How to Help Someone Struggling with Moral Injury
Knowing how to be present without overstepping boundaries can help a loved one.
Moral values and the identities that sustain our relationships are the most important aspects of our lives: they constitute what is most sacred in us. Our sense that we are worth something and beloved by others lies at the heart of our relationships with them and the world. The violation of that worth — a moral injury — whether by our own actions or the actions of others, is thus an act of desecration. Healing hearts requires a holistic process of reconnection to one’s self-worth and life-sustaining relationships.
And yet, attending to someone with whom you have a relationship and who is struggling with moral injury is not always easy. People with moral injury are often distant, cold or aloof, reluctant to share, preoccupied, controlling, drinking or sleeping too much, burnt out, or otherwise not able to be present. Talking might be difficult, and little excites them. They may even be unaware of why they feel so horrible. These are all signs that their system may be shutting down to protect itself from emotional pain.
Healing hearts requires a holistic process of reconnection to one’s self-worth and life-sustaining…
