MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The 4th of July brings celebrations in the form of fireworks, parades, and lots of red, white, and blue. A lot of Americans take part in a very popular tradition every 4th of July, fireworks. Counselors at the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans comment that it might be an exciting way to celebrate, but may also bring more stress than people realize.
“Obviously working in a home for veterans we have a very high prevalence of trauma that we see come into the building,” commented D.J. Jacobetti Social Work Manager Julia Courchine. All of the veterans that arrive at the D.J. Jacobetti go through a full trauma assessment. When it comes to the military, it can be combat related, for other members of the community, American Legion member Pamela Basel commented it can be any type of trauma.
“Post-traumatic stress is within all of us maybe you’ve been in a car accident maybe you’ve witnessed something tragic,” commented American Legion Member Pamela Basal. Even though the national holiday brings a lot of joy, it can still be alarming to some. Courchine explained that hypervigilance or being emotionally numb are just some of the symptoms of PTSD.
“Anytime there’s a loud noise such as a door slamming somebody dropping something somebody yelling out, certainly fireworks, a loud booming noise off in the distance those can be triggers for our combat veterans,” commented Courchine. The build-up days before can still have negative effects that can just as easily lead to more triggers.
“Unfortunately it doesn’t really matter what day it’s on or how much you prepare for it even if they know ahead of time that it’s going to be happening it still can cause a trigger,” commented Courchine.
When people may be preparing barbecues and family gatherings, the D.J. Jacobetti put out signs to help community members around avoid causing triggers.
“As people that love and care for veterans, we all dread the 4th of July holiday, we do hand out earplugs for that weekend so that some folks can use those, and we make sure that we have covers for the windows because even some of the bright lights can bother people,” continued Courchine.
Click here or call 988, for more assistance and resources for PTSD.
