When Fireworks Don’t Feel Safe
Fireworks are meant to be a celebration. They light up the sky, bring people together, and mark summer holidays with excitement. For individuals living with PTSD, they can bring up something entirely different. The noise, unpredictability, and sensory overload can trigger physical and emotional responses that feel intense, sudden, and difficult to control.
These reactions are not in your head. They are rooted in the nervous system and are often tied to past experiences that taught the body to stay alert for danger. Even when a person knows the fireworks are not harmful, their body may still respond as if they are. This is not weakness. It is a protective response that once served a purpose.
Trauma affects the way the brain processes safety. People who have experienced abuse, violence, combat, or sudden loss often live with a heightened startle reflex or sense of vigilance. Sounds, lights, or even certain smells can bring the body right back to a time when things were not safe, even when the present moment is stable.
At Brightside Behavioral Health, we help clients work through these patterns with empathy and evidence based approaches. One treatment that has been especially helpful for trauma is EMDR, which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. EMDR does not require talking in detail about the traumatic event. It helps the brain reprocess past experiences so they no longer feel as threatening in the present. Many people find that EMDR helps reduce the emotional and physical charge around triggers.
Our therapists are trained to recognize trauma symptoms and support clients in reconnecting with a sense of calm and safety. Whether you are looking for talk therapy, EMDR, or simply a place where your experience will be taken seriously, we are here.
Therapy is available in our Johnston, Cranston, and Warwick offices, as well as through telehealth for individuals across Rhode Island and Massachusetts. If this season feels overwhelming, support is within reach. Healing does not have to wait.