PTSD Triggers and the Holidays: Why They Can Flare

A trigger is something that sets off a memory of a trauma, or the feelings that went with it. It might be a sound, a smell, a date or a person. PTSD triggers can make a reaction feel as if the danger is happening now, even when you know you’re safe. The holidays can stack several of them into a few weeks.

This post won’t ask you to go back over what happened. You don’t need to do that to understand your triggers or to plan around them.

What a Trigger Actually Is

The VA’s National Center for PTSD uses trigger, trauma reminder and cue to mean the same thing. Reminders can be words, objects or situations, and NIMH notes that thoughts and feelings can set off symptoms too.

One explanation is that a trauma memory holds information about danger. That can work without your being aware of it, and even parts of the memory that seem unrelated can start to signal danger when there isn’t any.

That helps explain why a reaction can seem to come from nowhere. Many triggers are subtle and catch people off guard, and they can be things that simply look, sound or feel like what was around at the time. A reaction can seem too big for the room you’re in because it fits the memory, not the room.

Researchers still debate how trauma memory works. One theory proposes a separate, sensory-bound kind of memory, and other researchers argue that ordinary memory processes can explain PTSD. A 2025 review, an international study led by the researcher behind the first theory, finds some support for the idea that trauma memories are more fragmented, though how strong that evidence is depends on how it was measured. The popular idea that trauma is “stored in the body” is debated too, and Trauma and the Body lays out both sides. Your reactions are real either way.

Common PTSD Triggers

Triggers are personal, and two people who went through the same event can react differently. Some that people commonly describe:

• Sounds, such as fireworks, other loud noises or loud voices.
• Smells, such as smoke or another smell that was around at the time.
• Places and settings, such as crowds, medical settings or a place like the one where it happened.
• People, such as someone connected to the event, or a touch from a certain person.
• News and media, including movies and news reports.
• Dates and times, including an anniversary, a season or a holiday.
• What’s going on inside you, such as stress, pain, tension, or thoughts and feelings tied to what happened.

Why the Holidays Can Stack Them

We didn’t find research on the holidays and PTSD specifically, so this section applies what’s known about reminders to this time of year. There is research on the holidays and mental health in general: a 2023 review of 25 studies found Christmas holidays weren’t linked with more use of emergency psychiatric services. A SAMHSA treatment guide also notes that triggers are often tied to a season, a holiday or an anniversary.

• New Year’s Eve fireworks. The sound, the flashes, the smoke and the crowd can each be a reminder. You may spend days bracing for them, and some go off when you don’t expect them. New Year’s Day also stands out in suicide research: a 2025 meta-analysis found higher risk that day across most countries, and a large 26-country study, an international study, found the same. That’s a reason to take a hard stretch seriously, not a reason for alarm. If you’re in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any time, day or night. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
• Crowded stores and parties, since crowds can feel dangerous with PTSD.
• Family gatherings, which may put you in a room with someone connected to what happened.
• Anniversaries. If something happened at this time of year, or someone you lost is missing from the table, the date can bring up distress even years later. Anniversary reactions were common in a study of Gulf War veterans, and around the 50th anniversary of the Kent State shootings, people reported a temporary rise in distress, not a return of PTSD symptoms. You may not connect the two at first. Our post on grief goes further.
• Alcohol, which is often close at hand. Some people use it to manage PTSD symptoms, and it can make sleep less restful.
• Tired, stressed days. Fatigue and high stress can leave you more open to re-experiencing.
• Pressure to look cheerful. Feeling numb or distant during a celebration is a recognized reaction.

It may be the combination that’s hard, more than any single one. If the season brings more low mood than fear, here’s how to tell holiday blues from depression.

What a Reaction Can Look Like

Reactions vary.

• Flashbacks, or feeling as if the event is happening again. Some people describe feelings arriving without the memory, which our post on emotional flashbacks explains.
• Sudden anxiety or panic, with a pounding heart or feeling lightheaded.
• Feeling jumpy or on guard, which can look like hypervigilance.
• Quick anger or irritability.
• Going numb or shutting down.
• Trouble sleeping and nightmares, which are PTSD symptoms too.

A flashback itself is often very brief, while the emotional aftereffects can last for hours or longer. So feeling shaken long afterward isn’t unusual.

Avoiding Everything, or Choosing What to Skip?

Staying away from what sets you off makes sense, and it works at first. But the VA calls avoiding fireworks events a short-term fix that may worsen the problem over time, and using avoidance as your main way of coping can make PTSD symptoms worse. The need to avoid can grow. One skipped party can become no parties, then less time with people at all.

That doesn’t mean you have to face everything. The SAMHSA guide says avoidance can be adaptive, and the VA’s advice is about feared but safe situations. A situation that isn’t safe is different. You don’t owe anyone a seat at a table with someone who hurt you. And if harm is still going on, treatment usually works best when it addresses that too. If someone is hurting you, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7: call 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or visit thehotline.org.

So a more useful question than “Am I avoiding this?” is “Is this actually dangerous, or does it only feel dangerous, and what is staying away costing me?” A provider can help you think that through.

Planning Ahead for a Hard Stretch

The VA calls this coping ahead. Most of it doesn’t require thinking about the trauma itself.

