Augmented Reality for Mental Illness
As someone who has struggled with mental illness for pretty much his whole life, one avenue I hope Helen Papagiannis explores (should there exist technology out there) in future editions of her book, is the role AR can play in treating mental illness. She does go into detail in chapter 8 about the rise of “calm technology” but I think things can be taken further. I offer a few thoughts as ways sufferers of mental illness can benefit from technology.
For people with ADHD/ADD, perhaps a kind of AR that simplifies reality in lieu of augmenting it. For example, if someone struggles with information overload at say a shopping centre, the AR should present reality with FEWER distractions and not more. I struggle with shopping malls all the time and I guess I wish there was a way to limit distractions so I can think clearer.
For someone with depression, perhaps a way to see the world in brighter, happier colours, to get one’s mind out of depressive thoughts and such…
For someone with schizophrenia, who say has trouble with hallucinations, an AR that can tell you what’s real and what isn’t…yeah I know, this is likely the start of a good sci-fi short story, but hey, just throwing it out there.