PTSD and the Fourth of July
Here’s hoping friends and everyone has had a good Fourth weekend. For friends from the military dealing with PTSD, I hope your weekend has been a peaceful one.
Those who have been reading my post know about my friend, A. He’s a Vietnam vet, injured badly during the war, returning home to a hostile society, disabled and having to learn to walk all over again over a 10-year period, and having to deal with the psychological affects of the war.
Over the years, he’s learned to deal with most of it. He’s more open now and less paranoid; he’s learned to smile and laugh more often. He gets strength from other vets and as much support as family and friends know how to give. We’re all learning.
The Fourth of July has always presented major problems. At one time, he hid himself away in the basement when the mind couldn’t grasp that the explosions around him were innocent celebrations, fireworks and firecrackers, cherry bombs and the like. In his mind, he was back in the jungle, reliving his devastating ordeal. Just before this holiday, a grandchild innocently set off a firecracker. A’s initial response was fight or flight, just as it had been 40 years ago. He’s come a long way in that time when he caught his fear and anger before unleashing it on his grandchild. He doesn’t tell the grandchildren about his experiences because he doesn’t want to corrupt their innocence the way his was corrupted as a young teenager.
It’s taken years of therapy, both physical and emotional, for him to have made the progress he’s enjoyed. The PTSD is part of his life and will never go away. But he’s rightfully proud of the progress he’s made in learning to control it. It still catches him by surprise on occasion, but at least now he’s aware of what’s happening and in a better state of mind to keep it from completely taking over his psyche.
Here’s to you, A. I missed your phone call, but the brief voice mail message didn’t have the edge, the fear in it that it did years ago. I thought of you during the fireworks and in my mind, had my arms around you, holding you close, holding you tight against the explosive assaults to the senses. I was hoping this year would be different for you. I hoped that you could see the celebration with your family, remembering the war only through the distance of miles and time, instead of reliving it.
Happy Fourth, A, to you, your family and friends.
Love,
Laura
PTSD is miserable to live around (I’d say ‘live with’-as I suffer miserably from it,but it is more of a maneuver to get around some of the daily hurdles) so I live ‘around’ my comdition.
Not all battles come from action in the war fronts…many of us are ’silent wounded’.
I DO not like the 4th of July because of crowds-the sound of peoples breath and murmur of voices scare me to nearly death-and though I never was in combat-the boom noise flips a cord!!…I am so pleased at your support for veterans!
also…I have heard many great things about EMDR therapy,although it scared me at first and never got back to try it later-I did not trust my feelings with a machine.
Thank you!
Thanks for the post! Deep breathing exercises are excellent for anxiety and many people report positive results from mediatation. Some other natural anxiety remedies to look into are St.John’s Wort, SAMe, L-Theanine, and Tryptophan.