Birmingham VA highlights coping strategies for Independence Day celebrations

ALABASTER, Ala. ( WIAT ) – While fireworks displays can be beautiful, they can also cause some anxiety for people with post-traumatic stress disorder — especially veterans.

Officials with the Birmingham VA Medical Center say it’s important for veterans to be included in Independence Day celebrations but you should also discuss a plan of action ahead of the holiday.

“Those fireworks can definitely be things that can trigger, for lack of a better word, emotions and feelings and sometimes even flashbacks,” Melissa Evans, supervisory social worker for mental health with the Birmingham VA, said.

The VA says it’s important to talk with veterans ahead of celebrations so you know how best to help them if they start getting anxious or upset.

“Do not rush up to them, do not try to like put your hands on them or try to comfort them unless you’ve already had that conversation with the veteran,” Evans said. “But helping them ground so helping them breathe.”

Some veterans say because they know fireworks go hand-in-hand with Independence Day, they prepare themselves ahead of time.

“Some veterans do stay away from the larger city celebrations and maybe do smaller celebrations with their family,” retired Colonel Danny Sample, past department commander for the VFW Department of Alabama, said. “If I’m shooting fireworks with friends and family, not going to get to me as much as I don’t know when you can’t see, you just hear things and the explosions and it kind of makes you think of different things from the past.”

Sample says one of the best things for veterans with PTSD is having a network of people who have been through the same things.

“Veterans are just everyday folks that we have put on a uniform, we’ve served in different places, we’ve done different things,” Sample said. “Fourth of July is a great celebration for the independence of this nation and the reason why we put this uniform on and we always have the flag.”

The VA says it’s helpful to keep fireworks shows between 7 and 9 at night so people can be more prepared and awake and not be startled out of their sleep by unexpected fireworks.

“A lot of times, it is a mental fight that we put to prepare ourselves but it’s very few and far between those that it does have a traumatic effect on,” Sample said. “There are times you can get jumpy whenever you’re not expecting fireworks.”

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