Archive of Our Own ^beta

Important disclaimers: 

I am in no way a mental health expert or professional nor am I pretending to be. I do, however, have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and have personal and professional experience with ASD, PTSD, and BPD. I am also autistic myself. This is all to say that while I am not a professional, I am very familiar with these topics. Everything you read below is supported by information from real professionals that I’ve sourced accordingly.

I will be using the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition) and the ICD-11 (International Classification of Diseases, 11th revision), but know that while these are reputable sources, they are not unbiased. Many board members that develop the DSM have ties to the pharmaceutical industry and the ICD is managed by the World Health Organization which is not free from corruption either. The conflicts of interest present in both of these sources are important to keep in mind. 

I am not diagnosing Anakin with anything, as I do not have the authority, expertise, or education to do so. This is an analysis of aspects I have viewed in Anakin's character that align with ASD, C-PTSD, and BPD according to the information available in the DSM-V and the ICD-11 as well as Star Wars Canon and Legends. 

This is not an exhaustive nor definitive list. If you have a different interpretation or idea, I would love to hear it in the comments on in my DMs on twitter!

Autism Spectrum Disorder: 

The DSM-V criteria for ASD is separated into two categories with three additional criteria. 

These can be described as follows:

• Category A: Social communication and interaction
• Category B: Repetitive behaviors
• Criteria C: Must be present since childhood
• Criteria D: Must affect daily functioning (to varying degrees)
• Criteria E: Symptoms not better explained by another intellectual disorder

There are three symptoms in A and four symptoms in B. One must have all three in A and at least two in B. They must also meet criteria C, D, and E. Let’s break these down in the context of Anakin.

(You will see words like “deficits”, “abnormal”, and other words that impart certain assumptions about ASD. Know that these are not my choice of words and that they reflect the DSM-V’s language directly)

Category A, 3/3:

• “Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back and forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interest, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.”
  • Consider the following Anakin quotes:
    • “Are you an angel?”
    • “Grown more beautiful, I mean. Well, for a senator I mean.”
    • “You’re exactly the way I remember you in my dreams.”
    • “Not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought of you.”
    • “You are in my very soul, tormenting me.”
    • “I don’t like sand.”
    • “No, it’s because I’m so in love with you."
  • Admittedly, a lot of these are the fault of Lucas’ rather stiff dialogue but Anakin has a particular way of speaking largely unique to the rest of the characters in the prequels (rivaled only by Obi-Wan, who is also autistic). As an autistic person myself, this dialogue is very relatable but it is unlikely that an allistic/neurotypical person would say the same.
    • I also think it’s important to note that people have been calling Anakin’s dialogue cringey and awkward for the past twenty years. Given the general stigma around autism and autistic communication, I think that definitely plays a role in how people have reacted to Anakin’s character in the past.
  • Anakin also frequently interrupts and challenges others during conversation and doesn’t talk about himself much unless he’s with very specific people.
• “Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expression and nonverbal communication.”
  • Next time you watch AOTC and ROTS, watch Anakin’s eye contact. He often looks down, over, ahead, or beside someone’s head/eyes when they’re speaking, especially when it comes to emotional conversation (which is really evident in ROTS). Padmé also asks Anakin to stop staring at her in AOTC (something Anakin doesn’t understand the reason for) which is a common autistic experience. 
  • His body language is also distinct to that of other characters. For example, when he’s sitting on the couch talking to Padmé with Obi-Wan at the start of AOTC. It’s a very protective position and different from the way we see anyone else sitting.
• “Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.”
  • Anakin’s Jedi formality (both verbal and nonverbal) is present in all of his relationships, even in situations where it wouldn’t be expected. This is especially true of the way he interacts with Padmé in AOTC. 
  • It’s established in extended canon and legends material (Jude Watson’s Deceptions, Karen Traviss’ The Clones Wars, Charles Soule’s Obi-Wan & Anakin, Mike Chen’s Brotherhood, Matthew Stover’s ROTS novelisation) that Anakin was not friends with many (if any) of the other Padawans in the temple growing up. He felt different from them; he felt like an outsider. He always felt out of place which was true both on Tatooine and as a Padawan. 

