The Challenges of Spiritual Healing for Veterans

Those who have lived through the trials of military life have vastly different experiences than their civilian counterparts. Navigating active warzones, on-base cultures, and other life-threatening situations can have intense and traumatic lasting effects on physical and mental health. Overcoming physical injury, trauma, and more is difficult, with many veterans benefitting from dedicated healing programs to address these needs. However, many veterans may also experience damage to their spiritual beliefs after service. Engaging in effective spiritual healing is crucial for a healthy and comprehensive treatment, and knowing how military life can affect spirituality or impede effective spiritual healing can empower each veteran to focus on this important aspect of recovery.

While many veterans may be focusing on overcoming chronic pains, trauma, or substance abuse stemming from their time on duty, tending to a person’s spiritual well-being is equally as important. 

Spiritual healing is complicated, and can even seem enigmatic. Each person will approach it differently. For many, spiritual healing is about finding a connection to personal beliefs and the energies of the world, either in the form of a higher power, connection to nature, or other beliefs. It is an active and evolving aspect of daily life that explores perspectives about belonging and acceptance, with a person’s spiritual health intimately linked to other needs. However, this dimension of healing can often go overlooked or misunderstood, and Hawaii Island Recovery’s dedicated approach to spiritual healing is essential for a comprehensive and sustainable approach to change following addiction, trauma, and more among veterans.

Healthy and practiced spiritual beliefs can be greatly impactful and can bring new ways to challenge feelings of anxiety, depression, and isolation while building personal identity in veteran life. Exploring spiritual beliefs also provides a more resilient approach to other areas of healing while furthering community engagement and understanding to pursue personal goals in recovery.

Veterans must address many common and palpable barriers to their spiritual healing in civilian life. While many veterans may be pursuing a healthier lifestyle through programs to address mental health disorders, trauma, addiction, and more at a dedicated treatment facility, incorporating spiritual healing into these programs is paramount. At Hawaii Island Recovery, each veteran has an opportunity to explore what spirituality means to them and create a plan to address the unique barriers they face. 

Traumatic events can fundamentally reshape a person’s life, attitudes, worldview, and more. Not only can physical injuries or chronic pains serve as persistent reminders of traumatic events but these experiences can also change a person’s perspective on daily life and affect their core beliefs. Navigating life-threatening situations in the line of duty, witnessing violence, or the loss of brothers or sisters in arms can all profoundly affect each veteran’s faith, beliefs, and spirituality. 

Engaging in effective trauma-informed treatment can empower veterans to best confront these experiences in a safe and understanding environment. Meanwhile, Hawaii Island Recovery employs trauma-informed professionals and communal healing to address the effects of trauma among veterans while creating a healthy approach to spiritual healing. 

Moral injury occurs when an individual acts against their own moral or ethical code and performs an action in the line of duty they may not morally agree with. This is common while following uncertain orders from superior officers. However, moral injury can also occur by observing another engage in personally unethical behavior as a witness or bystander who did not act in the face of such actions. 

Experiencing moral injury can profoundly affect veterans’ spiritual beliefs, compromising a person’s spiritual well-being while bringing profound feelings of guilt, shame, doubt, and more into daily life. These experiences can also have intense and lasting effects on a veteran’s mental health, behaviors, and even impact a veteran’s use of addictive substances, all while damaging spiritual beliefs, convictions, or practices.

Feelings of isolation are common following a veteran’s time on active duty, and this isolation comes in various forms. Many may feel they cannot meaningfully connect with civilians or their families following military life due to their drastically different experiences, making it difficult for non-military personnel to understand or sympathize with their challenges. Others may feel culturally isolated after leaving military life when faced with culture shock and transition stress. 

However, this feeling of isolation can extend to create feelings of “spiritual abandonment,” where a veteran feels disconnected even from their own beliefs and practices, compromising one of the essential parts of spirituality – a space of belonging. Thus, finding a treatment program that addresses spiritual healing and acknowledges these barriers veterans face is paramount. 

Spiritual healing is necessary for truly transformative change. Hawaii Island Recovery’s approach to rehab in Hawaii understands the need to develop strategies that address each veteran’s spiritual well-being and foster a community of acceptance, belonging, and personal spiritual exploration for a sustainable and healthy life as a veteran. 

Spiritual healing is a crucial part of any recovery journey, and many veterans will need to explore their spiritual health alongside effective practices for challenging addiction, trauma, mental health needs, and more. At Hawaii Island Recovery, our dedicated veteran programs are equipped to introduce you to not just a community of veteran peers and trauma-informed professionals, but a unique approach that blends spiritual health practices into all programs for a holistic and comprehensive approach to a healthy, sober life. Diving into spiritual healing can be difficult, and having a community and atmosphere curated to your needs can empower you to explore your best spiritual practices. For more information on our spiritual rehab in Hawaii, call us at  (866) 390-5070.