How To Heal Spiritual Wounds

The first thing you do when you have a cut is clean it out. To allow for better healing, we remove dirt, crud, and bacteria from the wound. When it comes to spiritual healing, the same is true. The first stage is to rid yourself of the shame, sin, and baggage that will eventually stymie your recovery. It involves confessing our sins and embracing Christ's pardon for us as Christians. It also entails the ability to forgive ourselves as well as others who have wronged us. The most painful element of the healing process is sometimes “washing the wound.” We don't want to look at the things that have caused us pain. However, letting go of the things that continue to pain us is an important aspect of emotional and spiritual recovery.

What are spiritual injuries?

However, there is a third category of wound that is now unaddressed but is a serious issue in the overall well-being and metal health of returning people, according to international studies. Spiritual wounds or spiritual injuries (SI) that personnel sustain as a result of their Defense service are included in this category.

All of the research subjects addressed in this paper will eventually join the veteran community, if they haven't already. The vast majority will go on to live long, healthy lives. Some people will have a variety of physical, moral, psychological, and spiritual injuries at different times in their lives or for the remainder of their lives. In Australia, the Department of Veteran's Affairs (DVA) is in charge of physical and psychological injuries. While veterans will inevitably have various thoughts and opinions about the quality of service and support provided by DVA, it generally provides adequate assistance. Moral Injuries (MI) care is becoming more widely recognized as a component of this continuum of care. SI is something that isn't talked about, isn't well understood, and doesn't have a treatment plan. SI has traditionally been thought of as a subset of the larger MI category, despite the fact that there are substantial differences in the nature of the injury, how it manifests, and its implications and treatment that need to be addressed.

A broad network of Chaplains and spiritual counselors supports current ADF personnel. Defence, DVA, the broader national church community, and academia in Australia provide no support to veterans suffering from SI once they have transitioned to civilian life. As a result, veterans essentially enter a new world “There is little to no direction and specific aid in spiritual or faith issues in the “spiritual grey zone,” or an area where there is little to no guidance and specialized help in spiritual or faith issues is accessible. This isn't to say that they won't get aid; rather, it means that the veteran isn't sure how to go about getting it, and that faith leaders aren't sure how to engage with veterans. In the instance of Research Subject 208-200419, this is the case (negligent discharge). This man, now a veteran, is suffering from a SI.

In a nutshell, a SI is an injury that occurs when personnel are involved in some manner in an experience that leads them to doubt their belief or confidence in the existence, purpose, or goodness of some higher being or entity. Not every veteran understands, let alone practices, the tenants of such a concept, but for those who do, difficulties and threats to faith can be enormous and play a large role in their life. While many mental health and moral injury issues have comparable symptoms and behavior, the reasons of a SI, and hence the treatment and care techniques, are fundamentally different.

Much of the current research in this field is based on international and primarily US sources. This is particularly useful for grasping broad concepts and behaviors, considering the close cooperation between Australian and US forces in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. At the same time, the approaches to faith and spirituality in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are vastly different, necessitating the development of particular research for Australian conditions.

If Australia wants to prepare for the future, understanding the origins, symptoms, and treatment of SI suffered by ADF veterans will become increasingly vital “General Cantwell predicts a “tidal wave” of mental health difficulties. Because spiritual life is not a concern for all veterans, and there is no evidence or suggestion that SI will play a leadership role in this spectrum of conditions, it will instead play a supporting role, one that is still unknown. SI is more likely to be one of several injuries that veterans will carry with them for the rest of their life.

A number of definitional and diagnostic concerns must be addressed in order to fully comprehend the etiology, symptoms, and treatment of SI in veterans. These concerns must be addressed as part of a therapy continuum, as most veteran SIs begin while they are still in uniform and persist during the transition to civilian life. The nature of veteran's SIs will have to begin with serving ADF soldiers in mind. As part of this, it will be necessary to comprehend the practical definitions of concepts like spirituality in order to adequately express the SI's key conceptual foundation. This will cover the causes and symptoms of SIs, as well as the modest but significant overlap with Moral Injuries (MI).