Category B, 2/4:

• Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (motor stereotypes,  echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases)
  • Anakin’s very formal speech comes to mind here. That is part because of Jedi formality but he also adheres to this pretty consistently even when he doesn’t have to. There are a few instances of echolalia from his conversations with Palpatine, and the “I hate sand” line is fairly idiosyncratic. 
  • I’d consider Anakin’s cloak hug thing (for lack of a better word to describe that) as a repetitive motor movement as well.
• Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior
  • I don’t have concise examples for this, but Anakin’s black and white thinking/morality is of interest for this. Things are either good or bad (light or dark); there isn’t room for much else. 
  • I also want to highlight a bit from the ROTS novelisation where Obi-Wan says “...abstractions like peace don’t mean much to him. He’s loyal to people, not principles.” That’s a very autistic sentiment.
  • Neither of these are enough for me to count this but I thought it was important.
• Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus
  • Flying and mechanical ability. We see these aspects of Anakin’s character in his first scene in TPM. He built C3PO from scrap when he was under the age of ten. He was the only human who could Podrace. It’s clear that Anakin spent a considerable amount of time flying and fixing things. They also definitely have a strong emotional connection for him because of the escapism and security they provided him as a kid (“life seems so much simpler when you’re fixing things”). Apart from fighting/Jedi training, we really don’t see Anakin expressing interest in or engaging in activities outside of flying and mechanics.
• Hyper/hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspect of the environment
  • Again, I don’t have many examples for this but I wanted to point out the “I hate sand” line again. “It’s coarse, rough, and it gets everywhere” and then later “not like here. Here everything is soft, and smooth.” I don’t think this is enough to count this symptom but it is an interesting sensory-based way of thinking. 

Criteria C: 

• Anakin’s restricted interests and difficulty with peers are present in TPM. His struggle with back and forth communication and eye contact can also be seen when he was a kid. 

Criteria D: 

• ROTS showcases how these things affect Anakin’s functioning. He struggles to ask for help, his relationships are strained, and he has trouble sorting through his thoughts and conflicting emotions.

Criteria E:

• I can’t think of an intellectual developmental disorder that would better explain the above

Sources:

Decoding autism in the DSM-5

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder:

This is almost entirely canon in everything except the actual name, I am merely explaining it. 

C-PTSD is a relatively new condition that is not currently recognized in the DSM-V. It is recognized in the ICD-11, though. 

C-PTSD differs from PTSD in that it is marked by repeated, prolonged exposure to trauma most commonly in childhood. It results in symptoms and experiences that aren’t traditionally covered under a PTSD diagnosis. Since it is relatively new and currently being studied, professionals may diagnose individuals with repeated trauma with other conditions that explain the symptoms PTSD does not. While those conditions wouldn’t inherently be incorrect, if one was looking for a holistic, concise, specific diagnosis, C-PTSD would likely be it. 

In order to qualify for a diagnosis of C-PTSD one has to have all criteria associated with traditional PTSD as well as “1) problems in affect regulation; 2) beliefs about oneself as diminished, defeated or worthless, accompanied by feelings of shame, guilt or failure related to the traumatic event; and 3) difficulties in sustaining relationships and in feeling close to others”. Let’s break this down in the context of Anakin. 

PTSD Criteria:

