A York University researcher is creating simulated universes using virtual reality (VR) technology to help people cope with anxiety and health conditions that bring on anxiousness, including epilepsy.
She's producing 360-degree experiences that simulate environments that make people anxious, then leveraging VR to immerse them in those situations in a controlled way, allowing the person to confront and overcome their fears in a safe space.
The scene could be a party, a busy shopping mall, or a bus or subway where someone with epilepsy worries they will have a seizure and lose control. It could be a podium in a packed lecture hall where an anxious student is expected to present a paper.
Lora Appel
"If something causes anxiety in an individual, exposing them to this scenario gradually allows them to habituate and get used to it so that they can manage their emotions and deal with the situation," says Professor Lora Appel at York U's School of Health Policy & Management.
"More and more, we're considering health to be the ability to manage with your current situation. You might have cancer or you might be bipolar, but if you are able to manage your condition well, you can describe yourself as healthy - that's the best-case scenario."
With her team at York's PrescribingVRx lab, Appel piloted a VR exposure therapy program for people with epilepsy in the community, and has just completed a randomized controlled trial at Toronto Western Hospital. The same platform is being provided to people with Alzheimer's and related dementias experiencing anxiety and behaviours like apathy and aggression. For older adults with mental health issues, Appel is leading a University Health Network team to create soothing or engaging experiences they can access through VR to improve their well-being.
The benefits for VR therapy are substantial and their potential applications enormous.
VR can be a valuable addition to clinical therapy, and it can also serve as a drug-free alternative to that approach. It has the potential to be self-administered, a game-changer in a health-care environment where people with mental health issues can wait months or years to see a therapist. VR can recreate anxiety-producing worlds for people with PTSD that would be unsafe for them to return to. For example, rescue missions led by firefights and first responders, and conflict zones experienced by soldiers.
If the anxiety can be controlled, says Appel, a world of new possibilities opens up for people who often avoid situations that are fear-inducing for them. They can become isolated from life. They sometimes miss out on job and life experiences that would otherwise be rewarding.
Appel says another emerging technology, artificial intelligence (AI), has the potential to combine with VR to expand the use of exposure therapy even more broadly.
Anxiety can be very personal, with everyone having their own unique triggers, making the kind of 360-degree videos AI will soon be able to generate a gateway to customized exposure therapy.
"I give it two years and there will be 360 films that could re-create the specific scenarios any individual wants with much more hyper realism than what we can do now," says Appel.
VR therapy featuring calming nature scenes could one day be routine for anxious hospital patients, people uncomfortable getting injections, or for nervous flyers. It could propel off-the-shelf mindfulness apps accessed by millions of people on their smart phones to the next level with customized, immersive video that adapts to the users' perspective.
"As AI advances and VR headsets become more affordable, I can imagine a world where the technology would create customized videos for people to upload from their personal library, put on their headsets and use them for self-therapy," says Appel.
York's anxiety research is supported by Beneva, a Canadian mutual insurance company focused on anxiety prevention.
This story was originally featured in YFile, York University's community newsletter.
