"Virtual Iraq"

The best way to live through somthing is to face the fear dead on. Sue Halpern in "Virtual Iraq" describes the experimental treatment used to help PSTD. It is none other than a video game in which veterans take on a helmet and video goggles and are stimulated by smells, sounds and visuals made to renact live combat. Sue Halpern has had first hand experience when dealing with the video game having played around with the game twice. Albert Rizzo, the inventor of the game, adapts Virtual Iraq to his patients whether by changing seating positions in a Humvee or having explosions go off. The game makes veterans relive their darkest moments during war. However, pschologists do this in stages in order to not completely scare the patient. Halpern was able to interview Travis Boyd, a marine from Iraq. After just a few weeks of Virtual Iraq, Boyd for the first time since his days in Iraq was able to relax. Experiments using Virtual Iraq have proved that the stimulating video game truly works and gives veterans the ability to live again after war. You can never underestimate the power of men and their video games.