Can you feel it? VR experiences rival real-life sentiments

VR is all the rage and no, I’m not referring to the latest video game. Virtual Reality has commanded the attention of the public and professional worlds lately, and for much more than its ability to manipulate your perception of your location. That’s the VR of the past. The VR of the future is not centered around our physiological responses at all. Instead, it focuses intensely on our psychological feedback. When implemented correctly, this amazing technology could quite conceivably induce emotions associated with love, stimulate mental health, and improve motivation.

Love is all you need.

There are hundreds of barriers that prevent two “soulmates” from matching up in the real world, the most prevalent of which are location and physical attraction. Virtual Reality effectively removes those barriers for many that forge relationships in the online space. Two thousand miles seems minimal when you’ve seemingly met for coffee or dinner four times this week, and things like weight, height, hair color, and shape can easily be manipulated. Once these real-world obstacles are removed from the equation, emotional and mental connections are free to develop.

We already know that VR is capable of producing photo-realistic avatars that mimic human body language, tone of voice, and emotional state. We know that shared conversation is, perhaps, the most effective way to fall in love. So, by creating an environment where two individuals can chat out loud with online manifestations of one another while creating common “experiences”, Virtual Reality essentially provides an ideal arena for building emotional relationships.

Completely change your state of mind.

VR technology has become so real that it can often trick the brain into believing what your witnessing is real as well. Many have already covered the physical benefits that result from bodily responses to perceived stimuli, but what about the mental ones? Professionals in the mental health field are beginning to recognize the unique potential that Virtual Reality brings to the psychological treatment table. Patients diagnosed with phobias, anxiety, PTSD, autism, and more can confront their emotional triggers in a safe, controlled environment.

Current techniques like Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) and Virtual Reality Social Cognition Training (VR-SCT) have proven quite effective when coupled with traditional therapies. Other counseling-type programs allow patients to seek mental health treatment without requiring the physical presence of a licensed therapist. Patients are more likely to be comfortable disclosing personal situations when they are face to face with an avatar, but sitting in their own living room. The technology, which has been in development since the 1990s, is still evolving, leaving hope that VR-enabled mental health treatments will continue to get better with time.

Keep daring to motivate.

Motivation is hard to come by sometimes, especially in difficult and drawn-out situations like long-term illness or the adoption and fostering process. It is in these situations that Virtual Reality has the power to better the human emotional condition.

No longer are potential foster or adoptive parents left to ponder how what a child has been through will affect their family dynamic. There’s a VR program to help them understand. No longer does a senior citizen have to forfeit all of the undone items on their bucket list when they’ve become too frail to complete them. There are VR programs that can provide them with the experience. Finally, no longer do dying souls have to rely on sleep to distract them from the pain of their own reality. There is a virtual world that can take them far away from hospital beds and beeping monitors.

Virtual Reality is a technological life force, driving and encouraging positive emotion for the young and old. It provides a mechanism for us to fall in love, face our fears, and fulfill our dreams without exposing our fragile physical forms to the heartbreak and mental trauma that can often accompany real-life rejection or fear. With VR, we can learn to understand ourselves better. And when we understand ourselves, we’re one step closer to understanding the world.