The 4th of July is something most PTSD survivors have circled on their calendars every year. And not in a good way. My anxiety intuitively goes up about a week before the 4th, preparing my nervous system for “Hell week”. Because loud, random noises (i.e. fireworks) and PTSD do NOT go hand-in-hand. Most of us have an arsenal of tips and tricks to get us through the 4th because our fight-or-flight response is more easily triggered than most. I logically know that those noises are fireworks. But when my nervous system is triggered, the logic goes out the window and the PTSD goes, “We’re all gonna die!” So as you can imagine, the 4th of July is not my favorite holiday for that reason.