Red Hot and Boom 2014
But it isn't fun for all, especially when you are part of the reason we still have independence.
You have a choice to go or not. To watch from Cranes Roost Park or Lake Eola Fireworks At The Fountain or any of the other events to celebrate. To watch from the privacy of home the National Capitol Celebration for a star studded patriotic event.
What you do not have a choice on is what your neighbors do. It is still illegal to send bombs bursting in air on your street and any other street in Florida.
While fireworks are sold in Florida, and it is legal to buy them, it is illegal for people without a permit to set off fireworks other than sparklers.
You can't control them.
There is a push on all over the internet for veterans to put up signs about being a veteran and asking folks to be respectful of that. Nice thought and can be helpful however the majority of veterans don't want their neighbors to know and they want to retain their privacy. So what do you do?
The same thing other veterans have done for decades. They improvised, adapted and overcame others having too much fun to remember the price you paid. (Yes Gunny, your voice is reverberating in my head)
Improvise
If you live alone.
Change what you normally do at night for several days, since they will be blowing stuff up for about a week. If you can, get some headphones and plug them into your TV or stereo to block out some of the noise. If you are comfortable doing it, go out and watch some of your neighbors acting like little kids. You may get some laughs. Otherwise, stay near your home and don't drive since you don't know what you'll be driving near, usually the smell of gunpowder and some yahoo blowing up enough fireworks to light up an entire neighborhood. That can trigger a flashback and you will be in an unfamiliar area.
If you live with family members, try playing games to take your mind off what is going on and remind yourself that you are safe. When you start to think about being in combat, shut it down and replace the thought. If you have prepared yourself for the inevitable noise, it makes it a bit easier to do.
Hero After War is a video that was up on Youtube years ago and has been uploaded again. (yes it is mine)
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is nothing to be ashamed of. It is because you put your life on the line and felt it more than others that you suffer today. The good news is, you can change again and heal to live a better life.If it helps, then show it to your family so they will understand what you are seeing and thinking about.
Adapt
Don't expect your neighbors to fully understand that you are different from them. How could they? Veterans are only about 7% of the US population. Combat veterans are even less than that. There are almost 17 million combat veterans from WWII to Desert Storm scattered all over the US according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Living War Veterans 16,962,000Living Veterans (Periods of War and Peace) 23,234,000
Your neighbors don't mean you any harm and have no clue about the real fireworks you saw intended to kill and not for entertainment. They are celebrating freedom without really thinking about what came with it.
Don't watch war movies especially if your house is being filled with the smell of gunpowder. Try cooking something that reminds you of happier times to replace the fumes. The smell of homemade chocolate chip cookies can remind you of when you were young.
Overcome
If you among the younger generation then talk to the 3,403,000 Vietnam Veterans Deployed to Southeast Asia to find out how they did it all these years. Contrary to popular reports dismissing the majority of veterans in this country, they have been through everything you are going through right now. They just did it all before the internet and Facebook. Before reporters decided that they would jump on the bandwagon of covering what has been going on all this time yet pretending they just discovered something new.
When it comes to PTSD, these veterans didn't invent it, since all other generations came home with same wounds, but they started everything to be in place for all generations.
Try to do what they did and that is to spend time with other veterans. You will discover that while you no longer feel you fit in with civilians, you fit perfectly with them. You will gain support and be understood. You will find strength in their numbers.
UPDATE July 4, 2015 a link to the following story from New York was sent this morning and shows exactly what I was saying.
Sign designed to help veterans with PTSD on the 4th of July is not welcomed by all veterans
WSYR News
July 2, 2015
We don't want to be looked at as broken people,” said Earl Fontenot, a veteran who believes the signs cast a negative shadow on the military. “If that's something they want to do they should go door to door.”
Fontenot is Chief of Staff at Clear Path for Veterans, an organization helping service men and women adjust to civilian life.
“We can't expect our community to mold for our needs, we need to mold back into the community successfully and I don't think the signs are helping that,” said Fontenot.
read more here
UPDATE from Kansas City
'About twilight, I'm back in the house hunkered down;' Vietnam veteran prepares for Fourth of July
KSHB News
Every year, Ebert has to mentally prepare for the Fourth of July. During the day, he's usually grilling out, undisturbed by fireworks.
"But at night, the starbursts and the bigger fireworks going off, that bothered me," Ebert said.
"Along about twilight, I'm back in the house hunkered down."
Dr. George Dent, a psychologist with the Department of Veteran Affairs, works with thousands of veterans who also have PTSD.
"For a person who has encountered a boom or a flash with risk to their life, it's (fireworks) not just a boom, it's not just a flash," Dent said. "It's a signal that they may be on the verge of death."
No comments:
Post a Comment
If it is not helpful, do not be hurtful. Spam removed so do not try putting up free ad.