EMOTIONAL WOUND THESAURUS

CROSSING MORAL LINES TO SURVIVE



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HELPFUL TIP:

Emotional wounds will steer a character's behavior, corrupt his worldview, and cause negative traits to form. To understand exactly how this occurs, please read our tutorial for the Wound Thesaurus.

NOTE: We realize that sometimes a wound we profile may have personal meaning, stirring up the past for some of our readers. It is not our intent to create emotional turmoil. Please know that we research each wounding topic carefully to treat it with the utmost respect.
NOTES:
Moral beliefs will vary person to person. What counts as "crossing the line" for one character may not faze another.

EXAMPLES:
Stealing food or other resources
Torturing someone for information
Prostitution
Robbing someone for their resources
Cannibalism
Breaking into someone's home out of a dire need
Buying an organ on the black market
Injuring or abandoning someone as a sacrifice so one can escape a greater threat
Being forced to kill (in an arena, as a child soldier, etc.)
Cheating on taxes, avoiding payments, or hiding resources to keep what one needs to live on
Poisoning water or food to weaken or kill an enemy one can't afford to face in open battle
Paying for a hit-man to kill a violent or abusive partner
Hiring a killer to take care of a enemy who is a direct threat to one's life
Killing animals to feed one's family (when one is morally opposed to taking a life)
Looking the other way in order to stay off a dangerous entity's radar
Killing family pets for food
Leaving someone to die because of a greater risk (denying access to a lifeboat because more weight will cause it to sink)
Stealing medication from people who need it in order to give it to a loved one
Murdering someone who is a dangerous threat to one's survival
Committing atrocities for fear of being killed by someone in power
Sacrificing the life of one person to save many
Engaging in human sacrifice if one has no choice
Aiding others who commit heinous crimes in order to stay alive (being an overseer in a slave camp, working as a driver for a human trafficking network, etc.)

WOUND CATEGORY:
Crime and Victimization, Failures and Mistakes, Injustice and Hardship, Traumatic Events

BASIC NEEDS OFTEN COMPROMISED BY THIS WOUND:
safety and security, love and belonging, esteem and recognition, self-actualization

LIES THAT MAY DEVELOP FOR CHARACTERS WITH THIS WOUND:
They're a monster and can never make up for what they did
They're unworthy of love
No one could ever understand their choices, so they must take the secret to the grave
They don't deserve happiness or fulfillment
They deserve to suffer for what they did
Sharing their story will only burden the listener
People will never believe they didn't like or approve of what happened
They'll be eternally damned for what they've done
They don't deserve to live
Only their death will balance the scales
The world is a cruel place
The government can not be counted on in a crisis

THE CHARACTER MAY FEAR:
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POSSIBLE RESPONSES AND RESULTS:
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POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAY RESULT:
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NEGATIVE TRAITS THAT MAY RESULT:
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TRIGGERS THAT MIGHT AGGRAVATE THIS WOUND:
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STEPS TOWARD HEALING:
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OPPORTUNITIES TO FACE OR OVERCOME THIS WOUND:
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