3.3.3. Moral Sensemaking
pain
During 3MDR, participants began to make sense of their own experiences, choices, and actions, and reconcile with who they felt they had become. In their sensemaking quest, participants tackled big questions and faced the chaos and demons in their Black Box with honesty and humility. That is, they felt supported and thus were able to become vulnerable through identifying and giving voice to unfettered thoughts and feelings, rather than remaining on autopilot or repeating previous narratives. They were able to lament without being judged by allowing themselves to share their messy truths. Many reported a shift from an ideological either/or worldview to a multifaceted worldview that accepted rather than rejected their emotional reactions, dissonant cognitions and fractured worldviews. Through this messy, painful process, participants were able to make sense of their unconscious experiences, reconcile their value-based pain, and (re)claim their self-dignity. They were also able to feel the full spectrum of emotions related to their deployment(s) experiences, their actions, the world, and themselves.







