Relationship Is the 4th of july a trigger?

[caligirl03]

For all the veterans on here...I know Memorial Day and Veterans Day can be really tough for vets, but can the 4th of July also be a trigger? If so, why? Just trying to my best to understand!

 

[Virtues]

I'm a vet with PTSD (multiple traumas, some of it combat related)... none of those holidays are really a trigger for me. Fireworks can be a trigger for me if I'm not expecting them and they startle me, but I have no problem going to a fireworks display and watching it with no incident. I don't really understand why these holidays are a trigger to so many. These holidays are a time of celebration, remembrance (in a dignified way), and honor. I live out and enjoy these days in particular because some of my brothers were not so lucky to come home and have that opportunity. I would be discrediting their memory and doing them a great dishonor to mourn for them on these special days. These days are for me to enjoy for them because they no longer have that chance. Don't get me wrong it's a time to reflect and remember, but in a way that is honorable, not in a way that makes it about me, not in a "I'm going to drink until I can't see straight, and crawl into a PTSD hole" kind of way.

In short, no, none of the aforementioned holidays are triggering to me. July 4th in particular "Independence Day" I don't see how that would be triggering to someone, but I can only speak for myself.

 

[Ronin]

Anything can be a trigger (or a stressor) for any number of reasons, if it is to someone you support, only they can tell.

Speaking for myself, it is, but not for the fireworks, more for the memory of the once mine, and things that couldn't have been.

 

[Sweetpea76]

It's not so much the fireworks as the gunshots... if you live in an area of the country where people shoot off guns on the 4th. We do, so it sets my vet on edge.

He doesn't mind gunshots at a range or when he's expecting them... random gunshots going off at night in close proximity are a different story though.

 

[Friday]

This is something I wrote almost 4 years ago.

From the halls of montezuma to the shores of tripoli.... It's the USMC Birthday Monday.
It's Veterans Day Tuesday.

To my shame I'm already roiling about these. Instead of being able to honor and respect those who... Yeah. Can't even type about it. Selfish. Self centered. Sick. Sad. Sorrowful. Sonnuvabitch. It's not about me. But I can't pull my own head out of my ass long enough to celebrate and mourn. Christ.

The 4th of July?

Stressor? Almost always - Whether it’s from the weight of my own memories having a reason to hit harder, or the social engagements, is a bit of a tossup.

Triggered? Sometimes. - The nature of the holiday makes it a trigger rich environment.

I fold the flag correctly, which means that when I hang it that sometimes it’s not my hands on it, but white gloves. Sometimes it’s not the street noise, that I’m hearing, but taps. I’m barefoot but can feel the corner of the pack of cigarettes pressing into my ankle in my socks and hear the squeak of my clorforms. That can happen any time I’m getting the flag out or putting her back, though. The corner of the fabric or the way the light hits a star and I’m <low whistle> gone for just a second. // Last year I discovered that while fireworks don’t usually bite me, running through the woods, after someone I love, with disco lights flashing, booming concussions rippling the air , and cordite clogging my nose will send me into a monster f*cking flashback. Wheee. Note to self: Don’t do that. // Where I’m at we see a lot of air traffic, but not a lot of military air traffic. There are 2 specific helicopters that the thumping of their blades gets into my bones, sets my blood on fire, and we see them HERE on the 4th. :wtf: It’s mostly envy mingled with despair, spiked with a rising... everything. But they also trigger the hell out of me, sometimes. So that’s outstanding. In addition to being old, fat, broken, useless ...it’s flashes back to a time when I wasn’t, coupled with a helluva lot of antipathy. I mostly mock myself with images of poor little storm trooper missing their white helmet and imperial death march.. boo f*cking hoo... grow a damn spine, and grow the f*ck up, and take some motherf*cking responsibility for the live you lead. Don’t like it? Change it.

Mostly? I enjoy the 4th. But I mostly make it a point to be away from f*cking here, setting off my own fireworks on a beach somewhere. The years I don’t do that, I tend to regret it.

Im 2 showers deep today, and it’s looking like a 5 shower kind of day.. just to keep my head in the game. And I haven’t had anything to drink in a few weeks, but ai’ll probably need to break out a bottle or six if I want to sleep tonight. The helos have already done one flyover.

It ain’t a hard day.

It’s just a day that tends to have hard shit in it.

 

[Pippi427]

My vet/sufferer has panic attacks even when he knows the fireworks are going to be happening. We live in an urban area where the fireworks displays can come close to the apartment building. He did end up having a small panic attack, but we worked through it by staying positive, planning for the event, and having an activity to work through while it was going on that allowed for some dialougue. My vet is a photographer so he focused on taking pretty pictures for me, since he knows I like the fireworks. I felt bad that he had a bit of a moment, but he worked through it. I think that's probably one of the best outcomes so far for us.

It ain’t a hard day.

It’s just a day that tends to have hard shit in it.

This.

 

[EveHarrington]

Fireworks....

That’s like getting startled thousands and thousands of times in a very short period of time. (Link to combat/gun violence not needed.)

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Yes and it's not limited to veterans. I'm not a veteran and have spent the last 3 days buried under 12 layers of pillows. The sound of fireworks is horridious for many reasons for us. I wish people cared about that. It sounded like someone was shooting a hand gun in my apartment. They were setting off illegal fireworks (in Florida for residental areas) directly outside my bedroom window! For 3 days now!