Could VR help mental health?

[StaceyPowers]

“Some researchers have found [VR] technology to be especially potent at solving mental health issues like anxiety, addiction, and social isolation. Today’s virtual reality startups are in the game of creating and perfecting illusions to help users cope with reality, not disconnect from it.”

What are your thoughts? Do you think VR could help mental health for some users?

[Kane99]

2 hours ago, StaceyPowers said:

“Some researchers have found [VR] technology to be especially potent at solving mental health issues like anxiety, addiction, and social isolation. Today’s virtual reality startups are in the game of creating and perfecting illusions to help users cope with reality, not disconnect from it.”

What are your thoughts? Do you think VR could help mental health for some users?

Do you have the source for this article? I'd love to take a look. 

I know that SomeordinaryGamers for example has played Minecraft VR to help with his insomnia. I included the video below where he talks about this. It's really interesting, because I could see myself doing this if I had a VR headset. 

 

[StaceyPowers]

1 hour ago, Kane99 said:

Do you have the source for this article? I'd love to take a look. 

I know that SomeordinaryGamers for example has played Minecraft VR to help with his insomnia. I included the video below where he talks about this. It's really interesting, because I could see myself doing this if I had a VR headset.

 

Ack! So sorry, here it is: https://www.thedailybeast.com/virtual-reality-could-completely-transform-mental-health-if-were-ready-for-it

[Kane99]

Thanks for sharing! 🙂 

There's a lot VR could probably do. I could see some people using it for therapy, like maybe seeing a therapist instead of having to go in person. Or it could be a way to cope with certain problems. Like my previous post, someone used it for insomnia. I could see it being used to help people through anxiety as well. 

[Clasher]

VR is said to posses a lot of potentials and helping to solve mental health issues could be one of them.

I hope it more really good benefits of VR are found and thus could be a big breakthrough for video games.

[Withywarlock]

I could see it being used in the same way sensory toys are used for disabled persons. When I was growing up I couldn't be left at home as there were no child-minders, so I had to go with my mum to her workplace at a care home. I'd often be bored so like a lot of the people there, I'd indulge in the watching and playing with the sensory gubbins. VR in a place like that would probably be great for a lot of people once the physical health kinks are worked out like eye-strain and headaches.

[Kane99]

4 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

I could see it being used in the same way sensory toys are used for disabled persons. When I was growing up I couldn't be left at home as there were no child-minders, so I had to go with my mum to her workplace at a care home. I'd often be bored so like a lot of the people there, I'd indulge in the watching and playing with the sensory gubbins. VR in a place like that would probably be great for a lot of people once the physical health kinks are worked out like eye-strain and headaches.

Yeah that's a really good point. I could see many people using it to help with sensory issues, especially those with autism and other neurodivergent conditions. I could also see some people using VR to help them socialize, and deal with certain problems. 

As for eye strain and headaches, I feel like it'd be the opposite, in that it would eventually cause those for some people. But if it can help, that'd be awesome. 

[Empire]

In some ways no. Like gaming in general is unhealthy, physically and mentally, for me at least. If you're doing VR games with a decent amount of physical activity as a component my first guess is you are not getting enough exercise and general physical activity in your normal day to day life. Lack of exercise is for sure a major underlying problem in a lot of people with depression and anxiety.

[Gonassis]

like all tools available to mankind, VR can be good, when used for good with the right goals in mind, likewise it can be also very bad, bad to the level of addicting and could damage your vision, maybe.

 

and we haven't even brought in the sci-fi dystopia scenarios fiction authors present to us yet.

after all, at the rate technology is progressing, it's only a matter of time before sci-fi, becomes sci-fact. 😅

[Withywarlock]

On 8/15/2022 at 9:36 PM, Kane99 said:

As for eye strain and headaches, I feel like it'd be the opposite, in that it would eventually cause those for some people.

I should've clarified: the kinks - including eye strain and headaches - need to be worked out. Those are problems my partner and I had using the VR headsets at York's Van Gogh Experience. It was especially bad for my darling because she has syncope (fainting spells brought on by blood-oxygen content mishaps), so if she'd played any longer her motion sickness might've got the better of her.

1 hour ago, Gonassis said:

and we haven't even brought in the sci-fi dystopia scenarios fiction authors present to us yet.

It's happened to cows, so there may be a depressing chance of it coming to us. 🤷‍♂️

[Kane99]

2 hours ago, Withywarlock said:

I should've clarified: the kinks - including eye strain and headaches - need to be worked out. Those are problems my partner and I had using the VR headsets at York's Van Gogh Experience. It was especially bad for my darling because she has syncope (fainting spells brought on by blood-oxygen content mishaps), so if she'd played any longer her motion sickness might've got the better of her.

It's happened to cows, so there may be a depressing chance of it coming to us. 🤷‍♂️

Unfortunately I don't think those kinks could be worked out. You're eyes are facing a screen for hours on end, it's most likely going to cause eye strain at some point. I know looking at a TV screen or computer screen for a long time can be bad for your eyes, especially if it's blue light. If they made it possible to add options to protect your eyes, that would help, like with the night light option on windows to tint your screen a bit yellow to help stop blue light from bothering you. 

Some people can probably last longer in VR than others, but there will probably always be some eye strain due to playing long enough. 

[The Blackangel]

I honestly don't see any way it could help mental health. A headset (gaming or not) isn't going to make a real difference. It could in fact make things worse. For example, I'm schizophrenic. Wearing a headset like that could make the voices and and visions more prominent when you take it off.

[Justin11]

Me too, I don't see how VR gonna take away that mental health issue from me when I'm too skeptical to move outside of the normal life. In fact it will cause tension and hypertension due to the fear of living outside the realms of this world to another world of non existence. 

[Lens]

On 8/21/2022 at 11:30 PM, Justin11 said:

Me too, I don't see how VR gonna take away that mental health issue from me when I'm too skeptical to move outside of the normal life. In fact it will cause tension and hypertension due to the fear of living outside the realms of this world to another world of non existence. 

I understand your skepticism, but I know that VR is a powerful tool for exposure therapy because It's not about escaping the reality but it's all about confronting and overcoming fears.

[Button]

VR can be used to teach relaxation techniques, like deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, or even meditation.