Fireworks trigger PTSD or Fear in People and Pets

Fireworks are something I always enjoyed as a kid. I loved going to see the local city’s fireworks on July 4 and setting off some of our own later.

Nowadays it seems like the week before and the week after is part of the holiday, too. And it has lost its meaning.

July 4th isn’t about how many fireworks you set off or about who can outdo the other. It’s about our freedom.

This past week I have listened to my younger dog, Jessie, bark constantly from the fireworks going off at neighbors’ houses. I have also had difficulty in getting either of the dogs to go outside for bathroom breaks.

I know fireworks affect more than just my dogs. They affect war veterans suffering from PTSD. I don’t have any veterans in my family or know of any that are affected by PTSD, but I could understand how fireworks could trigger it.

I wish people would only set them off on the holiday, though. Why string it out for two weeks?

Top links of the week

1. Writing to Find Yourself and Free Your Deep Creativity

I started writing when I was probably nine or ten years old by keeping a tiny diary that I wrote down what I did every day. As I got older, I began keeping more of a journal, writing down my thoughts and feelings, too.

This article has a few examples of how different people use writing to help themselves. For example, one writer wrote a book about the abuse she suffered as a child.

It’s helpful as a writer to know ourselves first so I think this article is a helpful one.

2. My Struggle With Fear & Anxiety (+ 3 practical ways to overcome it!)

I have always dealt with these two things. Depending upon the situation, I deal with both at the same time or sometimes separately.

I have a fear of speaking in front of other adults. As a prerequisite to get into IU’s School of Education, I had to take speech. There was a reason why I didn’t take it in high school, but I had no choice if I wanted to teach.

I took the class in summer school, which meant less speeches to write and do. That made me happy.

However, the anxiety each time I got up in front of the other 15 young adults drove me nuts. Even worse was the fact I was the oldest one in the class. As the class progressed, though, the anxiety lessened.

Anyway, this article gives some good tips on how to overcome these two things.

3. Start a Journal, Change Your Life

This article gives 10 different ways to start a journal. These are great ideas, and a couple of them I have never really thought about doing.

I am more of a number 10 kind of a journal writer. I put a little bit of everything into a journal entry. I have kept separate travel journals before so that I could put them with the pictures in a scrapbook later.

I have learned about morning pages in the last few months. I am not a morning person so writing that early of a morning is tough for me, but I could understand how it would get you writing and start the day.

If you journal, which type of journal do you keep?