ForensicAtheist

I've actually been in a scaled down version of that machine. That thing looks like a horror ride. I can't remember which company it was, maybe BMS brought that machine to my residency. The scaled down version is a VR head set with head phones and has 2 different stories. The first is someone with SCZ riding a bus and seeing all these very menacing people staring at them and talking to them, presumably those are hallucinations. The second is someone going to the pharmacy to pick up their prescription. I remember that one pretty vividly... they see the pharmacist turn from smiling and happy to mean and growls at them, "why are you such an idiot?" The voices are multiple, I couldn't count keep count because they were too many. When you finally take that thing off it's a real relief to be out of it. I wouldn't wish that disease on anyone.
However, I want to clear something up that's become a nice pop culture myth. The VR machine that simulated SCZ simulates hallucinations because that is the most dramatic way to show what it might be like and the myth is that hallucinations=SCZ. That isn't even close to being true. The diagnosis of SCZ is much more complicated than that and someone who has never had a hallucination OR delusion in their life could still be Schizophrenic and someone that is constantly hallucinating or delusional may not be Schizophrenic. SCZ is a full social disease and the positive cognitive manifestations are just a piece of it. However, sadly, this myth will still be perpetuated through books and TV shows and so the public won't know any better...oh well.

starling

*takes a breath* Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaame

Some people will pay millions for anything.

atheilicious

I can't help but think what would happen if a schizophrenic person goes into that simulator...

uhcord

I think this a very a good idea, and a great step forward.

World wide there is a very large lack of knowledge of what it means or how it is to actual expierence a constant mental illness. It will never fully suffice (unless we can eventually temporary change a person brain and let them expierence it first hand ... a scary thought to say the least)

Mental illness runs on my Mother's side of the family and my Uncle suffers from schizophrenia.

I have not had the chance to deeply talk to the man, but I have had many chats with him. I am largly fascinated with the human brain and all that runs along with it (addiction, lose of certain sections of the brain, the different chemicals, mental illness, etc.) I am not entirely sure what goes on in his head, but I think it is enough to say that he is not a dangerous man. Many people think that a person with certain mental illnesses can me murderous, thoughtless, psychopaths and I hope they keep remind people that these people are not bad or evil in any certain way.

It is also important that people understand mental illness effects everyone in different ways. The brain is not a simple machine that can be fine tuned by simple altering of chemicals or switches. All react in different ways.

I do admit it can be scary.

When I was a bit younger and my depression at it's worst, I was put into a mental hospital because I had become suicidal. It was very insightful to say the least (well, except for the preacher who ridiculed me infront of all my peers for question regarding religion, I was an agnostic at the time ... after getting out and reading, became an atheist ..).

I was roomed with a person that heard voices that would tell him to kill people. He was a big, muscle bound guy (me, a skinning little guy). I am a very naturally curious person, so during out time sitting in our rooms with nothing to do, I would ask him questions about his illness. You might wonder .. where you not scared? I was suicidal and not much of one to fear things

Anyways, I couldn't imagine the torment he experienced nor will I ever as far as I can see. He told me that voices would talk to him normally, but always in a yelling fashion. It wasn't always to tell him to kill or do harm to people. It would sometimes would just be a normal conversation you would have with a person. I just couldn't see how he had survived so long with a voice yelling in his head.

Errr, a bit sidetracked.

I didn't like how it showed drugs being some wonderous miracle ... Yes, it can help, but they do not always help, they cause incredibly random, unpredictable side-effects ...

but all said and told ... I hope they further this, and make this a standard thing in schools widely, just like sexual education or other types of education.