Can VR cure me of my fear of heights or maybe make it worse? Any studies?
I wasnt always this afraid. Seems to have got worse as I got older. I recently thought it would be a good idea to do the 5 mile cliff walk from Dunsevrick Castle to the Giants Causeway here in Northern Ireland.
Well, that was a mistake. Firstly, I was on my own. I didnt realise the path would be quite so gut churning. I was so terrified I hardly took any pics of the admittedly stunning scenery, but looking at it made my head spin and my legs all wobbly. I did most of the walk looking at my feet.
It really wasnt a very nice experience for me and it saddened me greatly I couldnt enjoy it. I felt stupid to be honest.
Now I have had my rift a while I have noticed that certain heights in VR evoke the exact same responses in my body that real heights evoke.
I was playing Batman when an unexpected scene transition placed me right on top and on the edge of a skyscraper.
Well fuck me, my legs started to shake, my heart started to race, I could feel perspiration break on my brow. I took a step back a little further from the edge to let the scene play out. I felt very disorientated.
I kept telling my brain ITS NOT REAL and my brain stubbornly refused to listen. I tried to put my leg forward, over the edge and touch the floor but, and this shocked me, I couldnt do it. When I tried every fibre of my being was screaming “danger”. I felt absurd and terrified at the same time. It was bizarre. I was not able to convince myself it wasnt real.
I am super interested to know if any of you have any experience in this field or if its just too early for any type of studies to have been done?
Would love to be a research subject for a future project on identifying if VR could help/hinder someone with a fear of heights (or a fear of falling, if you prefer).
TLDR: VR heights evoke the exact same fear response in me as real heights. Any experts in the field care to share some thoughts or have any studies been carried out?
EDIT: If you are wondering what the cliff path looked like, wonder no more:
