterion F. It’s possible she’ll meet this Criterion for sure sometime in Season 3, but we can’t know for sure yet.
It’s important to note PTSD can develop either immediately after a traumatic event, or years later.
Criterion G: Distress from symptoms significantly impairs the individual’s ability to function in multiple areas of life (social, occupational, etc.).
So far, she’s more or less able to function in day to day life. She does struggle now and then, but she isn’t having significant trouble yet. In the situations where fear seems to overtake her, they’re typically situations where anybody would be terrified (being in a plane about to crash, or aliens invading Earth and directly targeting her children, for example). We’ll have to see if her condition improves or worsens in Season 3.
Criterion H: The symptoms are not due to substance abuse, medication side-effects, or another condition.
I’m sure we can rule out substance abuse or medication, and as for other conditions, it’s still possible impulsiveness and difficulty concentrating could be due to ADHD if she has it, but even if we exclude those symptoms, Della has enough for a diagnosis, as long as her symptoms last longer than one month and significantly impair her ability to function.
It’s a bit early to know for certain (and I’m not a professional, so there’s that), but I’d say Della could very well be on her way to developing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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