Generally, people at some point in their lives have been affected by many other neurological or mental disorders like depression and anxiety. The World Health Organization has also stated that one in four people will be affected once, disturbing. Estimated around 450 million people currently are suffering from such conditions every day.
Because mental disorders are among the leading causes of ill-health and disability worldwide, V.R. welcomes additional treatment. Studies have also shown that it can be used to ease phobias and to treat PTSD also to help people with other psychotic disorders and anxiety in public places.
As the cost and technology have some limitations as V.R. is not readily available everywhere as a treatment. However, the rise of affordable standalone and mobile V.R. headsets increase opportunities to bring a change and provide treatment.
PTSD has affected 7.7 million people, as one of the three people who have experienced a lot of traumatic events that will have PTSD. The symptoms usually are insomnia or personality changes. Exposure therapy is like repeatedly exposing patients who have gone through trauma in their life through treatments like medication and psychotherapy. V.R. is hoped to be a particularly successful method of exposure therapy.
Bravemind is often considered a success and has been helpful as a part of the psychotherapy plans that have helped veterans process their experiences, reduce panic attacks, and even sleep without medication, sometimes for the first time in years.
Phobias and Anxiety Disorder
- For many years now, V.R. therapy has been used in clinics to treat various phobias and anxiety disorders. Anxiety has affected at least 40 million people in the U.S. (18.1% of the population) and costs $42 billion per year is estimated till now. Some specific phobias affect about 19 million individuals in the states like the U.S.
- Despite the fact, there is a vast number of patients affected by some form of anxiety disorder, who can only receive 36.9% treatment. This is also where companies like Mimerse can also make a fundamental change in the world. Since 2014, the virtual pharmacy has been in the making as it develops therapeutic V.R. apps.
- “Immerse” has been working with clinicians, scientists, healthcare, and platform providers to create a scalable future of mental healthcare. The company’s products include relaxation and meditation experiences for inculcating calm and reducing the stress experienced. At the same time, apps that try to tackle phobias like the fear of public speaking or talking to strangers and flying are coming soon. Mass-market apps like this could offer massive value for individuals globally.
APPLICATIONS OF VR IN HEALTHCARE
There are two different focuses of V.R. in healthcare: V.R. as a simulation tool and V.R. as an interaction tool. Physicians and surgeons mainly use V.R. as a simulation tool, while the interaction focus predominates in behavioral medicine.
In healthcare, V.R. techniques have broad applications ranging from diagnosis, treatment, counseling, and rehabilitation to also the designing of hospitals. That can be used for education and instruction in medical, dental, nursing, and paramedical schools. Students can acquire knowledge of the human body in a virtual environment. V.R. has also been used to teach the skills of recording an a12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). Students can also interact with and examine a virtual patient and learn skills they can apply in the real world.
USES OF VR IN PSYCHIATRY
- Virtual Reality has been used in conjunction with counseling and cognitive behavior therapy to treat addictions and obsession with certain things. The scenario where addiction behavior is a negative aspect and is very likely to occur is replicated using V.R. so that the counselor can observe their behavior and reaction to it can help us in analyzing. This type of information is used to plan appropriate therapy with effective methods.
- The effectiveness of V.R. has been verified in the treatment of acrophobia, spider phobia, panic disorder and body image disturbances, binge eating disorders, and fear of flying. It has also helped treat agoraphobia, social phobia, claustrophobia, trypanophobia, tonitrophobia, and anxiety about driving. V.R. has also been used in cognitive rehabilitation.
- VR-based applications can be helpful in forensic psychiatry. Preliminary studies indicate its usefulness in the assessment of individuals with pedophilia. Another application is the use of V.R. to evaluate the behavior of forensic inpatients in crime-related situations.
CONCLUSION
At present, based on evidence, V.R. can be considered a valuable tool for medical education, training, diagnosis, and therapy. However, the technique is still processed, and much work is needed in this field, including controlled trials before building a routine. Another factor that is not addressed is the substantial cost of these systems that can be expensive.
It is another barrier that has to be surmounted before V.R. can be introduced in routine clinical use.Considering that mental disorders are also among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide, V.R. welcomes additional treatment.
Studies have already shown that V.R. can ease specific help people with psychotic disorders experience phobias, treat less paranoia and anxiety in public settings, and reduce social stress.
Due to cost and technology limitations, VR. is also widely available as a treatment for people. However, with the rise of affordable standalone or mobile V.R. headsets, there is increased opportunity to use V.R. and decentralize mental health treatment, allowing more people to benefit.
Also Read: 7 Ways That Technology Can Help With Mental Health
