HELP AND HEALING
Simulating traumatic events can help military service members work through some of the effects of post traumatic stress disorder that result from combat. The same desensitizing that becomes a disadvantage in gaming or entertainment becomes an advantage when VR places service members into settings that match actual circumstances and gradually enables them to tolerate disabling stressors. VR also can assist in treating phobias, especially those that involve handling or being near specific animals, environments or objects. Finally, VR holds promise in physical rehabilitation, providing patients with opportunities to refine ambulatory or other skills in a clinic setting before moving on to the real-life equivalent. VR that becomes too real, or proceeds too quickly to simulate an experience before the patient can tolerate it, can cause setbacks in any form of treatment.