Spiritual Wounds and Injuries (Part 1)

Moral injury (MI) has become a significant area of study and debate with regard to veterans’ mental health and general well-being. Due to the nature and intensity of coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan over a prolonged period, MI has become one of the “signature wounds” of these conflicts. Spiritual damage is a critical aspect of the MI paradigm. For some people, exposure to complex and demanding environments and situations creates threats to their spiritual understanding and belief systems. These threats may be expressed through doubt about their beliefs surrounding the concept of an omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent divine creator. Such doubt, uncertainty and distress can negatively affect an individual’s overall mental health and well-being. This article seeks to achieve two objectives. The first is to introduce some of the history, language and concepts regarding MI, in order to enable spiritual care practitioners to participate in this crucial area of veterans’ health and well-being. This participation may include, but is not limited to, definitional research, language analysis, treatment and management. This study also serves as a starting point for a deeper discussion on whether spiritual damage is best described in a MI context, or whether a deeper analysis is needed independent of MI syndrome.