Discharging caps on blinking LEDs - safe?

I have finished an LED sequencing circuit using the 555 timer and 1047 decade counter. (I'll probably post a schematic later.) Connected across the LED arrays are discharging caps (C2, C3, and C4 shown in red) so that there's a fading on/off effect when they blink which so far works. My question is, do I need to add diodes in the circuit to protect the 555 and 1047? I think that not only are the caps discharging through the LEDs, but also through those ICs which might be overheating them a bit. I have burnt out a 1047 which was likely from a loose connection somewhere in the circuit. Any ideas would help.

Post your schematic.

are you sure that the resistors attached to the LEDs are sufficient?

Hi, thanks for responding.
Yes, they are.

I used this to figure it out:
**broken link removed**