Fireworks Triggered Me, Not Sure Why?

[NicG]

My trauma is from sexual and emotional abuse, not combat or a car crash etc. But about half an hour ago someone in my area set off fireworks (illegally, but hey) and I got super paranoid. I'm really hypervigilant right now and I'd really just like to hide behind the curtains at my front window and watch the street for the next hour until my Dad gets home.

It just seems like a really bizarre thing to trigger me... the only thing I can think of is remembering being assaulted while my abuser was playing violent video games, the types with guns and gore etc. Or maybe I'm remembering my nightmares where people are trying to kill me? I don't know and I'm freaking out a bit, anyone have any ideas on why this happened?

 

[Upside Down Eagle]

There doesn't need to be a direct link between the content of what you experienced, and the content of triggers.
Your boundaries have been overstepped: thus, now your system is on the defense. Fireworks are pretty loud and intense.

I get triggered by specific car sounds even though I was never involved in a car accident.
But it's a good thing you are aware that there is no logical connection. You can use that to tell your brain what's true :)

 

[JEKBreatheandBelieve]

There doesn't need to be a connection for something to trigger you. You just felt unsafe in some way because of the fireworks. And that is what triggered your anxiety. Like @Radise said though, it's good that you are aware of the lack of connection so you can tell your brain that the fireworks are not related. You can tell yourself fireworks are fireworks and you are safe. I am not good at that though. I dealt with people setting off fireworks illegally all summer. If I could have figured out where they were coming from, I would have reported them because it was scaring me so much.

 

[Almost There]

My psychologist has explained to me that PTSD, over time, can affect people in ways that do not align with the original trauma. For instance, a person car have a car accident and if the PTSD is not treated, the person might not be able to go into a mall. Hope this helps.

 

[NicG]

Thanks guys, that's really reassuring. I was hoping I wasn't just going crazy or had some repressed memory making me scared! Don't know why fireworks made me feel unsafe, but I guess I can just accept that for some reason they did tonight and I just need to treat myself nicely and like you said, remind myself that they're just fireworks. I'll mention it to my psych next time I see her.

Thanks for helping me see the positive side of things. Just going to rest and be happy with myself that I recognised my fight-or-flight response before it got the better of me, and managed to reach out for help. :)

 

[Friday]

1 will get you 50 it was the adrenaline spike that was the stressor, not the firework itself. Boom! Out of nowhere, and jump, and.... Bam. Your body now has a whole lot of adrenaline and nothing to do with it. And that's familiar, so shazaam. Cascading symptoms.

 

[Kas_Can_Fly]

My therapist explained that when I feel an emotion, that I don't just feel what the situation has caused but I feel all the uprocessed parts of that emotion too. So if the firework caused you to feel anxiety, shock, surprise and fear (or something like that) simultaneously, you could have been feeling it in response not just to the fireworks but to your traumas. Also it could have set off a rapid chain reaction of emotions that were again unrelated to the now event but to the past too. Try to take good care of yourself and don't fret about this, just help it pass naturally with whatever helps you ground or relax.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

No direct link needed.

Its like being startled....over and over and OVER again. Its hard enough for us to calm down after being startled once, but maybe 100 times in a row? We don't have a chance!

I know that many think fireworks are upsetting because its akin to gunfire in a war zone, but its not just that. Its the startle reflex, period.

My worst episode in 4 years was brought on by fireworks. My mind checked out for almost a day, and there was no coping mechanism to bring it back. I just had to sit there and pray that my mind would release itself. Eventually, it did. I now know not to be around fireworks, but if someone is setting them off illegally, you better believe I WILL report them! (I did just that at the beach last summer and was SO proud of myself for sticking up for my rights. Although I think the people who were doing it were a bit creeped out at me following them around in the dark, lol.)

 

[Deleted member 34424]

Because the sound is so loud and you don't really know when it's coming, you can become scared of it. No direct link for me either; I used to not like them and now I just get annoyed as hell that people are rude to shoot them off in the middle of the night for a week straight.