4th of July celebrations causing issues for some Veterans

TULSA, Okla. — Veterans Affairs offices nationwide are receiving more phone calls about mental health due to early 4th of July celebrations.

For veterans with PTSD, the 4th of July can be a trigger for them.

Clinicians say there are ways to help.

“Fireworks really mimic the sights, sounds and smells of different things that people have been through in combat,” VA Clinician Brooke Millham said. “It leads to feeling more anxious, jittery, jumpy and more on edge for some people.”

Millham said there are ways to be more aware of veteran safety during celebrations.

“Definitely be mindful of whether you have any veterans in the area or any that are coming over to celebrate with you. If you do, giving people a heads-up that you will be setting off fireworks would be very helpful as well as giving an estimated time frame of when and how long you’ll be setting them off for,” Millham said.

It looks different for people that struggle with PTSD, so it is important to be mindful of the effects.

“Everybody, after experiencing trauma, will have a strong emotional response, and for some people, that response lingers, and it really doesn’t go away over time,” Millham added.

For more information on how you can be more aware of these issues, click here .