Katniss' traumatic experiences resulted in a persistent negative emotional state of fear, with inability to experience positive emotions such as feelings of love. In fact, even though she initially begins to emotionally gravitate toward Gale, when she starts to feel unsafe, Katniss becomes estranged from him.
Katniss spends the rest of the day crying on her bed. She believes that the Gamemakers will punish her for what she's done, that they'll make her an Avox and cut out her tongue. She imagines all of the possible scenarios, but is most fearful that the Capitol people will go after Prim and her mother.
Katniss is tough, independent, resourceful, fiery, and skilled with a bow and arrow, and yet she also has a compassionate side and deep loyalty to those she loves.
While she manages to escape both Games with her life, she is left suffering significant psychological distress and displays symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
It's no surprise that Katniss becomes traumatized—after all, the Hunger Games are the perfect breeding ground for PTSD. Severe, life-threatening, interpersonal violence as well as witnessing atrocities and killing enemies in combat are particular risk factors for the disorder.
Katniss comes close to crying, something she knows she mustn't do because it would indicate weakness to the other tributes and make her look vulnerable; thankfully, Haymitch distracts the crowd and the cameras by stumbling off stage.
Katniss remains very aware of the prying eyes of Panem. She works hard to disguise her emotions, primarily those emotions that she believes will make her appear weak, in the same way that she hides her cravings for her mother's gentle touches back home in District 12.
People who suffer from PTSD can also experience trouble sleeping, which both Katniss and Peeta deal with, exhibit self-destructive or reckless behavior or can be aggressive and irritable. Both tributes also have trouble controlling themselves and often react aggressively to situations that upset them.
Given the amount of trauma that both Katniss and Peeta experienced in their young lives, it would not be surprising if one or both of them develops PTSD.
Katniss isn't always particularly gentle and soft, but she also has a very compassionate and caring side. She can be really tough and removed when she needs to be, but when it comes to those she loves, she is always there to take care of them.
Katniss is a very introverted person who prefers spending her time alone to hanging out with some friends. She rarely talks, belongs to no group of friends at school, and puts an indifferent mask because she does not want people read her mind too easily.
“Katniss was an introvert and a survivor,” Lawrence told Empire magazine about the big difference between Katniss and Lucy. “She was quite quiet and stoic, you could almost say [she was] asexual. Lucy Gray is the opposite.
For example, Katniss Everdeen has a fatal flaw of valuing others (beginning with her sister) and putting herself last. She does this numerous times, especially with Peeta. This major flaw in her character nearly gets her killed several times. She must overcome it to survive.
Given the situations she is living under, her depression and inability to cope makes some sense, but it leaves Katniss with a lot of responsibility. It's definitely unfair that Katniss has to worry about providing and caring for her family.
Katniss's focus on survival and her family's safety prevented her from fully considering romance, but her feelings for Peeta and Gale diverged in the end. Katniss ultimately chose Peeta because he understood her trauma and she didn't want to lose him, proving her love for him.
Without reading the book, it's easy to overlook this detail. However, those familiar with the book know that Katniss was suicidal and depressed after she had avenged her sister's death. In the scene, what viewers saw was Katniss' failed attempt to kill herself before Peeta saved her.
Later, the two learn President Snow considered their actions to be an act of rebellion against the Capitol. After their last interview, in which the two continue to affect their romantic feelings for one another, Peeta comes to the realization Katniss has staged her love for him all along.
Peeta Mellark served as Katniss' crucial confidant, seeing as he went through it all firsthand, not once, but twice. Despite the terror he faced, Katniss viewed Peeta as a symbol of comfort and salvation.
The initial cause of Katniss anxiety appears because of her past memory of the mine accident that killed her father. This bitter reality traumatized her then she start to hallucinate that she could save her father. The accidents also caused her mother to fall into a deep depression and sadness.
2. Also, when Peeta's leg is amputated and he has a prosthetic leg for the rest of the series, which is important when he goes back into the Games in Catching Fire. "The disability erasure still gets me.
Like the film's portrayal of Katniss' hearing loss, Peeta's leg injury is shown on screen. Due to an earlier leg injury, he is unable to outrun the mutts as easily as Katniss and can't climb to safety as smoothly as she can.
Peeta can tell that Katniss hasn't slept, so he says he'll keep watch during the day, stroking her hair until she falls asleep. When she wakes, she examines Peeta's leg and can see that it's much worse: there are red streaks that indicate blood poisoning.
Katniss has a conflicted relationship with her mother. Following her father's death, her mother fell into deep depression and now rarely speaks. As a result, Katniss has a difficult time feeling love and affection for her mother, even as she recognizes that her mother is a kind and intelligent woman.
She was only 13 years old when she was killed in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, and her youth only makes the tragedy that much harder for Katniss to bear after everything else she had suffered. Prim's death is a truly heartbreaking moment.
Katniss here's this and understands that even though she may not love Peeta (then) that it's one less person who has to die. (At least that's what I have always thought.) Katniss realizes that if she pretends to be in love with Peeta people will want the capitol to let them survive.
