Not naive at all, distraction is definitely a recommended form of dealing with a lot of types of pain flare-ups. Our experiences are geared towards relaxation, but because our VR worlds are quite immersive, most of our members and study participants report they don't "think about [their] pain" during the session because they're focused on the experience and distracted from their flare-up. We also have some worlds that are more gamified such that you're actually playing a game in VR with a higher distraction element. Relaxation and distraction are not necessarily interchangeable but in VR they can often work together.

This is a very interesting concept. As an ex-game dev, I would very interested in the types of design sessions you go though and UX testing to high this perceived level of immersion in which people can be distracted from pain.

Do you find this treatment only works for some people, or are the results more on a gradient of effectiveness?

Yes we went through a lot of testing in terms of design and UX to best optimize VR experiences for people with pain. In our designs we also have to be very cognizant of different triggers because we have a population of members who do have PTSD. Flowly can be helpful to quite a large spectrum of people but of course, as you say, it is a spectrum so effectiveness will vary for each individual.

I also have severe carpal tunnel and am interested in how this might be able to impact that? Do you have any patients who have used this for that purpose?

We have had Flowly members who have carpal tunnel, however our clinical studies did not focus on carpal tunnel. I would say this might be worth a try to learn how to regulate your nervous system to better manage the stress and pain from carpal tunnel, but of course I'd love to hear your individual experience and feedback.