It’s no surprise that medical technicians, firefighters, and police officers will face traumatic events while serving as first responders.

And unfortunately, many will develop post-traumatic stress disorder. This is why we are developing a VR experience for post-traumatic stress symptoms in first responders and veterans.

Some Causes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Seen in Emergency Personnel. PTSD First Responders

Unfortunately, a lack of access to mental health services will lead to some first responders not getting the mental healthcare they need. Or getting responders diagnosed with the appropriate mental health issues
The psychological distress caused by time in the field paired with acute stress disorder can put first responders at high risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues.

Learn More About Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and VR

In VR Training, VR exposure therapy is being used to help veterans readjust to civilian life. VR training exposes the veteran to stimuli that cause stress, like a grocery store. VR training evaluates both cognitive performance and biometrics, measuring heart rate, sweat levels, or eye dilation to determine how stressful the situation is for the individual. VR Training has been helpful in Cadet Training because it helps cadets become accustomed to difficult situations before they encounter those situations in real life.

Cadet’s VR program is also designed for PTSD patients who need exposure therapy without having a trauma trigger that might be present when they’re out of doors.

Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Many define Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a mental health disorder caused by experiencing traumatic events. Some common PTSD symptoms include nightmares, unwanted traumatic memories, avoiding social situations, anxiety, and depression. Unfortunately, many of our emergency personnel will face the traumatic incidents that come with their professions. For example, law enforcement, police officers have the potential to face life-threatening situations every day. Or an EMT and Firefighter may be called to a disturbing scene involving substance abuse. Situations like these are why first responders are at such a high risk for mental health problems like developing PTSD or major depression. The VR Training program is designed for PTSD patients who need exposure to those situations without having a trauma trigger that might be present when they are out of doors. VR training will help the individual stay calm and in control, which is essential as research has shown that many people with PTSD have an overactive sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight).

Using VR/AR Training To Help Evaluate PTSD Symptoms In Veterans

Virtual reality has great potential to help combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. I found a study that showed considerable success in easing symptoms. My peers and I are looking into leveraging this technology to reduce their social anxiety related to PTSD. We found that many veterans attempting to transition back to civilian life suffer from big crowds and that constant dread of a potential threat. VR exposure therapy can help veterans readjust to civilian life, and VR training is being used as a way of preventing PTSD. It is natural for us to want the best of our loved ones, but it can be difficult to see them suffer. VR has found success in helping cadets prepare themselves before entering war zones by artificially creating tough scenarios that they are likely to face later on in real life and also makes sure PTSD does not happen again so easily.

Using VR/AR To Help Improve Mental Health and Reduce the effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Part of post-traumatic stress is the fight or flight response, and one of the flight responses is I don’t want to be in this social situation. It’s too much of a threat that we’re going to die, so what we did was tested both cognitively as well as with biometrics whether or not a social situation would cause anxiety for veterans – And it turns out grocery stores were stressful enough! So we developed an immersive simulation where they could have their own HEB grocery store; they could walk around it and shop. The VR training program is designed for PTSD patients who need exposure to those situations without having a trauma trigger that might be present when they are out of doors. VR training will help the individual stay calm and in control. This can also be applied to emergency responders to hopefully treat different PTSD symptoms. Through things like prolonged exposure therapy, we hope to see an improvement in things like emotional stress, avoidance symptoms, and other symptoms found in first responders with PTSD.

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It’s no surprise that medical technicians, firefighters, and police officers will face traumatic events while serving as first responders.

Some Causes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Seen in Emergency Personnel. PTSD First Responders

Learn More About Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and VR

Cadet’s VR program is also designed for PTSD patients who need exposure therapy without having a trauma trigger that might be present when they’re out of doors.

Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Using VR/AR Training To Help Evaluate PTSD Symptoms In Veterans

Using VR/AR To Help Improve Mental Health and Reduce the effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Augmented Training Systems. We Train Heroes.

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