The ultimate purpose of this study is to offer a SI Treatment Protocol (Provisional) (SITP-P), which will serve as the required fulcrum for moving the discussion of SI into the spiritual grey zone of veteran spiritual health.

Does time heal emotional wounds?

When it comes to mending, time is unquestionably crucial. Time, while it may alleviate some of the pain, grief, or other unpleasant feelings associated with a situation, is not a healer in and of itself.

What is spiritual inner healing?

A grassroots lay counseling movement among Christians of various denominations is known as the Inner Healing Movement. To offer emotional and spiritual healing, it employs prayer, forgiveness, repentance, rejecting lies and replacing them with truth, and processing traumatic experiences.

What Is Moral Injury?

People may commit, fail to avoid, or witness events that contradict firmly held moral beliefs and expectations in traumatic or particularly stressful situations (1). When someone performs something that goes against their values, it's called an act of commission, and when they don't do anything that goes against their views, it's called an act of omission. Individuals may also betrayal from leaders, others in positions of power, or peers, which can have negative consequences (2). Moral harm is the distressing psychological, behavioral, social, and spiritual consequences of such actions (3). Acting or seeing activities that go against an individual's values and moral views might result in a moral damage.

Moral damage requires the individual to believe that a transgression has occurred and that they or someone else has crossed a line in terms of their moral values. Guilt, humiliation, disgust, and rage are all common responses to moral harm (e.g., 4). Guilt is defined as discomfort and remorse over a morally wrongdoing event (e.g., “I did something bad.”). Shame occurs when a person's perception of an incident expands to include the entire self (e.g., “I am bad because of what I did.”) (5). Disgust might be triggered by recollections of a criminal act, while rage can be triggered by a loss or a feeling of betrayal (6). Inability to forgive oneself and, as a result, engaging in self-destructive actions (e.g., feeling you don't deserve to succeed at work or in relationships) is another common reaction to moral harm.

Moral harm frequently has an effect on a person's spirituality (7). For example, a person who has suffered moral harm may have trouble comprehending how their beliefs and relationship with a Higher Power can be true in light of the awful act they have witnessed, leading to doubts about previously held spiritual views.

Morally Injurious Events

Because the nature of war and fighting create settings where people may have experiences that contradict the ideals they abide by in civilian life, the majority of study into moral harm has focused on military Service members and Veterans. Killing or harming others, when officers must make decisions that affect the survival of others, when medics are unable to care for all who have been harmed, freezing or failing to perform a duty during a dangerous or traumatic event (for example, falling asleep on patrol), failing to report an event that violates rules or ethics, engaging in or witnessing acts of disproportionate violence are all examples of potentially morally injurious events in the context of war.

Despite the fact that the majority of the research has focused on service members and veterans, moral harm can develop in the context of a variety of traumatic experiences (3). Moral harm has been documented among law enforcement professionals and individuals who have been exposed to community violence in studies (8,9). Moral harm in health-care personnel (10,11) can occur when they are faced with difficult decisions such as life-or-death triage or resource allocation, or when they believe they should have been able to save a patient's life but were unable to. In the midst of a health-care crisis, health-care employees may observe unreasonable or unfair acts or practices, which can lead to feelings of betrayal. They may also feel guilty for surviving when others are dying or for infecting anyone who come into contact with them. More information on Moral Injury in Health Care Workers can be found here.

Moral Injury and PTSD

Moral harm and posttraumatic stress disorder have a lot of similarities (PTSD). Both begin with a life-threatening or destructive occurrence to oneself or others. Moral harm is characterized by guilt and shame, which are also PTSD symptoms. Moral harm can result in betrayal and a lack of trust, which are both prevalent PTSD symptoms. For example, whether or not they suffered moral injury or PTSD, someone who was abused by a loved one may feel deceived and have difficulties trusting others.

When it comes to the contrasts between the two, PTSD includes symptoms like hyperarousal that aren't related to moral harm. Despite the fact that the primary aspects of moral injury overlap with the symptoms and common features of PTSD, moral harm can exist without meeting the criteria for PTSD (12). Furthermore, distress resulting from morally damaging events can manifest differently than distress resulting from traumatic situations that elicit a fear-based response. One study indicated that re-experiencing, remorse, and self-blame were more common after perpetration-based events (events in which someone did something against one's principles) than life-threatening traumatic experiences (13). Even after controlling for PTSD, depression, and substance use, reporting perpetration is linked to higher suicide thoughts (14).

