Switch to हिंदी

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

हिंदी
  • Health A-Z
  • Diabetes
  • Diseases
    • Type 1 Diabetes
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Cancer
    • Heart Attack
    • Pneumonia
    • Diseases A-Z
  • Diet & Fitness
    • Weight Management
    • Exercise & Body Building
    • Diet & Recipes
    • Yoga
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Pregnancy
    • Conceiving
    • Infertility
    • Labour & Delivery
    • Pregnancy week-by-week
    • Breastfeeding
    • Baby Names
  • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Hair
    • Grooming
  • Photos
  • Videos
Home / Health News / A ‘virtual-reality’ therapy can help alcoholics quit their habit

A ‘virtual-reality’ therapy can help alcoholics quit their habit

By: Agencies   | | Published: June 25, 2015 6:06 pm
Tags: Alcoholics  Alcoholism  Virtual reality  
Alcohol abuse

There is new hope for heavy boozers who want to quit drinking. A ‘virtual-reality’ therapy may help people with alcohol dependence reduce the craving for their favourite tipple, says a new study. Read about alcohol addiction. Also Read - Drug used to treat alcoholism may help fight COVID-19

Also Read - VR can detect early signs of Alzheimer's more accurately than high-end cognitive tests



The researchers said they are optimistic about the potential for virtual reality as a therapy for alcohol-use disorders. This technology is already popular in the fields of psychology and psychiatry, said senior researcher Doug Hyun Han from Chung-Ang University Hospital in Seoul, Korea. Virtual-reality therapy has been used to treat phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder, Han said. Read: How virtual reality can help identify sexual offenders Also Read - Can virtual reality be your actual healer?

The idea is to expose people to situations that trigger fear and anxiety, in a safe and controlled space. Then, hopefully, they learn to better manage those situations in real life. According to Han, less is known about whether virtual reality can help with substance use disorders. But there has been some evidence that it can reduce people’s craving for tobacco and alcohol.

For the new study, his team recruited 12 patients being treated for alcohol dependence. All went through a week-long detox programme, then had 10 sessions of virtual-reality therapy — done twice a week for five weeks. The sessions involved three different virtual scenes — one in a relaxing environment; another in a ‘high-risk’ situation in which the patients were in a restaurant where other people were drinking; and a third, ‘aversive’, situation. In that aversion scene, patients were surrounded by the sights, sounds and smells of people getting sick from too much alcohol.

Before they began the programme, all of the patients underwent positron emission tomography (PET) and computerised tomography (CT) brain scans, which allowed the researchers to study the patients’ brain metabolism. It turned out that, compared with a group of healthy people, the alcohol-dependent patients had a faster metabolism in the brain’s limbic circuit — which indicates a heightened sensitivity to stimuli like alcohol.

After the virtual-reality therapy, however, the picture changed. Patients’ revved-up brain metabolism had slowed — which, Han said, suggests a dampened craving for alcohol. According to Han, the therapy is a promising approach to treating alcohol dependence and that is partly because it puts patients in situations similar to real life and requires their active participation.

The findings were published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.

Source: IANS

Image source: Getty Images

Published : June 25, 2015 6:06 pm
Read Disclaimer

12 tips to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and RSI if you have a desk job

12 tips to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome and RSI if you have a desk job

Stillbirth in first pregnancy increases the risk second time

Stillbirth in first pregnancy increases the risk second time

Please Wait. Article Loading ....

Coronavirus Updates

Coronavirus Updates

Stay Informed, Be Safe

  • COVID-19 Unlock: How to ensure students and teachers are safe amid schools reopening
  • Bridging the gap between immunisation and immunity: 2 new diagnostic tests for COVID-19
  • COVID-19 vaccine for people above 60, comorbid people from March 1, free at government centres
  • Americans are less afraid of dying from COVID-19: How Indians perceive coronavirus
  • 54-year-old man dies after taking COVID-19 vaccine Covishield in Delhi

Health Calculators

BMI Calculator
bmi Calculator
Ideal Body Weight
ideal body weight
Daily Calorie Intake
Daily calorie intake
Calories Burned
calories burned

Related Stories

Drug used to treat alcoholism may help fight COVID-19

Drug used to treat alcoholism may help fight COVID-19

VR can detect early signs of Alzheimer's more accurately than high-end cognitive tests

VR can detect early signs of Alzheimer's more accurately than high-end cognitive tests

Can virtual reality be your actual healer?

Can virtual reality be your actual healer?

Natural remedies for alcoholism you should know about

Natural remedies for alcoholism you should know about

Just one drink daily can raise stroke risk: Study

Just one drink daily can raise stroke risk: Study

Health News in Hindi

Best Parenting Sign: इन 5 संकेतों से जानिए कि आप एक अच्छे माता-पिता हैं या नहीं, पढ़ें ये पेरेंटिंग टिप्स

गर्भवती मां से भ्रूण तक पहुंच सकती हैं प्रोटेक्टिव एंटीबॉडीज़, स्टडी का दावा

Nail Biting Habit: नाखून कुतरने की वजह क्‍या है, जानिए वैज्ञानिक पहलू और इससे छुटकारा पाने के उपाय

सांवली सूरत पर ग्‍लो लाने के लिए मसाबा गुप्‍ता फॉलो करती हैं ये होममेड स्किन केयर रूटीन, आप भी कर सकती हैं ट्राई

अनिल कपूर ने कहा- “खूब खाता हूं बर्गर और फ्रेंच फ्राइस” इसलिए फिटनेस को ऐसे रखता हूं मेनटेन

Read All

Recent Posts

  • Covid-19 can mess up with your sugar levels: Get your glucose levels checked after recovery
  • Woman dies hours after taking second COVID-19 vaccine dose in MP
  • Ladies, up your plant protein intake to lower risk of premature death
  • New study suggests rats, water buffalo and mountain gorillas can spread COVID-19 virus
  • COVID-19 Unlock: How to ensure students and teachers are safe amid schools reopening

About The health Site

TheHealthSite.com is India's largest health site with more than 40 lakh unique visitors per month. We focus on fitness, beauty, health, pregnancy and more.

Most popular health and wellness website in India in 2012 at the Website of the year awards.

health@corp.india.com
+91 – 22 – 6697 1234
Landline Phone number 91 – 22 – 2490 0302.

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LTD, 18th floor, A-Wing, Marathon Futurex, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013.

Useful Links

  • Weight Loss
  • Keto Diet Tips
  • Skin Care Tips
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Ashwagandha
  • Cancer
  • Pneumonia
  • Diarrhoea
  • Dengue
  • Typhoid
  • Tuberculosis
  • Chickenpox
  • Chikungunya
  • Depression
  • Hepatitis
  • Diabetes
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Arthritis
  • Swine Flu
  • Baby Names
  • Cough and cold
  • Heart Attack
  • Breast Cancer
  • Ebola Virus
  • Dengue
  • Malaria
  • International Yoga Day
  • Hypotension
  • Heart Failure
  • Asthma
  • Brain Tumour
  • Celebrity Fitness
  • Goitre
  • HIV/AIDS

We respect your privacy

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Author Profiles

Copyright © 2021 Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved.