VR can cure fear of heights
As well as proving effective for people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) has also been proven effective in helping people get over all sorts of phobias.
Fear of public speaking, heights, spiders - you name it, the psychological processes of getting over these fears has all been accelerated with appropriate use of virtual reality.
There’s some really strong science to support the use of VR to cure people of their fear of heights in particular.
So perhaps it’s no wonder it can also cure fear of heights completely by accident…
In our Brain Man VR Team building experience participants can teleport out of the open doorway of the main room to gain access to a glass bottomed balcony. In some of the virtual environments participants might find themselves in the glass balcony appears to be a few feet above the sand of the beach or the pavements of Venice. In others you feel like you’re up really high on a mountain looking down over a sweeping vista.
One of our participants with a fear of heights was reluctant at first to go outside and when she did her heart started racing. But she was determined to not let it hold her back.
Soldiering on with the task, while being careful not to look down, she did a great job of carrying on as normal and not letting her fear get the best of her.
The second team building task took place back inside the building, but the third involved going back outside onto the balcony.
Once she repeated the process of going outside over the glass bottomed balcony, she found that her heart wasn’t racing any more.
As the first experience hadn’t resulted in any bad consequences her brain had learned that although it looked scary, it was perfectly safe.
And she announced: “good news guys - I’m not scared of heights anymore!”
The below video documents this remarkable side effect of Brain Man VR Team Building - helping people conquer their fears.
Every week the Brain Man Virtual Reality business blog showcases some fascinating applications for VR.
If you would like to engage the services of Brain Man VR, please get in touch at: info@brainmanvr.co.uk