• Exposure to traumatic event(s)
  • Anakin’s time on Tatooine, death of his mother, and The Clone Wars all qualify him for this. Especially relevant to C-PTSD is his slavery since that was prolonged and persistent.
• Intrusion: distressing memories, dreams, flashbacks, emotional distress to reminders of traumatic event(s)
  • This is somewhat lacking in the movies but it is especially expanded upon in legends and canon material. Anakin’s dreams and visions in the prequels are of future events, but considering that those are incredibly distressing, it doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to think that he also has distressing dreams and visions of the past as well. 
  • There are several times in the ROTS novelisation where Matthew Stover makes it clear that Anakin frequently sees his mother’s death as a very vivid memory. He also sees images of Watto as well.
    • “When Count Dooku flies at him, blade flashing, Watto’s fist cracks out from Anakin’s childhood to knock the Sith Lord tumbling back. Dooku hurls a jagged fragment of the durasteel table, Shmi Skywalker’s gentle murmur ``I knew you would come for me, Anakin smashes it aside.”
    • “I could have saved my mother—a day earlier, an hour—I…” He bit down on the rising pain inside him, and spoke through clenched teeth.”
    • “His mother’s body, broken and bloody in his arms—Her battered eyes struggling to open—The touch of her smashed lips—I knew you would come to me… I missed you so much… He forces his mother’s face back down below the surface of his consciousness.”
• Avoidance: persistent avoidance of situations associated with the traumatic event(s)
  • In the ROTS novel, when Anakin does start to see images of his mother or of another traumatic event it is quickly suppressed and dismissed. 
  • Anakin also has problems with dissociation, derealization, and depersonalization which can all be used as a way to avoid thinking about his trauma.
• Altered cognition and mood: altered memory of event, negative self-belief, misplaced guilt and shame, feelings of detachment
  • In extended legends and canon material, Anakin feels persistent guilt over not freeing both his mother and the rest of the slaves like he always said he would. AOTC makes it clear that he fully blames himself for his mother’s death. “Why couldn’t I save her? I know I could have.”
  • “You can’t save everyone” is something that comes up in the ROTS novel a lot. Anakin feels an intense responsibility to save everyone because he couldn’t save his mother. This is especially true for Obi-Wan, Padmé, and, regretfully, Palpatine. “He seizes upon the Force with a stark refusal to fail. He will land this ship. He will save his friends.”
  • “The Hero With No Fear. What a joke.”
  • “I’m not the Jedi I should be. I’m not the man I should be.”
  • “I’m one of the most powerful Jedi alive, but it’s not enough. It’ll never be enough, not until… until I can save you.”
• Altered reactivity: hypervigilance, trouble sleeping, irritability, aggressive behavior
  • This is kind of where Anakin’s unfair “whiny” reputation comes from I think. AOTC and ROTS Anakin are really prone to irritability and angry outbursts. It’s a lot more evident in the ROTS novel as well.
  • “He is not a perfect man: he is prideful, and moody, and quick to anger…”
  • “When you don’t sleep, days smear together into a haze of fatigue so deep it becomes a physical pain. The Force could keep him upright, keep him moving, keep him thinking but it could not give him rest. Not that he wanted rest. Rest might bring sleep. What sleep might bring, he could not bear to know.”
  • “I don’t sleep well anymore” practically starts Anakin’s arc in AOTC and continues into ROTS. He is plagued by nightmares. By the end of ROTS, he isn’t eating or sleeping.
  • I don’t have any specific examples of hypervigilance in Anakin but with being a Jedi and a soldier I can only assume it’s present.

Additional C-PTSD criteria:

• Lack of emotional regulation
  • As I discussed above, Anakin can be very irritable and unpredictable. Windu calls Anakin “unstable” in the ROTS novel and Padmé acknowledges his moodiness and reactivity. The sheer amount of times Anakin is told to “be mindful of his thoughts” is a good indicator of this too.
• Changes in consciousness
  • As I mentioned, Anakin experiences depersonalization, derealization, compartmentalization, and disassociation. Anakin frequently describes events as if they were happening to another person or if he was looking down on himself instead of in his body.
  • “The minutes slipped past and Anakin just sat there, immobilized by his confusion, by a budding rage and the most profound sense of emptiness he had ever known.” -AOTC novel, after Shmi’s death
  • “The Tuskens had been killed, slaughtered, massacred—but that had been beyond his control, and now it seemed to him as if it had been done by someone else: like a story he had heard that had little to do with him at all.”
  • “Already it [Dooku’s death] seems as if it happened to somebody else, as if you [Anakin] were somebody else when you did it…”
  • “The odd thing was, it was happening to another Anakin, not him, and he carried on regardless, drawing the droids away from his Padawan. He disconnected, trance-like.” -The Clone Wars novelisation 
  • “Angry? Not at all. He was sure he wasn’t angry. He kept telling himself he wasn’t angry, and he made himself believe it.” 
  • “Without understanding how he had moved, without even intending to move, without any transition of realization or dawning understanding, Anakin found himself on his feet. A blue bar of sizzling energy terminated a centimeter from Palpatine’s chin, its glow casting red-edged shadows up his face and across the ceiling. Only gradually did Anakin come to understand this was his lightsaber, and that it was in his hand.”
• Negative self-perception
  • Anakin is carrying so much guilt, shame, and overall negative self-belief by ROTS, it’s honestly admirable he’s able to carry on at all.
  • Anakin believes that love is transactional, that he has to do something in order to earn someone’s love and affection. Despite Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and Padmé telling Anakin how loved he is, Anakin feels unworthy of it.
• Difficulty with relationships
  • Anakin’s primary relationships are with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, Padmé, and Palpatine. He is innately distrustful of almost everyone else, if not everyone else. And even in these relationships, he is constantly questioning their feelings. He has a persistent fear in the ROTS novel that Padmé will one day decide she doesn’t love him. He believes Obi-Wan is disappointed by him and he never wants to disappoint Palpatine.
  • This is also a criteria heavily involved in BPD and I will expand on it there.
• Loss of systems of meanings
  • By the end of ROTS, Anakin no longer had faith in the republic, Jedi, or in the people in his life.
  • And after Padmé’s death, simply nothing at all mattered except his blind service to the Emperor.

