Virtual reality can produce effects similar to psychedelics. Researchers found that VR created a self-transcendent experience. That is the fading sense of self that psilocybin or LSD can bring. VR did it in a safer, more controlled way. It could offer some of the mental health benefits without the drugs’ safety risks.
Summary: Psychedelics like magic mushrooms or LSD create a unique experience. They cause hallucinations. They are known to help with depression and other health problems. But their use in clinics raises safety concerns. In a new study, researchers found that VR can create a similar self-transcendent experience. It does so in a safe and more controlled way.
Interest in psychedelics like magic mushrooms or LSD has grown in recent years. These are drugs people misuse. Yet under medical care, they may also help treat many health problems.
Psychedelics work well for mental health disorders like depression. They may also sharpen thinking. The psychedelic experience may even help some physical health problems.
But using psychedelics in clinics is hard, and the odds of wide use are slim. They are tightly controlled drugs. Psychedelic therapy is also hard to carry out. Once the trip begins, the therapist has little control over it. So psychedelics often do not work as expected.
These limits do not mean we should ignore the benefits. Science just needs a safe way to bring on the same state of mind. There may be many ways to try, like making safer psychedelics. But researchers now think VR may be a much better way to safely create psychedelic-like effects.
Studies suggest a few things happen during a psychedelic experience. It resembles what some stroke survivors report. A person cannot tell where the body’s edges are. They lose track of where the body begins and ends. Odd feelings show up too, like arms and legs merging with the wall. The sense of ego shrinks. The person sinks into a so-called “self-transcendent experience” (STE).
STE is a special state of mind. For a while, the sense of self fades. A person feels at one with other people and the world around them. It can happen, in a mild way, while reading a book. But the feeling from a book is much weaker.
The experience from psychedelics is far more intense. It is a feeling of oneness with the cosmos. It is a mystic experience, almost like an encounter with God.
Researchers say people who had this experience on psilocybin call it the most wonderful thing that ever happened in their lives.
So the need is simple: find a safer way to give people this experience. Researchers now think VR may be the best way to do it.
In a new program, researchers used VR to help a group of people feel at one with the setting and each other. They called it Isness. In the study, five people shared the VR experience. Some sat near each other, and some were far apart.
VR is unique because people in distant places can join the same experience, or trip. The VR program also lets people safely sink into self-transcendence. It helps break down the usual walls people keep between each other.
Researchers say VR creates a whole new kind of experience. People’s bodies seem to flow into each other. The result feels blurry, but also unique and spiritual.
It is one of the first studies to show VR can create self-transcendent experiences. The technology and its benefits now need more study in other health conditions.
Frequently asked questions
What is a self-transcendent experience?
A self-transcendent experience is a state of mind in which the sense of self fades for a while. A person feels at one with other people and the world around them. A mild version can happen while reading a book. Psychedelics like psilocybin create a far stronger version. It is a feeling of oneness with the cosmos that some describe as almost like an encounter with God.
What are examples of self-transcendent experiences?
The mildest example is losing yourself in a good book. A far stronger one is the psychedelic state. People lose track of where the body begins and ends. They feel their arms and legs merge with a wall, and they sense oneness with the cosmos. Some who had this on psilocybin call it the most wonderful thing that ever happened in their lives.
Can virtual reality create a psychedelic experience?
Yes. In a program called Isness, researchers used virtual reality to give five people a shared self-transcendent experience. It worked whether they sat near each other or far apart. Inside the program, the usual walls between people faded. Their bodies seemed to flow into each other. It is one of the first studies to show VR can create this state. The technology now needs more study in other health conditions.
Why not just use LSD or magic mushrooms in therapy?
Psychedelics are tightly controlled drugs. Psychedelic therapy is hard to carry out. Once the trip begins, a therapist has little control over it. That is why psychedelics often do not work as expected. Researchers see virtual reality as a safer, more controlled way to create a similar state of mind without the drug.
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