Using Virtual Reality to Treat PTSD

I saw this and I have mixed feelings. First off, I have never seen combat when I was in so I dont know how effective this is. I dont know anyone thats personally gone thru the treatment.
Can reliving the actual events really help or can it cause the person retreat further into their mind?
On one hand, if confronting the past helps break thru and help the veteran heal, great. If it further aggravates their condition, thats bad.
Guys, whats your feelings on this?



Please keep the discussion civil and on topic, and that is: can virtual help treat someone PTSD?

It has to be a million times better than the chemicals that they throw at veterans and others if this works great as the streets are full of sufferer's and they are cutting back on the money handed out

There is another field of research going on with natural things that we are not allowed to talk about here that may help with alcoholism as well so it is all good

reply to post by HomerinNC


I don't think I would want to see and react to those experiences again, once was enough. Personally, I think it would be better to write down everything in the form of a book, it was cathartic for me, it might be for others. Of course I was lucky, I was not encumbered by legal agreements that would stand in my way, I know the US likes their security agreements and NDA's.

But as far as a treatment methodology, I would have to wonder at how effective it would really be, that is using a virtual reality headset. Sure you'll see things, they won't be the same. Hear things, they won't be the same. You won't have the smells or the tactile feeling of the theatre of operations or the environmental conditions or the feeling of whatever weapon of choice you had in your hands. And how many different scenarios will you have to go through and how many times? Then you have to consider that your being bombarded with the things that messed up your head in the first place.

As a therapy I think it is questionable and could very well do much more damage. We want useful, critically thinking, intelligent and considerate people coming back from war zones, people that can find happiness and can justify their existence, not catatonics or rabid zombies.

Cheers - Dave

bobs_uruncle

As a therapy I think it is questionable and could very well do much more damage. We want useful, critically thinking, intelligent and considerate people coming back from war zones, people that can find happiness and can justify their existence, not catatonics or rabid zombies.

Cheers - Dave

I wouldn't be so sure,

Gaming has already proven effective treatments in other areas.

Stroke rehab for one, it was one of the things my doctor heavily encouraged after I had mine among other things.

Treatment with immersion therapy could hold numerous benefits for PTSD and other disorders at the very least it is a valid subject to test.

reply to post by HomerinNC


it seems to be another form of exposure therapy.

Exposure didn't work for me... made me worse but some of these programs do work for People with PTSD.

They put me on a dialectical form of therapy but I can't even be bothered with that now. I just take mirtazapine now at night...helps a bit with flinching out in public... lol

I think it is all worth a try. Those with PTSD should give all the programs a try, if it works, then great...what works for some doesn't work for others.

reply to post by 999zxcv


I agree but from my own personal experiences.. when I was on the exposure program, My Dr would not give me any form of medication. I ended up in hospital for a week (41 kilos) and another Dr gazumped my other one and prescribed me 2 types of meds. One of them is really good for PTSD, tactile flashbacks/body sensations etc but it lowers blood pressure so I couldn't take it.

I write everyday...it does help but medication did help me to reduce the anxiety and I would not go off them at all now.

reply to post by HomerinNC


I have a form of PTSD, not combat related. To me, video games are indeed a type of "Virtual reality" as the game space is a virtual reality. I find that certain games have helped me relax and "Flashback" less.

Thurisaz
reply to post by 999zxcv

 

I agree but from my own personal experiences.. when I was on the exposure program, My Dr would not give me any form of medication. I ended up in hospital for a week (41 kilos) and another Dr gazumped my other one and prescribed me 2 types of meds. One of them is really good for PTSD, tactile flashbacks/body sensations etc but it lowers blood pressure so I couldn't take it.

I write everyday...it does help but medication did help me to reduce the anxiety and I would not go off them at all now.

i got a high tolerance to pills mitrazapine worked for 3 days with me then i was back to not sleeping again but the taste of metal aahh i used drink for nearly 18 years to cure the nightmares of ptsd and pills are as bad in my book you are not curing just fixing for one more day just like alcohol .

so if virtual reality works it is good but i would rather go the yoga and meditation route these day's myself

reply to post by 999zxcv


wow I have the same metal taste in my mouth most days so thanks for sharing that info. I did not think it could be related to the meds.

I did try using some herbs in my cooking... (not allowed to mentioned those herbs on ATS) and that helped also. To be honest, I would rather herbs than the meds.

benrl

bobs_uruncle

As a therapy I think it is questionable and could very well do much more damage. We want useful, critically thinking, intelligent and considerate people coming back from war zones, people that can find happiness and can justify their existence, not catatonics or rabid zombies.

Cheers - Dave

I wouldn't be so sure,

Gaming has already proven effective treatments in other areas.

Stroke rehab for one, it was one of the things my doctor heavily encouraged after I had mine among other things.

Treatment with immersion therapy could hold numerous benefits for PTSD and other disorders at the very least it is a valid subject to test.

I agree gaming therapy does help some people in some cases, but I wouldn't do it. I didn't feel stable for ten years, I couldn't sleep, always had nightmares, every time I saw something out of the ordinary or heard sharp loud sounds I went into full paranoia combat mode. Then I wrote a book, that helped me a lot and I certainly wouldn't chance undoing the progress that I made. I could still do my job the entire time through that ten years though, but I was excessively immersive in my work. After the book I can actually talk about the events, killings and the torture without turning into a dribbling idiot (unless I drink excessively, which usually only happens every few years). Game therapy may work for some people that haven't made progress, but I certainly wouldn't be a guinea pig and mess around any further. I hope they find that it does help people because I still remember the mess I was.

But they may be playing with fire and it kind of reminds me of the Guardisil vaccine situation, 1 in 912 women die after being vaccinated for a disease that kills 1 in 40,000 women. Makes sense to me, NOT.

Cheers - Dave

Thurisaz
reply to post by 999zxcv

 

wow I have the same metal taste in my mouth most days so thanks for sharing that info. I did not think it could be related to the meds.

I did try using some herbs in my cooking... (not allowed to mentioned those herbs on ATS) and that helped also. To be honest, I would rather herbs than the meds.

healthydebates.com...

www.medicaldaily.com...

here is a couple of good reads

PTSD is different for everyone. What might work for one person could make someone else worse then they were beforehand. It's very subjective. Each person needs there own personalized treatments.

Virtual Reality has always had the potential to be used in treating Psychological conditions so if it works for people who are living with PTSD then that's awesome but again they would need to be careful about it. Not only who they use that treatment on but of any potential side effects from the treatments like possible disassociation from reality.

Does anyone know what kind of trails have been done?