TROY — As people here and around the U.S. celebrate our country’s independence, July 4 is tough for some veterans.
The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs said fireworks can be triggering for some.
James Miller spent four years in the U.S. Army in the 1960s. For one of those years, he was in Vietnam.
“The enemy was everywhere,” Miller said. “So you had to be very, very alert in order to stay alive.”
When he came home he struggled to celebrate July 4.
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“The first number of years that I was back, I couldn’t attend fireworks displays because the fireworks going off and the loud boom and everything was too much reminiscent of combat situations,” Miller said.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Kathy Platoni, also a veteran, understands what Miller went through.
“When I first returned from Iraq in 2006, I had no idea what to expect having just come home from the war zone, and I found myself under the kitchen with my Kevlar helmet on without knowing how I got there,” Platoni said.
Here are some techniques she shares with her veteran patients:
- Tactical breathing
- Ground themselves and consider their environment when fireworks go off
- Noise-canceling headphones
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“Learning these techniques can help diminish the impact,” Platoni said.
Miller said it took him several years to reacclimate back into everyday life after his service.
Some of the help came from talking to a psychologist.
He had a message for other veterans.
“In my opinion, it’s just something that takes time to get over. But you can get over it and you will get over it. It’s just a matter of time,” Miller said.
Platoni said it’s the unpredictable, like unplanned fireworks, that can especially be triggering for some veterans.
More tips on how to cope with fireworks and PTSD can be found here.
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