Having moral harm in addition to PTSD is linked to more severe PTSD and depressive symptoms, as well as a higher risk of suicide thoughts and behaviors (12,15,16). Core elements of moral harm (for example, remorse and shame related to trauma) have also been linked to more severe PTSD, depression, and functional impairment in studies (17,18).

Assessing Moral Injury

There are a variety of self-report measures available to assess moral harm from military and war-related experiences. Some are checklists of events that could be morally harmful (e.g., killing others). Some people also inquire about common moral harm reactions including guilt, shame, and betrayal. The 20-item Moral Injury Questionnaire (MIQ, 19), for example, analyzes exposure to and frequency of situations that Service members may encounter in conflict. Guilt, humiliation, trouble forgiving oneself and others, and withdrawal are all included in a modified form (20). The Moral Injury Incidents Scale (MIES, 21) questions about war-related events such as self-inflicted, other-inflicted, and betrayal. The 17-item Expression of Moral Injury Scale (EMIS, 22) inquires about self- and other-directed moral sentiments experienced during military service.

Another way to measure moral harm is to look at its essential characteristics. The Trauma-Related Guilt Inventory (23), for example, assesses sentiments and ideas about guilt in the aftermath of a traumatic incident. The Trauma Related Shame Inventory (24) is a questionnaire that assesses shame in the aftermath of a traumatic incident. These measures have been tested with non-military samples and the items are not military specific, which is a plus.

Treating Moral Injury

Because of the sentiments of guilt and humiliation connected with morally harmful incidents, it might be difficult for patients to disclose them. Patients may be anxious about a therapist's reactions because therapy is the first time they have shared their tale. They may be puzzled “Is it true that I'm being judged? Is my therapist enraged by me? Is my therapist capable of handling this?” Therapists must express an accepting, nonjudgmental, and compassionate attitude. Therapists must also be aware of their own preconceptions about perpetration, morals, values, and spirituality. Moral injury can lead patients to believe they don't deserve to feel better, which can have a detrimental impact on how much they participate in and adhere to treatment. Self-destructive behavior in treatment or in other areas of life, such as job or relationships, could be signs of a hidden moral harm. As a result, therapists should screen for and address such beliefs in treatment.

Surprisingly little is known about whether PTSD treatment reduces moral injury, owing to the lack of effective measures for detecting change in moral injury until recently. Patients with moral injury may benefit from trauma-focused PTSD treatments such as Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), according to researchers (25,26). Through imaginal and in-vivo exposure, patients can process their emotions and collect context that will help them make sense of the trauma. Through in-vivo experiences, they will be able to reconnect with important values. CPT is intended to assist patients in overcoming beliefs that underpin guilt, humiliation, and betrayal, such as the belief that the patient should have acted differently during the trauma. CPT also addresses self-concerns such as “I am unforgivable,” as well as betrayal and trust beliefs. As a result, both treatments have the potential to tackle the core components of moral harm.

How do I heal myself psychologically?

2. Create something new for yourself

You are born with specific characteristics, capacities, and preferences, and you are shaped by your surroundings. But at some point, you must say to yourself, “OK, this is who I am and how I was developed, but now who do I want to be?” You can lessen your emotional distress by deciding to become a person who will experience less emotional anguish: calmer, less critical, less egoistic, more productive, less self-abusive, and so on.

What is the fastest way to heal an emotional wound?

