Therapeutic effect of VR simulations

We often talk about virtual reality technology in the context of marketing and business, as a powerful tool that allows you to increase sales and involve the buyer in the history of a brand or company.

Nevertheless, virtual reality can be viewed from a therapeutic point of view: it can be a supportive tool for people with disabilities, as well as for those who suffer from increased anxiety, suffer panic attacks or struggle with phobias and fears, and those who need help to keep moving.

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VR can make the small big and the unreal possible, and it really helps to abstract.

Today I want to distract you a little from the developments and the latest technologies and tell you about the unusual direction of our company through examples of how you can use the incredible possibilities of virtual reality to get a therapeutic effect.

Meditation under water

With so much negative news permeating our lives, anxiety reaches a catastrophic level. And sometimes you need to find something that can distract. Research conducted by University College London has shown that 10-20 minutes of daily and mindful meditation helps to get out of a state of anxiety and avoid the phenomenon overthinking (translated from English. – paddocks), but a large percentage of people face difficulties when meditating: it’s hard to sit in silence, listening only to their breathing. In this case, simulating nature or the underwater world in VR is the best way out.

Wevr offers to plunge into the life of marine life with the help of VR content theBlu. The musical accompaniment is chosen so that the user can listen to himself without being distracted, and the fascinating quality of the picture attracts the eye to the marine fauna. The most important advantage is that you are in the underwater world and in your room at the same time.

There are a lot of variations of virtual meditation. Try Guided Meditation VR, as a classic form of daily practice. Lots of colorful scenes that you can view while still focusing on your breathing and inner feelings.

Sometimes it happens that we feel restless, and there is no way to tune in to meditation. In this case, I recommend trying to make a virtual teleportation from your apartment to a modern house in the mountains using Index SteamVR. The house is interactive, you can move around it, view the landscape or admire the butterflies. If you feel more excited and joyful, having conjured in the settings, you can find yourself in the Doctor Who TARDIS, visit Rick and Morty’s garage or visit Dunder Mifflin’s office.

Take a closer look at the proposed methods, and, quite possibly, the fear and rejection of meditation will be replaced by pleasure and comfort for you.

Virtual journey

The situation with the coronavirus pandemic has had a hard impact on those who spend their free time hiking or traveling around the cities of the world. Trips became unattainable, and the developers of VR applications quickly found an answer for those who were burning with a thirst for adventure, even in such a difficult time.

The Steam library offers many simulations of real-life places in the world, and everyone can make a virtual teleport from anywhere.

The user has a real opportunity to visit distant and previously unexplored places, for example, relax on Castlerock Beach in Australia, explore the misty beauty of Iceland on foot, or get into the history and culture of Japan by walking through local temples. You will not notice how the flight of fantasy itself will direct you to where you want with all your heart, relieving anxiety and tension about the fact that real trips are impossible.

For those who have become inaccessible to familiar places or favorite childhood locations during the pandemic, the VR version is perfect Google Earth. Just imagine walking through the alleys of your memory, turning over the memorable pages of your past in real time, gliding along familiar streets or walking through your favorite park.

In addition to memories from childhood, the user has the opportunity to refresh his memory of any past trip, switching from aerial views to the landscape and back. Such virtual “trips” perfectly relieve nostalgia and an obsessive desire to go somewhere. Users gain new memories and emotions while staying in their favorite upholstered chair.

Socialization

The need to keep in touch with loved ones during the general quarantine, literally, chained us to the screens of our gadgets. Facetime and Zoom can’t offer us more than a flat image locked inside the screen, but many of us have missed the warmth and presence of loved ones, and wondered how to gather a family without leaving home?

VRChat has been around for a long time, where users actively spend time with each other, communicating and getting to know each other. Nevertheless, it is not suitable for the chamber format of meetings.

For example, Rec Room, a cross-platform application for small companies or families.

Rec Room is a place where people come after school or from work to spend time with friends. It’s not just a game. It’s a destination like a park, a restaurant or a stadium.

Nick Faith, CEO of Rec Room

The ability to customize the characters, make them look like real ones – all this gives an immersive effect and allows you to understand that relatives and relatives really gathered in one room. Communication is not the limit of the application, it also provides interactive and games for the company, so that spending time together in virtual reality gives the same positive emotions as a general meeting on a holiday or a family outing.

Considering immersive technologies in this way, the therapeutic effect of their impact on a person becomes obvious. By immersing oneself in a simulation that generates positive emotions, the state of mind improves, anxiety recedes.

The Black VR team is interested in the scientific development of this area, and now we are actively involved in the development of a VR application aimed at combating panic attacks and phobias.

According to various research centers, on average, 1.9% to 3.6% of the population are susceptible to panic attacks, and in 70% of cases women suffer, as well as children and adolescents are susceptible to PA.

Throughout life, people experience various shocks, and, undoubtedly, they leave a certain imprint on the psyche. Our application will become a complex of theoretical knowledge of current psychologists and psychotherapists and a special practical program that will adapt to a specific case and offer the most effective solution.

VR sessions will immerse the user in situations in which he will be able to see his fear from the outside, study it and overcome it, and the progress of treatment will be recorded in the profile so that the patient can observe his path of struggle, and also discuss all the exciting moments with his specialist.

We remain of the opinion that the application should be anonymous, since we do not exclude the participation of those who, for certain reasons, do not attend group or individual therapy: fears, bad experiences, health restrictions, so we prioritize the privacy of each user.

At the moment, our project is undergoing a competitive selection, and I cannot disclose all the features of the development. Nevertheless, I am sure that over time I will be able to initiate you into the process of creating this unique and important application.

Virtual Reality Company | Virtual Reality Development