Though moral injury and post-traumatic stress-related disorders can affect anyone, veterans and military service members are at a higher risk of developing such conditions due to the nature of their service.
"We appreciate that these groups are exposed to higher rates of potentially traumatic events than are civilians," says Lorraine Smith-MacDonald, a post-doctoral fellow with the Heroes in Mind, Advocacy and Research Consortium (HiMARC) in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.
Finding ways to help people recover from moral wounds is critical. According to a recent article, forgiveness practices could play an important role. Researchers including Smith-MacDonald and HiMARC director Suzette Brémault-Phillips highlighted how such interventions could be incorporated into the process of recovery.
Moral injury cuts deep
Moral injury can occur when a person "knows what they want to do or what they fundamentally believe to be the right thing, but is unable to do that for whatever reason. It can also occur when a person transgresses their deeply held morals and values, or witnesses someone else doing so," explains Smith-MacDonald.
Finding ways to help those with moral injury recover is critical because of the potential wide-ranging physical, psychological and social damage that can result, she says. Particularly, relationships with oneself and others can be significantly impacted. "If moral injury is left untreated, it is likely that consequences will arise in each of those domains."
Moral injury is also commonly associated with other disorders such as PTSD, major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and substance use disorder.
According to Smith-MacDonald, there's already a precedent in the scientific literature for why forgiveness may be important and how it affects health more generally.
"We know better psychological and emotional health outcomes are associated with people who are able to forgive."
While some feel that psychological tools alone are needed to support recovery from moral injury, a holistic approach that incorporates spiritual or religious practices may be beneficial for some, she notes.
