Think About It

I was in a discussion the other day where we were discussing a very emotional issue that had some serious consequences. As we discussed the impact this event would have, someone brought up the possibility of “moral injury”. I had heard the phrase, but I hadn’t given it much thought. When I did my homework, I realized just how life-changing this can be. Moral injury can come about when someone who is impacted by a traumatic event feels a negative emotional reaction because the event violated a deeply held moral belief or value. They may have participated in the event; they may have failed to act to prevent the critical incident or they may have merely witnessed the event; but something about what happened violated their conscience. When I was looking at the concept, the first word that came to my mind was guilt. People who deal with this may be plagued with the thought, “I should have …”. They may walk away from the incident without any physical scars, but emotionally and spirit