Moral Injury
Moral injury is a deep psychological, emotional, and spiritual wound that occurs when someone is exposed to or participates situations that violate their deeply held moral values or sense of what is right.
Unlike PTSD, which is primarily rooted in fear and threat, moral injury is rooted in values, conscience, and meaning.
A simple way to understand it
Moral injury happens when a person thinks, “This should never have happened,” or “This goes against who I am.”
It often involves:
Doing something that conflicts with one’s values
Witnessing harm and being unable to prevent it
Being betrayed by leaders, systems, or institutions that were trusted
Common experiences of moral injury
People experiencing moral injury may struggle with:
Persistent guilt or shame
Anger, bitterness, or moral outrage
A sense of loss of integrity or identity
Feeling disconnected from others, purpose, or meaning
Harsh self-judgment or self-blame
Spiritual or existential distress (“Who am I now?”)
These feelings can linger even when someone knows intellectually that they “did the best they could.”
Who is most affected
Moral injury is especially common among:
Healthcare workers forced to make impossible choices
First responders exposed to preventable suffering
Military veterans
Humanitarian workers
Anyone working within systems that create ethical dilemmas under pressure
Moral injury speaks to the human cost of caring in broken systems.
Moral injury vs. PTSD
While they often overlap, they are not the same:
PTSD: “I wasn’t safe.”
Moral Injury: “What happened violated my values.”
Someone can have moral injury without PTSD, PTSD without moral injury, or both.
Healing moral injury
Healing often involves:
Being witnessed without judgment
Making meaning of what happened
Reconnecting with values, compassion, and humanity
Repairing a relationship with oneself
Restoring a sense of integrity and belonging
Forgiving yourself and learning to live with what happened
Therapeutic approaches like EMDR, IFS, ketamine assisted EMDR, somatic therapies, and meaning-centered or spiritually integrated work can be especially supportive and healing.
A final note
Moral injury is not a personal failure. It is often a sign of deep care, conscience, and humanity in situations that asked too much of a person.
You’ve carried enough alone. I would consider it an honor to partner with you as you work toward regaining your joy, increasing your health, and finding more peace. Please use the contact form below to reach out.