In effort to reduce veterans' suicide rate, officials seek to deal with 'moral injury'

Jun 25 2013

WBUR: Defining The Deep Pain PTSD Doesn't Capture
An estimated 22 veterans kill themselves in the U.S. each day. And suicide among men and women on active duty hit a record high last year -- 349. As veterans and researchers try to figure out why, there's growing interest in a condition known as "moral injury," or wounds to a veteran's spirit or soul from events that "transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations." The concept has helped former Marine Corps Capt. Tyler Boudreau understand years of pain that medication and therapy for PTSD didn't address. He tells his story, somewhat reluctantly, from the living room of his blue clapboard home in Northampton, Mass (Bebinger, 6/24).