✤MURO Marching : Aquarius (How I Used VR as Exposure Therapy)✤

 

    Hi again, everyone! That's a big title! 

 

    For context, I had a phase where I was deathly afraid of the ocean. Does the sea, nowhere near where I live, have an active presence in my life? No, but no one ever said phobias were rational. I couldn't tell you quite when or why it manifested (though I have a sinking feeling it involved the 2018 survival action-adventure game Subnautica being released), but I suddenly couldn't even think about being underwater without imagining something suddenly reaching for me out of the depths.

 

"Take a ride to the depths below" - in-game World description.

 

    The upward climb started with a World called Submerge by Fins. It's a one-to-two-player underwater horror experience where you sit in a submarine. I have run it four times. I cannot tell you anything that happens in the story past the introduction or before the ending because I clamped my eyes shut in fear every single one of those times. 

 

    But for me? It felt big to say I'd gotten through it that I was 'in' the submarine and the ocean, and I did it multiple times to boot. The sense of immersion that VR gives was strong enough to carry me through what felt like exposure therapy, all while in a controlled and safe environment.

 

    VR for therapy isn't a new idea. While doing research, I found an article titled Virtual reality (VR) treatments for anxiety disorders are unambiguously successful, so why are so few therapists using it? Barriers to adoption and potential solutions by Tyler B. Wray, Joshua J. Kemp, and Margo Adams Larsen. This post is about my personal story, not Virtual Reality exposure therapy (VRET), but if you'd like more information, please read that article. There's a history to this topic that goes back farther than I knew going into writing this, and it's fascinating stuff.

"Aquarius is a multi biomes aquarium experience‚ come and gaze upon the marine life‚ and learn something new․" -in-game World description.

 

    While terrified of the ocean, I loved the aesthetic and quality of Fins' worlds, so I kept visiting every time I saw a new one pop up. Aquarius specifically stuck out to me, and the rest is history. In my personal opinion, I think Fins has accidentally created a perfect environment to cure someone with thalassophobia.

 

    The main area is safety. The ocean is far off, separated by an unbreakable plane of glass. You could stay here the entire time, refusing to look up, and nothing would happen. But, to get to the other areas, you have to go through a narrow glass tunnel. Fish bigger than your body swims directly overhead. But it's brief, and then you're once again safe in a large room where the ocean is securely contained in the corner. 

 

    Now, there's an incentive to push your boundaries - stay in the main room or risk the tunnels to see what else the World has to offer. I kept coming back for the visuals, and eventually, I could go through the tunnels without hesitation. And now, I can casually go in to take photos of all the areas as I did for this blog post. While certain environments can still cause that fear to bubble up, it's not as universal as it used to be.

 

That's all from me this time! What do you guys think? Would you try VR exposure therapy? Do you think it should be used more commonly? Let me know in the comments, and see you next time!

Citation
Wray TB, Kemp JJ, Larsen MA. Virtual reality (VR) treatments for anxiety disorders are unambiguously successful, so why are so few therapists using it? Barriers to adoption and potential solutions. Cogn Behav Ther. 2023 Nov;52(6):603-624. doi: 10.1080/16506073.2023.2229017. Epub 2023 Jun 28. PMID: 37376984; PMCID: PMC10592498.