Waking Nightmare, Now Available

The idea of a VR-approximation of schizophrenia has been in the works for some time now, but this article, unlike others, describes the 'approximation''s content:

While only someone afflicted with the mental illness can know what it's like to be at the mercy of delusions, an interactive computer technology called Virtual Hallucinations is allowing others to experience a snapshot approximation.

Wearing earphones and viewing goggles, a person can step into the schizophrenic's shoes and see the world through his eyes and ears as he makes his way through a supermarket to the in-store pharmacy counter.

"I lost my medication a couple of weeks ago and I need to get my refill," the pseudo-schizophrenic is told to say.

Behind the counter, the pharmacist seems to warp-speed from one spot to another as she checks on the customer's insurance coverage, then says she must call his doctor. She laughs with a co-worker, but it turns to a cackling whisper: "Why did they let him out of the hospital?"

Voices, male and female, barrage the mind. "Don't take that, they're trying to poison you."