There’s nothing like a global pandemic to increase stress and anxiety levels; the Office of National Statistics estimates that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the equivalent of 19 million adults in Great Britain are reporting high levels of anxiety. Continuous stress can lead to ‘burnout’, the result of psychological, mental and emotional exhaustion (Billeter-Koponen & Fredén, 2005), which is also associated with depression, lowered immunity, musculoskeletal issues and gastrointestinal infections (Donnelly, 2014; Lin, Lin, Cheng, Wu, & Ou‐Yang, 2016). Current research demonstrates the urgent need worldwide for mitigation of the psychological effects of the coronavirus pandemic (Shah et al. 2021).
The Virtual Hippo founder, Rebecca Jackson, wanted to address these issues by investigating the role that VR might be able to play in offering home-based solutions to stress reduction, increased mental wellness, and pain reduction.
Her VR technology works by providing the user with a 8-10-minute experience of sitting in a beautiful natural virtual environment, with cognitive behavioural hypnotherapeutic techniques helping to boost self-esteem, improve coping mechanisms, and feel a sense of profound relaxation.