Moral Injury: The body in particular

In my last reflections, I spoke about moral injury, MI, in a general sense. Now we take a deep dive into the effects of moral injury on our bodies.?

Many folks think if they do not talk about things bothering them the matter vanishes. It does not. It remains locked within our bodies, silently, gathering unseen momentum, the effects of which may not be initially noticed, but will in time.??

In Bessel A. van der Kolk, The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, he states, “As long as you keep secrets and suppress information, you are fundamentally at war with yourself…” You may respond by saying, if someone is experiencing MI, they are not being traumatised. I would reply, it depends how you understand trauma. Gabor Mate states, “trauma, is not what happens to you, but what happens inside of you as a result of what has happened to you.”

It is clear, as previously explained, MI is a disruption of one's value system affecting our mind, stirring our emotions, then creating a felt physical reaction.??

One of the things to remember is our bodies is an eleven organ systems? Namely, the Integumentary System, Skeletal System, Muscular System, Nervous System, Endocrine System, Cardiovascular System, Lymphatic System, Respiratory System, Digestive System, Urinary System, and Reproductive System (Female and Male).?

Most of us have a basic understanding of these systems, but the two we may not know so readily is the Integumentary System, which is our skin, the largest organ in our bodies, acting as a barrier between the external and interior environment which protects and maintains. The lymphatic system has three main functions. First, maintaining the fluid balance within our bodies. Second, it enables fats to be absorbed into our blood system for metabolism or storage. Three, it is vital for our immune systems. These systems coexist and work collaboratively to ensure our bodies remain in optimal health. We, of course, have an important and intentional role to play in making sure our bodies work well too with diet, exercise and general well-being upkeep.?

It does not take long to understand that a disruption of one’s core values can have a catastrophic effect on our entire body. Some folks may still not be convinced. Consider this for a moment. How many times has someone made a negative comment about you and it has upset you? Where do you feel that upset? Within your body. Your emotions are affected, so are your thoughts and your ability to think rationally. Many folks, if they do not talk about what bothers them, begin to ache, as they hold the pain of being upset within their body. If emotional pain is not expressed, where else can it go? It finds suitable lodging places within our bodies.

As you can imagine, the cost of MI on our bodies or well-being, is, at one level, personal, and there is no way we can escape its effects. Without being too drastic, the clashing of our core values due to events we witness, or indeed we have colluded with or have perpetrated wrongdoing, can cause, what I might term, an internal tsunami. The idea of an internal tsunami is not so far-fetched as you may imagine.??

In the world of oceanography, the notion of internal tsunamis is not unknown. It refers to ‘underwater earthquakes or landslides which are largely unpredictable.’ Though none has been visibly seen, oceanographers are able to measure and “depict the subsurface effects of sediment mass failure with extraordinary detail and reveal fundamental processes that have yet to be represented in numerical models." It will be good to read the comments of Robert Monroe, author and editor at Scripps Institution of oceanography, for more clarification. .?

While surface tsunamis are notable for the devastating impacts they have on land, the energy of internal tsunami waves is confined to the ocean interior where it may have drastic consequences. Until they dissipate, internal tsunamis hold the potential to reshape vast swaths of the seafloor, alter large scale patterns in ocean circulation and threaten deep sea ecosystems.

There are valuable lessons we can learn from nature. For things not to get worse there needs to be an expression or diffusion of this inner energy. As humans, we are no less different. While there is much current discussion about people being resilient we still have to take time to express what we are going through if we are to avoid serious consequences.?

I remain committed to Sigmund Freud’s quote. “Unexpressed emotions never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.” Bessell van der Kolk's earlier comment is even more troubling when he states, “...you are fundamentally at war with yourself.”

We know there are seldom any winners in war, and when a nation has been devastated the process of rebuilding does not happen over a few weeks or months. No, it can take many expensive years. The rebuilding of physical structures can take years, but the negative effect on people and the redevelopment of confidence can last for generations.??

The stress of MI, and the total effect it can have on our bodies, cannot be measured. However, one area of our being often forgotten is the impact MI can have on our largest organ, our skin. We may go to our doctors for medication to deal with our inability to sleep and other ailments brought about by MI, but our skin is often neglected to our detriment. It is during these extended times of immense stress, or unexpressed inner angst, we need to have an active skin moisturising regime, male and female alike. Failure to do so can leave our skin dry, taut, open to skin problems, often coupled with premature and rapid ageing.?

Learn to be kind to yourself and not allow your body to remain at war with itself. You do have a choice.