• Look back at past years. When did you tense up, leave early or feel off? You don’t need the story, only the pattern.
• Mark the hard dates, and plan something for them, such as time with people you trust or an activity that means something to you.
• Ask ahead. Find out whether fireworks are planned, and when. Earplugs or headphones are fair game.
• Tell one trusted person what may set off your symptoms and invite them along if you can.
• Know how you’ll step out, whether that’s a walk or a set time to leave.
• Avoid alcohol, which can make sleep less restful.
• Protect sleep and routines, including regular meals, exercise and sleep.

In the Moment

The aim is to get back to where you actually are. These come from the VA’s coping advice:

• Keep your eyes open. Look around and notice where you are.
• Tell yourself where you are, what year it is and that you’re safe now.
• Get up and move around. Drink some water and wash your hands.
• Slow your breathing.
• Call someone you trust and tell them what’s happening.

If relaxing makes you feel worse, you’re not doing it wrong. The VA notes this happens to a few people at first, and that smaller amounts, or mixing it with music or walking, can help. We have more on grounding. These are tools for getting through a moment, not a treatment for PTSD.

What Treatment Can Change

The 2023 VA/DoD guideline recommends specific trauma-focused therapies, cognitive processing therapy (CPT), prolonged exposure (PE) and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), over medication when both are available, because their benefits for core PTSD symptoms tend to be larger and longer-lasting. No one treatment is right for everyone. Present-centered therapy, which the guideline also suggests, is an option that doesn’t require talking through the trauma. These are treatments we refer out. If drinking is part of the picture, a U.S. trial found that prolonged exposure didn’t make drinking worse in people with PTSD and alcohol dependence. Here’s more on evidence-based PTSD therapies. We don’t offer standalone weekly therapy, but we’re happy to help you find a therapist and, with your permission, we’ll coordinate with them.

Medication can also help with PTSD symptoms. The guideline recommends sertraline, paroxetine and venlafaxine; of these, only sertraline (Zoloft) and paroxetine (Paxil) are FDA-approved for PTSD. The same guideline recommends against benzodiazepines and against cannabis or cannabis-derived products for PTSD. Our PTSD treatment page covers the options and what to expect. An evaluation looks at how the trauma is affecting you now, and you won’t be asked to go into the details of what happened unless you choose to.

Results differ. In a 2025 review of 34 trials, many people no longer met criteria for PTSD after treatment, and the VA says treatment can get rid of symptoms for many people, while others have fewer or less intense ones. Many people improve with treatment. It describes the goal as turning a trigger, which sets off an automatic reaction, into a cue you can respond to.

When to Get Help

If symptoms have lasted longer than a month and are causing problems in your life, it’s worth getting evaluated, or sooner if your distress is severe. Symptoms can also start months or even years after the trauma. It’s also worth getting evaluated if:

• Triggers are shaping your daily decisions.
• The list of things you avoid keeps getting longer.
• Your sleep is falling apart.
• You’re drinking to get through it.

A meta-analysis found that drinking to cope helps explain the link between PTSD and harmful alcohol use, though its authors say longer-term studies are still needed. If alcohol is part of the picture, your provider can talk with you about options, which may include non-controlled medications such as naltrexone tablets or acamprosate when appropriate. We don’t offer injectable naltrexone (Vivitrol) or detox. Naltrexone can’t be taken with any opioid, including opioid pain medicine. Both need a health check by your provider first: your liver for naltrexone, whose label warns about liver injury, and your kidneys for acamprosate. If you drink daily or heavily, talk to a clinician before stopping, because stopping suddenly can cause dangerous withdrawal, including seizures.

If you’re in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any time, day or night. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are examples of PTSD triggers?

Fireworks and other loud noises, crowds, smoke or other smells, news reports, anniversaries, medical settings, and seeing someone connected to the event are all examples. Triggers can also come from inside, such as stress, pain, thoughts or feelings. They’re personal, so yours may look different.

Can PTSD triggers go away?

They often ease. The VA says reminders of trauma often lessen with time, and treatment can reduce symptoms or, for many people, get rid of them. Healing doesn’t mean forgetting, and it may mean symptoms that bother you less. It’s different for each person.

Why are the holidays hard with PTSD?

They can pack several possible reminders into a few weeks: fireworks, crowds, family gatherings and anniversaries, along with alcohol, less sleep and pressure to seem happy. There’s no research on the holidays and PTSD specifically, so this comes from what’s known about reminders in general. Research on the holidays and mental health overall finds no rise in psychiatric emergency visits at Christmas, but a higher suicide risk on New Year’s Day.

What should I do when I’m triggered?

Keep your eyes open and notice where you are. Remind yourself what year it is and that you’re safe now. Get up and move, drink some water, slow your breathing, or call someone you trust. Afterward, tell your provider what happened if you have one.

Is being triggered the same as having a flashback?

No. A trigger is the reminder that sets a reaction off. A flashback is one possible reaction, the feeling that the event is happening again. A trigger can also lead to panic, anger or going numb, and flashbacks can sometimes come without a clear trigger.

For adults in Burlington County and across New Jersey, a psychiatric evaluation with one of our board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioners can sort out what’s going on, and medication management gives you regular follow-ups as things change. If your trauma went on for a long time or started in childhood, complex PTSD may be worth asking about. It’s a diagnosis used internationally (ICD-11) and discussed by many U.S. clinicians, but it isn’t a separate diagnosis in the DSM-5-TR, the diagnostic manual used by U.S. clinicians. Long-running or childhood trauma raises the risk, but it isn’t required.

This article is for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice, does not establish a provider-patient relationship, and is not a substitute for individual evaluation, diagnosis, or treatment by a qualified clinician. If you’re in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), any time, day or night. In an emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.