Contemplating the concept of moral injury and trauma tonite

[jmbar2]

I ran across this term and it seems to sum up the distress and sense of helplessness I am feeling from today's ICE murder, the invasion of Venezuela and murders of people in boats, threats to Greenland, the destruction of the WhiteHouse, and... well, just everything that has happened because of Trump and his enablers.

Psychiatrist Jonathan Shay and colleagues coined the term moral injury to describe experiences where someone who holds legitimate authority has betrayed what is morally right in a high-stakes situation.[6] The concept of moral injury emphasizes the psychological, social, cultural, and spiritual aspects of trauma.[7]

According to the International Centre for Moral Injury, it "involves a profound sense of broken trust in ourselves, our leaders, governments and institutions to act in just and morally 'good' ways" and the experience of "sustained and enduring negative moral emotions – guilt, shame, contempt and anger – that results from the betrayal, violation or suppression of deeply held or shared moral values."[8]

In 2009, the term moral injury[13] was modified by Brett Litz and colleagues as "perpetrating, failing to prevent, or bearing witness to acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations may be deleterious in the long term, emotionally, psychologically, behaviorally, spiritually, and socially" (2009, p. 695).

Rita Nakashima Brock and Gabriella Lettini emphasize moral injury as "...souls in anguish, not a psychological disorder."[53]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moral_injury

There's not a whole lot can be done about it right now. But just finding a name for it, and admitting it to others who may be feeling the same way feels a bit therapeutic tonite.

I am so grateful for this community. Let's care gently for ourselves and each other.