Sources:

Complex post traumatic stress disorder (ICD-11)

DSM-5 Criteria for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

Understanding Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Borderline Personality Disorder

This is a very popular theory and has been studied by professionals. I am just expanding upon it for the purposes of this analysis and providing evidence from canon and legends. Here are some articles of interest though 

Darth Vader Was Mentally Ill, Researchers Say

The Psychology of Darth Vader Revealed

Anakin Skywalker: Borderline Personality, Bipolar or Narcissist?

Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder in cluster B, along with antisocial personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder which are all marked by dramatic, emotional, unstable, unpredictable, and erratic thinking and behavior. 

BPD, in particular, deals with impairments in self-perception, interpersonal relationships, and emotional control. 

According to the DSM-V, one must have at least five symptoms in a list of nine in order to qualify for a BPD diagnosis. Let’s break these down in the context of Anakin.

(BPD is highly comorbid with many disorders like depressive and bipolar disorders and PTSD among others, so there will be a lot of overlap below from what I talked about in the first two sections.) 

“A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships,  self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:”

• “Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment”
  • Anakin has an intense fear of abandonment and in being alone
    • “So why wasn’t she here? Had something… he could barely breathe. He couldn’t make himself even think it. He couldn’t stop himself from thinking it. Had something changed? For her? In how she felt?”
    • “How could she do this to him? How could he?” (Anakin thinking Obi-Wan and Padmé were having an affair)
  • Force choking Padmé was a way to prevent Padmé from leaving him, from Obi-Wan taking her. 
    • “You will not take her from me!”
    • “You don’t get to take her anywhere. You don’t get to touch her. She’s mine, do you understand? It’s your fault, all of it—you made her betray me!”
  • He is extremely, and to a toxic level, jealous of any man Padmé is close with. He almost beats Clovis to death for this very reason in TCW.
  • He feels unworthy and undeserving of love and therefore believes that the people he loves will just one day decide to leave him. He imagines problems where there are none. 
    • “I’ve disappointed you. I haven’t been very appreciative of your training.” (Obi-Wan never expressed any disappointment)
• “A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation”
  • Anakin’s immediate infatuation with, and idealization of Padmé from the moment they met is of relevance here. Padmé was everything to him, she was his angel. Anakin had her on an impossibly high pedestal and relies on her for purpose and meaning.
    • “Padmé, I can’t lose you. I can’t. You’re all I live for.”
    • “Just help me save Padmé’s life. I can’t live without her.”
  • Padmé also could not return this kind of love (nor should she have been expected to) because it was deeply unhealthy but this created a sleeping giant of resentment unknown to either of them increasing their relationship’s instability (@anakinswrld)
  • Although most of what Anakin displays with Padmé is idolization and idealization, he does seem to switch to devaluation when he experiences episodes of rage. 
    • “One long stride brought him to her. He towered over her. For one stretching second she looked very small, very insignificant, very much like some kind of bug that he could crush between his heel and just keep on walking.” 
  • There is also Anakin’s relationship with Obi-Wan to consider. Especially in AOTC, Anakin’s feelings towards Obi-Wan seemed to ping-pong between respect and devaluation. This evens out a bit in TCW and ROTS as Anakin matures, but there is a fair bit of idolization still present.
    • “Don’t get me wrong, Obi-Wan is a great mentor. As wise as Master Yoda and as powerful as Master Windu. I am truly thankful to be his apprentice. In some ways, a lot of ways, I’m really ahead of him.”
    • “It’s all Obi-Wan’s fault! He’s holding me back!”
    • The way he challenges Obi-Wan’s authority at the beginning of AOTC when they’re talking to Padmé.
