Daphne Caruana Galizia's brutal assassination could lead to collective moral injury, psychiatrist Walter Busuttil warned.
Moral injury was defined as damage to one’s psychological, cultural and spiritual conscience resulting from “a shocking transgression”. The condition could extend from individuals to groups and was often characterised by a “shattering” of well-held positive values and assumptions about institutions, oneself and others.
“It is the feeling that things that should have been done by those in power were or are not done,” Dr Busuttil continued.
When a transformative event occurred, people were shocked and that shock would have a ripple effect on an entire nation. Despite not being considered a moral illness, moral injury was an issue that had to be addressed head-on within the group, he insisted.
Addressing a conference on ‘Well-being post-trauma’, Dr Busuttil recounted experiences of working with British communities after the Grenfell Tower incident, where at least 80 people died when a fire engulfed a west London block.
When news broke that the cladding in the building was not fireproof and that victims were not well-protected, the people collectively felt like institutions of power had failed them, Dr Busuttil said.
Moral injury was first detected among military staff, who felt disillusioned by commanders and the hierarchical system they found themselves in.
“Discussion is the solution,” he said.
“People should speak about the event in a way that does not inflame the situation.”
He noted that transparent public information would help the community deal with the scar left after the assassination.
Normally, the Maltese community always comes together during similar distressing events like the one of last Monday, Dr Busuttil remarked, describing how the nation’s unity during World War II prevented mental health illness rates from rising.
Social Solidarity Minister Michael Falzon said mental health had to be given priority and called for an end to stigma on the topic.
The conference centred around post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition that some develop after experiencing shocking or dangerous events.
PTSD is characterised by an instant and enduring personality change that comes after ‘catastrophic stress’. People suffering from the disorder avoid stressors that remind them of the original trauma but continue to re-experience high stress levels.
Most of those exposed to traumatic events do not develop PTSD.
Dr Busuttil, managing director of Combat Stress, said the best way to prevent and mitigate PTSD was to be surrounded with strong social support systems and to speak openly about feelings on the event.