Mental Health Month Meets PTSD
By Tracy Dixon on May 21, 2020
Hey guys, I just thought I’d share a little something with you for mental health month here at KYGO. Of course, we are all dealing with issues surrounding the Covid-19 outbreak here in Colorado. With stay at home orders and social distancing guidelines in place, it’s really hard to keep our mental stability and that’s ok. Just know that, it is OK! If you or someone you know are feeling depressed or anxious please reach out and get help at http://www.letstalkco.org or text “talk” to 38255. That said, I feel like the need to entertain ourselves is an obvious need right about now and with access to fireworks for Independence Day, it seems to be a great outlet. I have been seeing a lot lighting up the sky on my way into work each night. While they are pretty, I wanted to express that there are numerous combat veterans in the area, myself included.
I don’t share it too often, but yes, I do have PTSD. I have been going through therapy for a few years now and have found some peace but still have some flashbacks and sleeping issues. I also realize with my therapy that I am definitely not alone in that aspect. While many veterans can be triggered by various different things, fireworks are among the top of the list. Now, I realize that most people don’t realize that it can be an issue or don’t know how bad it affects our everyday lives. We know that too guys. We do our best to prepare ourselves for that fantastic 4th of July fireworks spectacular going on across numerous cities in the metro and not so metro areas. Mostly, our issues reside with the months ahead and beyond the 4th that we can’t prepare for. I am all about celebrating our freedom in this great country, but just wanted to remind y’all that without these brave men and women we would have nothing to celebrate. Keeping all this in mind, we want you to enjoy yourselves and cope however you cope. If you could, however, be mindful and not fire them off over the highways or roads, or in residential areas. If possible, holding off until July would be preferred but if you just can’t wait, maybe go out to some rural, country areas. Let’s look out for everyone’s mental health during these times. To my active and veteran brothers and sisters, if you guys need to talk to someone please reach out to 1(800)273-8255 for the veteran crisis line or visit http://SuicidePreventionLifeline.org. Thanks for reading, and please share so we can get that word out!
Thanks again,
Stretch, KYGO Overnights
