Virtual Iraq-Abstract

Today, people are using virtual machines to help reduce the effects of P.T.S.D. Many soldiers who return from war suffer from this illness. Our generation was raised on high technology and video games. So can this virtual reality world really work? According to Sue Halpern,"Virtual Iraq is a tool for doing what’s known as prolonged-exposure therapy. . ." (2). This type of therapy will give patients the opportunity to relive the horrors that they have witnessed during war, but will slowly try to detach them from their horrible memories. Halpern also explains what one of the goals of Virtual Iraq is when she states, "The idea is to disconnect the memory from the reactions to the memory, so that although the memory of the traumatic event remains, the everyday things that can trigger fear and panic, such as trash blowing across the interstate or a car backfiring—what psychologists refer to as cues—are restored to insignificance" (2). This virtual world is a great way to help patients overcome their fears and anxieties. Although patients will never fully be cured from P.T.S.D., Virtual Iraq is a great way to help them get back into touch with their everyday lives.