"Our moral understanding of right and wrong, and good and evil, is fundamental to who we are. Such understanding guides our actions and evaluations and shapes our sense of integrity and wholeness. When our moral understanding is severely disrupted by something we have done, witnessed, or been subject to, we can feel torn apart by the resulting feelings of guilt, shame, and confusion."
"Early descriptions were given by Jonathan Shay in documenting the experience among veterans. The idea was developed further in the scientific literature by Brett Litz and colleagues who conceptualized moral injury as involving an act of transgression (either perpetrated, witnessed, or experienced as an act of betrayal) that violated deeply held assumptions and beliefs about right and wrong or personal goodness."
Moral understanding of right and wrong, and of good and evil, guides actions, evaluations, integrity, and wholeness. Severe disruption of moral understanding caused by acts one has done, witnessed, or been subjected to can produce guilt, shame, and confusion. Psychologists have identified moral injury as a distinct condition arising when a transgression or betrayal violates deeply held moral beliefs or assumptions. Early accounts among veterans showed symptoms that were sometimes distinct from PTSD and not fully addressed by PTSD treatments. Relatedly, moral distress arises when caregivers, such as nurses, know the right action but cannot act due to institutional constraints, producing severe moral anguish.
Read at Psychology Today
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