Virtual Iraq - Sue Halpern

For some soldiers, returning home from war isn't always filled with excitement and joy, but rather despair, numbness and depression. A shocking number, almost 20%, of war veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD - posttraumatic stress disorder. This condition is caused by a sequence of terrifying situations. Sue Halpern's underlying question in her essay, "Virtual Iraq," is not "How can we fix and change someone's memories," but instead "How can we help victims of PTSD live and cope with it" because, unfortunately, it is impossible to fix the past. In order to help these struggling veterans, clinical psychologist Albert Rizzo invented a very life-like virtual reality video game, "Virtual Iraq" based on the previous form, "Virtual Vietnam" of 1997. Features of this incredible healing device not only include the senses of sight and sound, but also of smell and touch. Psychologists have the power to control sounds such as IEDs exploding and gunfire as well as the smell of smoke and the sensation of the ground shaking after an explosion. This simulator is intended to "disconnect the memory from the reactions to the memory" very gradually. Halpern's character, Travis Boyd, was at first reluctant to seek help for his PTSD because he "didn't want to have it on (his) military record that (he) was crazy." However, once he received treatment, Boyd "felt more like one person" rather than the two separate lives he had been living - one being his real self and the other being the tough, numb marine. Even though PTSD cannot be cured, four out of five soldiers who recieve treatment through "Virtual Iraq" sessions have improved.