A reminder of war’s lasting effect flashed across social media today as a photo of a veteran holding a poster expressing concerns about fireworks and the emotional trigger of nearby explosions spawned an outpouring of reaction.
In less than 24 hours, more than 100,000 people shared the Facebook post, many of them veterans acknowledging the challenges of neighbors shooting off fireworks irrespective of the feelings that could result.
“Combat veteran lives here, please be courteous with fireworks,” reads the poster held by a bearded veteran in the photo that went viral Tuesday and Wednesday.
Research findings differ, but an estimated 7% to 20% of the more than 2.5 million veterans and troops who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan are believed to have developed post-traumatic stress disorder.
The disorder is characterized by emotionally re-experiencing or remembering traumatic events, the thoughts involuntarily triggered for combat veterans by the sound of an explosion or gunfire, according to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine.
This can cause a variety of reactions, including altering mood or triggering hyper-vigilance or a need to avoid people and places, the report says.
Combat veterans are not the only sufferers of PTSD, the illness occurs after other experiences, such as a sexual assault or car accident.
“Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the signature injuries of the U.S. conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, but it affects veterans of all eras,” the report says.
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