Re:Using virtual reality to desensitize troops
by fapjacks on Friday October 17, 2014 @07:34PM
(#8473987)
Disclaimer: I've been in some pretty intense situations in my life.
At some point, no amount of VR can get past "this is not real". I suspect you would need something that supercedes the psychological barriers in place which keep telling a person "this is not real". For example, MDMA-assisted VR therapy. Additionally, this seems just another form of what's called "prolonged exposure therapy", which is why they state "That’s part of why VR therapy doesn’t work for everyone". At the risk of downvotes, I think the real silver bullet here would be to create and enforce stronger barriers to going to war in the first place.
At some point, no amount of VR can get past "this is not real". I suspect you would need something that supercedes the psychological barriers in place which keep telling a person "this is not real". For example, MDMA-assisted VR therapy. Additionally, this seems just another form of what's called "prolonged exposure therapy", which is why they state "That’s part of why VR therapy doesn’t work for everyone". At the risk of downvotes, I think the real silver bullet here would be to create and enforce stronger barriers to going to war in the first place.