SNAP!
Thank you for bearing with my mediocre attempt to get you into a hypnotic trance. Despite this failure, care to share what’s in your top 5 list? Based on personal experience and observation, I’d think alcohol, killer smiles, daydreams, drama series and computer/game console games are enough to get you hypnotized. Don’t you just love (and hate) the feeling when you get so engrossed, for example, by the scenes in your favorite drama series that you forget to carry out your daily functions (like eat, study and shower)? At that point in time, your current emotions (e.g. depression from failing an exam) get overshadowed by the romantic confessions, heart stopping sorrows, and jaw dropping twists of the drama. Sometimes, especially in times of trouble, they have the power to lure you in a surreal dimension in which pain is non-existent. You become this hopeless romantic who someday wants to experience a parallel dating script. And then, as soon as the credits role, the inequality, stresses and pain of real life bring you back to consciousness. Oh SNAP.
Everyone wants to live a Hakuna Matata life, agreed? Isn’t that the reason why some people contemplate on suicide or drown in drugs when pain (physical, emotional, etc.) becomes unbearable? Well, apart from applying stereoscopy (adding depth to 2D objects, making them appear 3D) in game consoles, amusement park attractions and movies, I’ve come to discover how it has been used to alleviate pain in individuals with disabilities.
Virtual or augmented reality environments have the potential to provide leisure activities for children, young adults and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities (Mott, Bucolo, Cuttle, Mill, Hilder, Miller & Kimble, 2008; Yalon-Chamovitz & Weiss, 2008; Malloy & Milling, 2010). A.S.I.S (adaptable to limitations, stimulating, interesting and simple) were the main criteria used to create the ideal Virtual Reality Environment for those with disabilities. From being passive and sedentary, the disabled participants became more active and attracted to physically demanding leisure activities. In a span of 12 weeks, participants performed consistently, maintained high levels of interest and demonstrated the initiative to learn. They also preferred games such as “Soccer” and “Birds and Balls” more than “Parachute”, as well as requested additional games like “Juggling” and “Ocean” (Yalon-Chamovitz & Weiss, 2008). In addition to enhancing their motor skills, virtual realities significantly reduced the pain scores in patients undergoing burn dressing (Mott, Bucolo, Cuttle, Mill, Hilder, Miller & Kimble, 2008; Malloy & Milling, 2010). The cooperation and significantly lower pain scores exhibited by children, for example, during burn dressing not only benefited the participants but their parents as well. Similar to snapping out from our fictional world, however, the time frame of the experiment was too short to detect any difference in their self-esteem (Yalon-Chamovitz & Weiss, 2008). These virtual reality environments also became less affective as multiple treatments progressed (Motto et al, 2008).
Hypnosis might come off as too strong of a word. More often than not, we associate the term hypnosis with shrinks and their challenged patients. Well, hypnosis and virtual reality may have more similarities than you think. My description of getting lured into a “surreal dimension” is supported by empirical evidence: virtual reality and hypnosis both involve having participants experience an imaginary state and have been shown to be very effective in reducing pain (Malloy & Milling, 2010). Let me ask you though, would you feel comfortable in idea of someone hypnotizing you when you’re in pain? Although 75% experienced pain reduction with hypnosis, there are still those who don’t benefit from it because they’re non-believers; virtual reality, however, reduced pain in all participants (Malloy & Milling, 2010). Hypnosis vs. Virtual Reality Therapy - - here we see the power of wording, the latter being a better alternative.
Similar to our self-induced “hypnotic trances”, people with chronic pain may now experience the subconscious dimensions of Utopia. It’s inspiring how they can get through life with so much pain, the children most especially. Instances like these remind me that 3D technology, more than catering to the demands of their “spoiled” market, has a bigger shoe to fill in the field of rehabilitation. Further contributions to these studies may permanently improve the well-being and fitness of disabled individuals. Furthermore, as a member of this “spoiled” market, I now realize how minimal my “pains” are. Instead of drowning myself in dramas, I should start spending more time in contemplating what role I have in making these pain reduction techniques work for those who really need them. Ohhhhh SNAP!
References:
Malloy, K. & Milling, L. (2010). The effectiveness of virtual reality distraction for pain reduction: A systematic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 1011–1018. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.07.001
Mott , J., Bucolo, S., Cuttle, L., Mill, J., Hilder, M., Miller, K. & Kimble, R. (2008). The efficacy of an augmented virtual reality system to alleviate pain in children undergoing burns dressing changes: A randomised controlled trial. Burns, 34, 803-808. doi:10.1016/j.burns.2007.10.010
Yalon-Chamovitz, S. & Weiss, P. (2008). Virtual reality as a leisure activity for young adults with physical and intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 29, 273–287. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2007.05.004
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