Scary monsters: how virtual reality could help people cope with anxiety

Welcome to the future of anxiety treatment: a virtual reality (VR) game that teaches you a breathing technique to help calm your nerves, and then pits you against a monstrous humanoid that wants to eat you, to practise deploying it in genuinely panic-inducing situations.

Striking the right balance, not to mention validating the approach among larger and more diverse groups of individuals, could take some time. But other VR-based approaches are already being trialled within the NHS, for example to help people who are suffering from social anxiety or agoraphobia to practise everyday scenarios, such as being in the street or inside a shop, under the guidance of a virtual coach.