MINDFULNESS-BASED VIRTUAL REALITY IN COMBINATION WITH EXPRESSIVE WRITING TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT ON ANXIETY AND MENTAL HEALTH IN COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

Anxiety is not just a diagnosis that an individual can receive, it may be a state of thinking in a specific moment, a perception of how the individual is feeling towards a specific situation, individual, or environment (Wang et al., 2020). Anxiety, if left untreated, may develop into a life-long struggle with mental health disorders. Untreated mental health disorders and increased levels of anxiety may result in elevated blood pressure and increased resting heart rate, which can both in turn, decrease quality of life and expose the individual to increased rates of heart attack, stroke, and even death (Any anxiety disorder, NIMH). Interventions are needed to improve and prevent the development of anxiety-related health disorders. Mindfulness-Based Virtual Reality (MBVR) and Expressive Writing (EW) are both interventions currently used to reduce and minimize symptoms of anxiety. In this randomized controlled study, the efficacy of combining MBVR and EW in reducing symptoms of anxiety in college students was tested by comparing individuals in the experimental group, who received the MBVR/EW intervention compared to a control group who received a nature-audio VR program and objective writing. The State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to measure participants’ state and trait anxiety pre- and post-intervention. Results from state measures demonstrated the use of MBVR/EW as a way to reduce and minimize anxiety symptoms. Implications of this study include the potential expansion of applications of the combined interventions as a treatment modality.