Fireworks in Bucks Beds and Herts can trigger trauma, veteran says
A veteran has warned of how triggering this weekend's fireworks can be.
Every year, Guy Fawkes night is celebrated around the country by lighting bonfires and fireworks throughout the days and weeks around the event.
Most of those are organised by towns and cities and signposted, however many are lit in private settings in gardens, fields and streets.
For veterans who experienced war and lived with the sound of firearms, fireworks can be triggering.
Mandy Small served 12 years for the Royal Air Force in Iraq.
"...an innocent firework sounds exactly like gunfire or a rocket"
Upon her return, her and her husband were both diagnosed with PTSD, which eventually led her husband to take his own life.
She said: "I struggle mainly when people have their own little firework displays and they go off out of the blue."
"If I was stood outside of a firework going off, in my head I would be back in Iraq, and being able to snap out of that is hard."
This time of year is always dreaded by Ms Small, who experiences high anxiety, panic attacks, or suffers from sleep deprivation.
She said: "That's a massive trigger with me, it was a huge trigger with my husband and I think it's strange for people who haven't been in warzones or conflict zones that an innocent firework sounds exactly like gunfire or a rocket."
"It triggers something in your brain and it takes you right back."
To overcome the triggers, Mandy Small relies on her close family and charities helping her through difficult times.
The SSAFA, the Armed Forces Charity, supports veterans like her who experience a range of struggles, from financial to emotional.