The Independence Day holiday is just around the corner but it’s not always a fun occasion for veterans who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to a 2020 study by Statista, 83 percent of all U-S veterans have experienced PTSD.
U-W Madison’s Dr. Christine Whelan says fireworks around the 4th can be a big source of anxiety.
“So, this period of time can, for many veterans, bring back very uncomfortable, traumatic memories and can bring these memories back out of the blue,” said Whelan.
She say there are a couple of things you can do to combat PTSD brought on my fireworks.
“You can either avoid the trigger. The other option is to actually take yourself closer to it; to actually go to where the fireworks displays are being set-off. And make sure you can see that in-fact it’s fireworks, not gunshots.”
Click on the audio player above to hear the full conversation.