  • Also of note is Anakin’s relationship with Palpatine. By ROTS, Anakin has idealized Palpatine so much that he is entirely blind to his overreaching powers in the senate. This is entirely Palpatine’s fault for grooming, manipulating, and abusing Anakin but it is still important to mention as it contextualizes Anakin’s character.
• Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self 
  • Truthfully, I’m not even entirely sure if Anakin has a sense of self. Or, at the very least, his sense of self is extremely unstable and undefined, especially towards the end of ROTS. 
    • “The Hero With No Fear. What a joke.”
    • “I’m not the Jedi I should be. I’m not the man I should be.”
    • “I’m one of the most powerful Jedi alive, but it’s not enough. It’ll never be enough, not until…until I can save you.”
    • “Who am I? Was he the slave boy on a desert planet, valued for his astonishing gift with machines? Was he the legendary Podracer, the only human to survive that deadly sport? Was he the unruly, high-spirited, trouble-prone student of a great Jedi Master? The star pilot? The hero? The lover? The Jedi? Could he be all these things—could he be any of them—and still have done what he has done?”
    • “‘Share with me the truth. Your absolute truth. Let yourself out, Anakin,’ ‘I wouldn’t even know how to begin.’”
    • “‘... I just—I feel like I’m in free fall. Free fall in the dark. I don’t know which way is up. I don’t know where I’ll be when I land. Or crash.’”
    • “‘... I hear the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in your answers, Anakin. What do you really think?’ ‘I… don’t know anymore’”
• Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating)
  • Anakin has a marked disregard for his own safety. TCW frequently shows Anakin go above and beyond trying to save his friends or win a battle with no regard for if that action may kill him.
  • in S1E6 of TCW, he repeatedly puts himself in danger in an effort to save R2 who was captured. This mimics a similar scene in the ROTS novel where Anakin refuses to leave R2 behind, endangering not only himself but Obi-Wan and Palpatine as well. 
  • Anakin would gladly die in the place of someone he loves, if it means they were safe and unharmed. He does not care about himself as long as the people he loves are safe.
  • In S1 of TCW, Anakin holds back an explosion with the Force single handedly to save Ahsoka and Aayla. 
• Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
  • Anakin expresses passive suicidal ideation, that is, not caring that he’s in danger and if that danger may kill him. 
    • “Too late to change his mind now: he was committed. He would bring his ship through, or he would die. Right now, strangely, he didn’t actually care which.”
    • “I can think that so easily. I can think that I might have to die.” -Clone Wars novelisation. 
• Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days).
  • Anakin goes from really low lows to really high highs very quickly. 
    • “Anakin couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t here, hadn’t come to meet him, over some debate?” and not seconds later “It felt like being struck by lightning. But in a good way. In the best way any man has ever felt since, roughly, the birth of the universe.”
  • Padmé, in particular, has the ability to cause Anakin’s mood to change on the dime. Her presence, her touch, brings him back from the ledge. 
    • “Her touch unclenched his heart.”
    • “Something of it must have risen on his face, because he saw a flicker of doubt shadow her eyes, just for a second, just a flash, but still it burned into him like a lightsaber and he shuddered and his shudder turned into a shiver that became shaking, and he gathered her to his chest and buried his face in her hair, and the strong desert warmth of her cooled him, just enough.”
• Chronic feelings of emptiness
  • I don’t have many specific, concrete examples for this but I can only assume it’s present given everything else. Of note however:
    • “‘Sleeping well?’ Anakin offered an exhausted chuckle. ‘I haven’t been sleeping well for a few years, now’”
• Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
  •  “He is not a perfect man: he is prideful, and moody, and quick to anger…”
  • In S6e6 of TCW, Anakin finds Rush Clovis trying to kiss Padmé and immediately Force chokes him, throwing him against the wall, and takes out his lightsaber. He loses control of himself and seems to break himself out of trance once he finally pulls himself off Clovis. 
  • “‘What is it? What?’ He took her by the shoulders now, his hand hard and irresistibly powerful. ‘There’s someone else. I can feel it in the Force! There is someone coming between us—”
