Many military veterans are preparing for potential PTSD episodes as people around the Valley get ready to celebrate the New Year with fireworks.
The loud boom, flashing lights, and even the smell of fireworks can mentally land a veteran back on the battlefield.
"Smell serves as a pretty powerful trigger for memories and part of that is because it’s located just proximity-wise to the hippocampus, the memory center for the brain," said Kris Kratz, Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health for Veterans Affairs in Phoenix, in a 2021 interview with ABC15. "Might spawn memories that can be uncomfortable."
Everyone is different and reacts in their own way, and although not every veteran experiences PTSD from fireworks, the body's response could be severe for some veterans.
"In severe cases, they’ll hit the deck like they’re back in Vietnam or the Gulf. Others will crawl under the covers," Dr. Carl Forkner, Navy Veteran and Research Psychologist, said. "Let the veteran know that there’s fireworks going on and about when it’s gonna happen. So that way the veteran can mentally prepare themself, for the fact that there are going to be loud noises."
Forkner said he keeps his room dark and covers his ears or even leaves town on nights when he expects fireworks to be set off.
He told ABC15 that veterans are usually prepared for the sounds of professional, planned fireworks displays, the random, closer-to-home fireworks set off in smaller neighborhoods can especially cause a PTSD episode.
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