Healing Moral Injury and Trauma in Veterans

Some war stories do not stay in the past. They follow you into work, marriage, fatherhood, sleep, and the quiet moments when your mind starts replaying what happened and what it meant. This conversation goes straight at that weight by unpacking moral injury, the kind of wound that hits when combat collides with your deepest values. It gets into why so many veterans carry pain that standard conversations about PTSD do not fully explain, and why healing takes more than time. Dr. Edward Tick brings nearly five decades of work with veterans into a discussion about what war can do to the soul, the body, the family, and the community around the veteran. He explains why early support matters, why civilians need to stop relying on a Hollywood version of war, and why veterans often need a path to atonement, service, and reconciliation to move forward. You will hear powerful stories about returning to Vietnam, facing the damage left behind, building something good in response, and finding a way to live with dignity after events that still cut deep. This episode is for veterans who have ever felt trapped between what they had to do and who they believed they were. It is also for families, friends, and civilians who want to understand how to stand beside a veteran without turning away from the hard parts. Stay with this one through the stories about immediate healing, community rituals, and the kind of service that helps a man believe he can still be a force for good. Timestamps: 00:13:04 - What moral injury is and why it cuts so deep 00:20:40 - Why troops should be taught that killing hurts 00:25:49 - Healing journeys back to Vietnam and the role of atonement 00:36:34 - Marines don't kill children, and the moment that changed everything 00:47:00 - Why civilians must help take the war out of returning veterans Links & Resources Veteran Suicide & Crisis Line: Dial 988, then press 1 Website: https://www.edwardtick.com/ Follow Edward Tick, PhD on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdwardTickAuthor/ Follow Edward Tick, PhD on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mentorthesoul.guide/ Follow Edward Tick, PhD on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-tick-ph-d-59177111/