  • The ROTS scene where Anakin talks to Padmé about how he’s feeling (“I want more and I know I shouldn’t”) has a part before in the novel where Anakin becomes very angry at the suspicion that Obi-Wan has been in Padmé’s apartment (“Obi-Wan’s been here hasn’t he). 
  • In AOTC, when Obi-Wan and Anakin are talking to Padmé in the beginning, Anakin very quickly becomes irritable and angry with Obi-Wan and questions his authority. 
  • Anakin, who usually maintains a level of careful formality when it comes to interacting with the council, immediately blows up at Windu and the rest of the Council when they do not grant him the rank of Master. And again, he seems surprised at himself by this outburst. 
• “Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms”
  • Anakin is extremely paranoid. 
    • “‘I’m not sure he’s [Obi-Wan] on my side… I know my name has come up for Mastery—I’m more powerful than any Jedi Master alive. But someone is blocking me. Obi-Wan could tell me who, and why...but he doesn’t. I’m not sure he even stands up for me with them.”
    • “‘None of them trust me, Padmé. None of them. You know what I feel when they look at me? Fear. I feel their fear. And for nothing.’”
    • Although it was due to Palpatine’s manipulations, Anakin was easily convinced that Obi-Wan and Padmé were having an affair because he was already previously paranoid about Padmé leaving him. 
  • In both canon and legends, Anakin displays evidence of dissociation, depersonalization, derealization, and compartmentalization. I listed a few important quotes for this in C-PTSD but I will repeat them again here. 
    • “The minutes slipped past and Anakin just sat there, immobilized by his confusion, by a budding rage and the most profound sense of emptiness he had ever known.” -AOTC novel, after Shmi’s death
    • “The Tuskens had been killed, slaughtered, massacred—but that had been beyond his control, and now it seemed to him as if it had been done by someone else: like a story he had heard that had little to do with him at all.” (Depersonalization)
    • “Already it [Dooku’s death] seems as if it happened to somebody else, as if you [Anakin] were somebody else when you did it…” (Depersonalization)
    • “The odd thing was, it was happening to another Anakin, not him, and he carried on regardless, drawing the droids away from his Padawan. He disconnected, trance-like.” -The Clone Wars novelisation. (Depersonalization, derealization, dissociation)
    • “Angry? Not at all. He was sure he wasn’t angry. He kept telling himself he wasn’t angry, and he made himself believe it.” (Compartmentalization)
    • “Without understanding how he had moved, without even intending to move, without any transition of realization or dawning understanding, Anakin found himself on his feet. A blue bar of sizzling energy terminated a centimeter from Palpatine’s chin, its glow casting red-edged shadows up his face and across the ceiling. Only gradually did Anakin come to understand this was his lightsaber, and that it was in his hand.” (Dissociation)
  • Thanks to Hayden’s fantastic portrayal, these are actually visible in AOTC and ROTS.
    • In the scene where Shmi dies, you can see Anakin practically shove his grief aside (compartmentalize) and give into “the rage building within him”. We know from Anakin’s later retrospective in the ROTS novel that he heavily dissociated with the Tuskens, which you can see when he’s telling Padmé about it. For a moment, he looks down at his hands and he’s confused. Almost as if he knows something happened, but he was so disconnected from himself and from reality that he briefly doesn’t remember. 
      • Interestingly, there’s also a similar scene in S6E6 of TCW in which Anakin stares down at his hands in confusion after stepping off of Clovis before he almost beat him to death. “I’m sorry Padmé. I don’t know what came over me.”
    • In the scene where Anakin kills Dooku, he looks very conflicted, confused, and almost surprised before and after he does it. “I shouldn’t have done that, it’s not the Jedi way”, with a very lost, confused expression on his face. Which, again, makes sense as he remarks in the ROTS novel that it felt like someone else killed Dooku. 

Sources: 

I used the online version of the DSM-V itself, which you can find here: DSM-V

But it is locked behind a paywall (I had to use my old university account for access) but this website contains the same info: 

BPD Foundation