2 minute read

Virtual Reality for People with PTSD

Written by Anvitha Mattapalli, Edited by Harvi Karatha & Shoffana Sundaramoorthy, Layout by Inchara J, Art by Sahithi Lingampalli, & Blogged by Taruni Manam

Virtual reality can be found in our everyday lives. It’s used in the military to prepare with simulations and formulate strategies. It’s used in healthcare for professionals to practice certain surgeries without running the risk of endangering patients. It’s even common in video games. Now, we can add yet another application to the list: PTSD therapy.

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Firstly, what is PTSD? PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. When someone experiences or witnesses a traumatic event, recovery may be difficult. PTSD is a disorder that can arise from this. The person relives the event in their daily lives or in their nightmares. They may try to avoid places that trigger vivid memories of the traumatic event. PTSD is commonly treated with medication or cognitive behavioral therapy. Recently, Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) has become popular as well. VRET has been used in the past for other mood and anxiety disorders, but this marks the first time it is being used for PTSD.

In order to understand how Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy works, we need to dive into exposure therapy. When people with PTSD avoid facing their fears and/or remembering the event, it can cause their PTSD to become more severe. This also prevents them from learning about the situation. For instance, if a person was abused in a relationship, they may have difficulty forming new ones or maintaining their current ones. This is detrimental to their health as they are lacking the love and social interaction needed to live a high quality life. Exposure therapy helps with this by placing the person in an environment similar to the traumatic event to face their fears head on.

For some cases, the person can be in a real-life scenario to mirror the event. In other cases, this can be dangerous. If we consider someone who has fought on a battlefield, their scenario is not something we can recreate because that puts them in danger. This is where virtual reality comes into play. The person either wears the head-mount screen or stays in a room surrounded by computer screens. Visuals are presented on the screen to ‘recreate’ the desired environment that the person must face their fears in. Other senses may be used through sound and smell to enhance the experience. After going through VRET, the person will talk about how they felt with their therapist, and by using this regularly over time, the intensity of their PTSD symptoms will diminish.

Soldiers have used VRET to reduce their PTSD symptoms. VRET is not quite common due to its high expense, but some therapists do offer this method. Most therapists also provide other versions of exposure therapy. It is through the advancement of technology like virtual reality that we make this world a better place.

References

BrainLine. (2021, June 7). Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET). BrainLine. https://www.brainline.org/treatment-hub/virtual-reality-exposure-therapy-vret.

Tull, M. (2020, June 29). How Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) Treats PTSD. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/virtual-reality-exposure-therapy-vret-2797340.

By Sahithi Lingampalli

By Sahithi Lingampalli

By Sahithi Lingampalli

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