Pitch and Facts:
PTSD has become a growing issue among both active duty military members and veterans. About 11-20 (11-20%) out of 100 veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom are diagnosed with PTSD each year. About 12% out of 100 veterans from the Gulf War are diagnosed with PTSD each year and about 30% out of 100 veterans from the Vietnam War are diagnosed with PTSD. While these might seem like small numbers, these are just the statistics for those that seek help and receive a diagnoses (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2016)
My concept for the VR world would be to place the user in a world that a military spouse or family member would be in. They would be fully immersed in the everyday struggles of trying to take care of/ help someone with PTSD. Personally, I feel as though military personnel are overlooked and seen as people that will get over any emotional/ physical stress; however, the VR world would bring light to them. It would make people realize that being in combat and being exposed to life-threatening situations adds more stress to an already stressful lifestyle. This world would not only allow non-military familes/ spouses to understand the issues of PTSD among military personnel but it would also allow military familes/ spouses to learn ways to help their loved one cope with their PTSD and ways to prevent certain actions from happening (ie. outbursts of anger, which has been proven to impair the cognitive control of behavior) (Novaco, 2012).
My Target Audience:
High School or College Psychology students
Military Spouses and Families
Military Personnel
Sources:
Novaco, Raymond W., et al. “Anger and Postcombat Mental Health: Validation of a Brief Anger Measure with U.S. Soldiers Postdeployed from Iraq and Afghanistan.” Psychological Assessment, vol. 24, no. 3, 01 Sept. 2012, pp. 661-675. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.stevenson.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ991868&site=ehost-live.
“PTSD: National Center for PTSD.” How Common Is PTSD? – PTSD: National Center for PTSD, 5 July 2007, www.ptsd.va.gov/public/ptsd-overview/basics/how-common-is-ptsd.asp.