That's great to hear! You're absolutely right, getting help is not a sign of weakness.

And yes, sometimes our survival instincts can be perfectly understandable (if a military vet had been in an ambush, I totally understand why hearing fireworks outside their home would cause visceral, gut-level anxiety even in non-combat situations) but it can be out of proportion to the actual threat (they're just fireworks). Even if it's completely understandable, it's hard to live with a constant background of stress and anxiety.

I also applaud you for taking the time to write all of this out when it must be extremely difficult to relive the events by blogging about them. A lot of people try to avoid or suppress negative experiences and emotions (again, totally understandable), but addressing them proactively can be helpful in understanding that you did experience a traumatic event that isn't processed in the same way as normal day-to-day events. It can also help to make sense of the gut-level feelings/flashbacks/nightmares instead of feeling confused as to why they are happening and and powerless to make them stop.

Best of luck with the EMDR, and I look forward to reading any updates you might post. <3