- What Is Moral Injury?
- Take our Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Test
- Find counselling near me
Key points
- A trauma researcher argues that Homer’s Odyssey was among the earliest depictions of PTSD and moral injury.
- Moral injury occurs when someone’s actions—often during war—violate their conscience. It’s distinct from PTSD.
- A 2022 CBT treatment called Impact of Killing helps veterans heal guilt through self-forgiveness.
- Four impactful films, from 1946 to today, dramatize the guilt that follows killing in war.
As Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” approaches the $1 billion milestone at the global box office, much of the dialogue around the film has focused on its moral messaging
PTSD researcher and clinician Dr. Amy Badura-Brack, who has worked with veterans for years, refers to Homer’s The Odyssey as one of the first written examples of post-traumaticstress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury. PTSD is a psychiatric condition that can happen when an individual experiences or witnesses one or many traumatic events. Moral injury is when the conscience or moral compass is damaged by something one does, witnesses, or can’t prevent from happening. Moral injury can sometimes overlap with PTSD in certain individuals, but not always.
In The Odyssey, moral injury and PTSD do overlap. When Odysseus breaks Zeus’ law of xenia (the sacred code of hospitality), he feels he crossed a moral boundary. Using deception to win the war sets Odysseus into a tailspin at sea, where he is haunted by shame, guilt, spiritual vacancy, and the dangerous songs of the sirens
Since we can’t always have the Greek mythological goddess Calypso appear to guide us toward healing, we, mere humans, must learn to use the tools within us to challenge a spiral into despair. In 2022, psychology researchers created an effective CBT treatment to address moral injury and PTSD in veterans called Impact of Killing (IOK). It helps veterans challenge distorted thinking about themselves (e.g., “I’m a bad person,” “I deserve to suffer”), with a focus on self-forgiveness
3 More Examples of Moral Injury in Film
Spanning 1946 to 1989, here are three award-winning films (aside from Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”) that shine a light on the guilt, shame, depression, self-doubt, and moral distress that can result from killing
“The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946) is the story of Fred Derry (Dana Andrews), a former Army Air Forces bomber pilot, who spirals into despair upon returning from the war. He has nightmares, loses his job, and feels isolated from everyone around him. His moral injury shows up as guilt and shame that happen even when you are killing people from thousands of feet in the air
“The Deer Hunter” (1978) is a brutal reminder of the random violence that war can inflict on survivors. Vietnam vet Nick (Christopher Walken) falls into a deep self-destructive moral spiral that ends tragically, and Mike (Robert De Niro), a sergeant turned Green Beret, also traumatized, returns to Vietnam to try to bring Nick home
“Born on the Fourth of July” (1989) is arguably the best portrayal of moral injury as described by Burkman et al. in their research on the Impact of Killing (IOK). Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) is paralyzed from the waist down, but that is secondary to the extreme guilt and shame he feels for accidentally killing a fellow Marine. His self-loathing turns into alcoholism and self-destruction, and he must face the family of the man he killed and tell them what happened. His confession becomes his first step to recovery.
If you or someone you know may be struggling with PTSD or moral injury from war, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs (VA) offers several good treatment programs for Veterans. Please do not hesitate to ask for help. You can also look for mental health support near you by visiting Psychology Today’s Therapy Directory
- What Is Moral Injury?
- Take our Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Test
- Find counselling near me
Burkman, K., Gloria, R., Mehlman, H. et al. Treatment for Moral Injury: Impact of Killing in War. Curr Treat Options Psych 9, 101–114 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40501-022-00262-6
Times, N. Y. (2026, August 15). Opinion | The moral message of the new ‘Odyssey.’ The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/opinion/odyssey-morality.html
VanderWeele, T. J., Wortham, J. S., Carey, L. B., Case, B. W., Cowden, R. G., Duffee, C., Jackson-Meyer, K., Lu, F., Mattson, S. A., Padgett, R. N., Peteet, J. R., Rutledge, J., Symons, X., & Koenig, H. G. (2025). Moral trauma, moral distress, moral injury, and moral injury disorder: definitions and assessments. Frontiers in psychology, 16, 1422441. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1422441
