As Canadian veterans don pressed uniforms and polished medals this Remembrance Day, many others from more recent wars will be staying at home.

“Remembrance Day is rough,” veteran Jim Lowther of Halifax, N.S., told CTV News. “It is a tough day for me.”

After 15 years of military service, which included two tours in Bosnia, Lowther now suffers from PTSD. Despite pressures to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies, most years he just stays home.

“It’s the crowds and noises… it’s really tough.”

Aaron Bedard barely survived his tour in Afghanistan, when an anti-tank mine left him with traumatic spine and brain injuries. Despite coming from a long line of Canadian Armed Forces veterans, he only began to understand the pain of November 11th after he served.

“That day, reminding you of people who you saw get killed, friends you lost -- for a lot of us, it is more than they can bear,” the Chilliwack, B.C. resident told CTV News.

Bedard now hosts an online video podcast where he advises and advocates for veterans. But when Remembrance Day arrives, Bedard and his veteran friends often prefer to escape.

“Get out into nature… go do some fishing, go climb a mountain… go do something positive for themselves," Bedard says he advises them.

Missing Remembrance Day events may cause some guilt, but attending can also often lead to unwanted flashbacks and debilitating pain, one expert says.

"They are going to struggle the rest of that day, the coming week, perhaps the rest of the month," Dr. Greg Passey, a veteran and a psychiatrist told CTV News.

Poppies themselves -- the symbol of remembrance -- can also serve as triggers for those who served in places like Afghanistan.

"We were walking through poppy fields, being shot at," Cpl. David McDonald of The Royal Regiment of Canada recalled in an interview with CTV News.

To many, those fields -- used by the enemy to produce opium and heroin -- brought only fear and death.

Despite counselling and support, McDonald, still isn’t ready to attend a Remembrance Day ceremony.

"I have my own way to remember my buddies," McDonald said.

With a report from CTV’s Peter Akman