• Take small measures at first. Trying to make too many adjustments at once can be counterproductive. If you have unrealistic expectations, you may feel overwhelmed or like a failure. Moreover, drastic changes are frequently unsustainable. Making micro-changes, or little, controllable, incremental modifications, can help you feel successful, hopeful, and encouraged as you go through your recovery process. More information on creating micro-changes can be found here.
• It's important to remember that you don't have to heal completely to improve your quality of life. Many people assume that emotional recovery is an all-or-nothing proposition. This belief, once again, can be demoralizing and overpowering. But, most significantly, it is incorrect. Any healing, no matter how small, will improve the quality of your life. Take it one step at a time, and you'll see modest changes in your mood, capacity to handle with triggers, relationships, self-esteem, and ability to do everyday tasks.
• Be persistent and patient. It takes a lot of effort to heal. We must be patient and allow time for new insights and talents to emerge. We also need to be tenacious and keep going even when things get tough, as well as eager to explore new ideas and push ourselves in new directions.
• Set reasonable goals for yourself. Setting realistic expectations is something I strongly believe in. When we don't, we're typically dissatisfied and irritated with ourselves, which isn't conducive to healing. Expecting growth to be steady forward is one of the most prevalent erroneous expectations I find. Nobody merely grows stronger and stronger as they get older, and they get healthier and healthier. It's more likely that you'll take two steps ahead and one step back. And, to be honest, don't be surprised if you take two steps back and one step forward at times. This isn't a setback; it's a fact. And reasonable expectations combined with patience, persistence, and self-compassion will lead to forward development, albeit with a few detours and at a slower pace than you might prefer.
• Consider setbacks to be a necessary element of the learning process. Setbacks are not only common, but they're also expected. We learn a lot more from what doesn't work than from what does. Rather of trying to avoid setbacks or relapses, understand that they are inevitable and challenge yourself to be curious about what you may learn that will help you go toward deeper healing and self-love.
• Make self-compassion and self-care a priority. You have to give a lot to yourself when you ask a lot of yourself. Working on emotional recovery takes a lot of time, effort, and sometimes money. To keep going, you must pay close attention to your feelings and physical sensations in your body (such as tight muscles, headaches, weariness, and so on), as they are your body's way of informing you of what it requires. Take the time to listen to yourself and look for yourself.
• Allow yourself to digest your feelings from the past. Trying to forget what happened in the past is futile. Those sensations tend to remain around for a long, perhaps lying dormant or numbed for a while, but they eventually resurface with a vengeance. This is why therapists frequently discuss the importance of feeling your emotions. We must experience them and give them space before they lose their hold on us and go away completely. You can gradually improve your ability to sit quietly and allow your feelings to surface, name them, and explore what they mean. For many people, this is quite difficult, and working with a therapist can be extremely beneficial.
• Make a request for assistance. Healing isn't supposed to be done alone. It's difficult to ask for help, especially if you've been betrayed before. Reaching out for help, on the other hand, provides numerous advantages, including emotional support, direction, and the capacity to overcome shame. And, because aid can take many different forms depending on your needs, I hope you'll consider it a sort of self-care and seek out the type of assistance that best matches your requirements.

How long does it take to mentally heal?

The length of time you spend in therapy is entirely up to you and is determined by your unique needs, goals, and resources. The number of recommended sessions varies by illness and treatment type, but most psychotherapy clients report feeling better after 3 months; those with depression and anxiety see considerable improvement after 1-2 months and 3-4 months, respectively.

For conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder, it takes about 15-20 sessions for 50% of patients to feel better. Those who receive Cognitive Behavioral Therapy report feeling better after 10-20 sessions, according to research. “I've had a lot of success with people who had situational concerns and simply needed brief counseling,” Catchings remarked.

“However, it's worth noting that therapy isn't just a technique to cure an issue; it's also a way of life,” Catchings explained. “Therapy is similar to going to the gym and exercising or toning our bodies in the same manner that we exercise or tone our minds, hearts, and souls.”

Over the years, I've come to learn that therapy isn't simply about helping people “Fixing” one-time problems for me. Rather, it's about putting my mental health first on a daily basis so that I can be my best self no matter where life takes me.

I am grateful to have my therapist by my side as a skilled and trusted mentor to help me embrace every step of this wild and beautiful adventure called life. With an insatiable thirst for personal growth and a commitment to living a happy life, I am grateful to have my therapist by my side as a skilled and trusted mentor to help me embrace every step of this wild and beautiful adventure called life.

What is a good healing prayer?

I pray to you, loving God, that you will comfort me in my pain, strengthen the hands of my healers, and bless the methods utilized to cure me. Give me such faith in the power of your grace that I may put my complete trust in you, even when I am terrified; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.