41 | 🤷‍♂️ PTSD or Moral Injury?

Michael Belton asked me to talk about Moral Injury… a “lesser known” (but probably “more lethal”) invisible wound than PTSD.

So, we compare and contrast PTSD with Moral Injury to set the stage.

Here’s the core of it

Moral Injury feels different, because Moral Injury starts differently than PTSD. Whereas PTSD is a response to external “triggers” (you can remove yourself from the situation or avoid certain scenarios) Moral Injury goes with you. Moral Injury IS you.

You’ve probably heard the saying "Wherever you go, there you are.” When the issue is “in you” (i.e., your conscience, your spirit), you can’t fight it or run from it.

Key differences

Note the key distinctions between the PTSD and Moral Injury:

💥PTSD

Is a reaction to external threats
Takes the form of fight, flight, freeze, or fawn
Generally occurs when triggered

🫣 Moral Injury

Is a response to internal “threats”
Takes the form of guilt & shame
May be constant— not just when triggered

Again, Moral Injury is not PTSD, and PTSD is not Moral Injury.

Why it matters

You must heal the KIND of hurt you have.

If you don’t identify the kind of hurt you have and also implement the correct healing protocols for that specific wound, then—

The healing protocol will be ineffective
The hurt will remain
The injured person may feel “un-heal-able”
The injured person may reach the point of despair and “give up”

For clarity, even though every “part” of you impacts the others (interdependent realization), hurts generally occur in the ways listed above. If multiple types of hurts are present, we must address each of them in their own way.

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Links referenced

See the GY6 resources, referenced here: www.GY6.online/FG

Upcoming GY6 workshops = www.GY6.online/events

Differences between PTSD and Moral Injury

Ten ways Moral Injury happens = https://www.gy6.online/blog/ten

PTSD or Moral Injury = https://www.gy6.online/blog/MI

Serve Ministries

Website = https://serveministriesinc.com

Become a certified chaplain = https://serveministriesinc.com/courses

Podcast / YouTube feed for Serve = https://youtu.be/HbVk4sQ608g?si=2z1hcqe-GXj55fkv

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