Virtual reality has been used to help treat severe paranoia.
Patients who suffered persecutory delusions were encouraged to step into a computer-generated Underground train carriage and a lift.
The simulations allowed the study’s 30 patients to learn social situations they feared were actually safe.
The research at Oxford University, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, was funded by the Medical Research Council.
Members of one group of patients were told to use their normal defensive behaviour, such as avoiding eye contact.
The rest of the patients were encouraged to lower their defences and try to learn they were safe by approaching computer characters (avatars) and standing toe-to-toe or staring at them.
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I’ve always found it important to face my fears
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I’ve invested myself so much in an elaborate persecutory scheme that I’m afraid this technique wouldn’t help me.
It wouldn’t work for some of my paranoias either, but it might work for some people.
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My fears when out are due to the immediacy and close contact with other people. I think the detachment provided by a computer headset wouldn’t be able to reproduce this.
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this sounds great, would like to try it.
I try to do social things everyday to improve my skills but I dont always go somewhere everyday
this sounds like a useful tool
I think the thrust of this expt. was to compare the VR “exposure” experience (to fear/worry-inducing social situations) to a VR exposure experience where people were encouraged to use CBT-like techniques to confront their fears, rather than reverting to their safety behaviors.
My son has as his primary, dominant, & most disabling symptom, severe paranoia coupled with anxiety. Real life is just too much on exposure therapy – but he’s a techie & I’m intrigued, wondering if he could be “stepped” (by VR w/ CBT like this expt.) towards facing some of his fears in VR, then possibly reap benefits of paranoia reduction.
Fascinating to read that several of you w/paranoia don’t think it would work for you, for various reasons. Crimby’s comment about investment in the scheme was very insightful & helpful to me.
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