Virtual Iraq- Abstract

Sue Halperns' article "Virtual Iraq" describes the system of virtual reality games and how they help veterans of war overcome their fears of everyday living. [Virtual Reality therapy] "It requires the patient to revisit and retell the story of the trauma over and over again...[to] rid it of its overwhelming power...so that although the memory of the traumatic event remains, the everyday things that can trigger fear...are restored to insignificance." So little by little, with patience, patients like Travis Boyd* get to overcome their fears of socializing with people or going out or just living a normal life. They put on a headset that allows the psychologist to show moving images of, say Iraq, to expose the patient to what they fear. The patient will feel as if he is in the scenario again, as if he is really there in Iraq, or wherever the experience occurred. Slowly, the psychologist adds cars, then people, then more details such as gun-firing sounds, smoke, murders, etc. All of these sensory details help the patient get used to seeing it, they won't be afraid of something that triggers these memories (such as loud noises). The key to benefiting from this treatment is patience and exposure. The psychologist has to slowly add the objects that trigger stress to the war veteran; one day the soldier could just be sitting down in a bus, then slowly people would be added, and on and on until they reach the point of when the memory is disturbing to the patient. By that time, after going over it again and again, the soldier gets used to it and starts to understand that just because it happened once, does not mean that it will happen everyday, and they should not fear living the life they used to, a normal life.