Its the 5th of November, ‘Remember remember the 5th of November!’ We all get excited to celebrate bonfire night or Guy Fawkes night on this day or weekend. I've always loved Bonfire night, but have we ever stopped to think what implications does this have on others that may have anxiety or other hearing deficiencies? It must be a difficult one, let alone the poor little pets that are frightened by the loud bursts of bangs.
My memory as child, would be to go with my family in the cold crisp evening to a nearby school location with a huge open field, all of us wrapped up warm with hats , gloves and scarves, big wellies ready to watch this spectacular display that only happened once a year! We would get some warm popcorn, hot chocolate and other snacks to have whilst staring into the amazing colourful lights in the sky. The best was the fascinating Catherine wheel that would go so fast and it would make your eyes go funny. I just didn't ever want my wonderful family evening to end. My father would even get us ice-creams in the freezing cold on the way home as an extra special treat!
Now, today, it’s a completely different situation. My children are older so they are off to see the displays with their friends in groups, I tried however to go a nearby display but after 10 mins couldn’t take the noise and the pain in my ears was just dreadful.
Since my SAH 3 years ago - I have struggled with particular noises and its only when feeling overtired or if the sounds are very high pitched, it effects my ears with pain and great discomfort, probably a similar feeling as it would to a dog.
I also suffer from high anxiety, so when I'm in a very crowded place I have an overwhelming sense of suffocation. If I go, it needs to be a in a much wider space and I have to wear earplugs because I still want to enjoy the evening with my family and don’t want to miss out.
My little puppy has to stay behind in a warm safe room that blocks out the noises. I still like to enjoy my evening but I just have to adapt to it now. I have my book release coming up this week and I have documented some of the challenges I have faced during my time in recovery, so if you would like to know more about how I have adapted then you may want to read my Book : Room 23 – surviving a brain hemorrhage. You can now buy this at – Amazon, Walmart, Target, Koba, Bokus, Goodreads, Barnes and Noble. Check the links in the header menu on this website.
This is also a great piece shared by the BBC about GUY FAWKES night and the history behind it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/people/guy_fawkes