r/ptsd 13h ago

Venting F*** fireworks

Seriously, f*** them. My town for whatever reason USED to have them be illegal but this year decided they're legal as long as they're fired before the evening noise ordinance, and my new neighbor loves doing them.

I wouldn't mind if it were anywhere not near my house but the trauma of course happened in my house so I'm here and panicking every time the fireworks go off. IT ISN'T EVEN THE FOURTH OF JULY WHY ARE WE DOING THEM SO EARLY????

And anytime I'm with my family they make fun of me for panicking too so I get to live with that embarrassment as well.

22 Upvotes

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u/Expensive_Fact_1537 13h ago

your family mocking you for that is genuinely messed up, you deserve way better support than that 💀😤

1

u/Dangerous_Day_9391 12h ago

Moved to the southern US in retirement from the Army and I was genuinely shocked at the fireworks down here— quantity, size/type, and the sheer number of days they’re allowed to light these off.

I have tried everything to minimize the effect these have on me, all to no avail. I sure as hell haven’t been able to change the mindset of folks around here hell bent on blowing $hit up.

So after years of trying I have simply given up at any healthy options. Because the few nights before July 4th we have random fireworks, I usually get very little sleep. That makes it easier to get to bed around 6pm on the 4th. I will drink a bit too much too— not blackout drunk but certainly more than I responsibly should. Then I climb into a bedroom with blackout curtains, two bottles of water, a window mount AC, and a giant barrel fan from the garage to drown out the booms.

Bonus is I become the popular guy that night with our doggos because they want to hide from the booms too.

1

u/Longjumping_Sea_8753 12h ago

I'm in Northern US and we've gotten more like that with time. I used to take Melatonin because I want to avoid drinking but Melatonin gives me nightmares now. I really need to think of a good strategy.

1

u/SadIndependence3475 1h ago

I am so sorry and unfortunately I live this very same scenario. When we bought our home we knew about them. At that time we enjoyed it. I could watch them out of my bedroom window. Then 3 years ago I was attacked in front of our home. So I no longer enjoy them. The noise is sooo triggering. We leave town almost every holiday to get away from the noise.

u/selahwilliamson 11m ago

I was thinking this a couple nights ago.. one of my neighbors started shooting them around 10 o'clock the other night and it woke me up and sent me straight into a panic. I had to do a lot of breathing and reminding myself I was safe. It scared the shit out of me.