this post was submitted on 03 Oct 2024

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Mental Health

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VR headsets to escape and relax (self.mentalhealth)

submitted 2 months ago by mayo to c/mentalhealth

25 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Does anyone have a headset? What do you think about it in the context of your mental health?

all 26 comments

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I got into VR during the pandemic which allowed me to socialize at any time (often in the wee hours) in VRChat. It absolutely helped my mental state at the time. I also discovered countless people using VR for other mental and physical health reasons. Ended up with a girlfriend who moved to my state (going on four years now). There are also worlds specifically for chilling out, sightseeing, nature etc. I would highly highly recommend it to anyone for VRChat alone (which is also free).

Eventually I branched out into other games and now I can't go back to flat first person games. The immersion of VR can't be described.

So yeah, 100% get a headset. Meta just announced new prices so you can get started for as little as $299 (for the Quest 3S). Obviously there are many other options out there (I personally like Pico) but I don't know the specifics of your situation. Feel free to ask any questions.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I had a Go a long time ago and I loved it for watching movies but the small sweet spot was an issue. I feel a strong pull towards pancake lenses but I think the cost is still out of reach... a new q3 is approaching 1k after straps and games.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

Pico 4 is fantastic right out of the box with pancakes. The games library isn't as vast but most of the big hits are available. And of course you can connect to a PC and play Steam games. Pico also has full body tracking coming out this holiday season.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago

During the COVID restrictions, I used to use my Quest 1 with a free game called "Bait!". Not because of the game itself, but because of the relaxing environments (pond, waterfall, etc.) and because it's one of the rare game that you can play in an armchair.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

All I really use mine for is to escape. I'll play flatspace PC games or watch TV while chilling in a nice VRChat environment instead of just using my TV in reality.

Is that good for mental health? I'm not an expert but I would guess "probably not." If anything, it's the opposite.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago

I had an Oculus Go for a while and despite the average, kind of uncomfortable, kind of blurry experience I was still always struck when I took the headset off how stark reality felt in comparison. I was happy in VR, it something to look forward to. The alternatives are less good..

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (2 children)

For me my headset (Quest 1) is too uncomfortable to really be relaxing.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago

I don't think that's changed with the Quest 3. The interface is hard and the balance is whacky, but I wasn't expecting comfort more getting "away". MR and passthrough make it feel less claustrophobic.

[–] nul9o9 1 points 2 months ago

Maybe Big Screen would do the trick. Its form fitting and is supposed to be pretty light.

[–] Anticorp 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah it’s great for that. If you know anyone else who has one then team play is really fun. If not, then solo play is still a hoot. Plus there are experiences where you can stand at famous spots around the world and look around. It’s very neat and enriching.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I like that! When I had a Go I found finding experiences difficult, side loading was time consuming and hit or miss quality and streaming (youtube) was riddled with ads. I could see making this work better for me by upgrading my network firewall with a pi-hole and installing jellyfin somewhere and building a VR library.

[–] Anticorp 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The HTC and Quest haven’t had any ads that I’ve seen yet, beyond suggestions for games. I haven’t touched my VR since we moved about a year ago though, so it might have ads now.

[–] mayo 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Just in the youtube app, like regular youtube experience w/o an adblocker was brutal.

[–] Anticorp 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I never used YouTube with my VR. I did check out the iPic experience with Amazon movies and that was pretty neat. Also prime has some VR experiences like floating in the ocean with a great white shark swimming around you. But I never looked at YouTube. I don’t use YouTube unless I’m trying to learn something, like how to replace the grill on my truck sort of stuff.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I ended up sideloading Kiwi browser and installing ublock, sponsorblock, and a gdpr tool. Much easier than I expected... much easier than trying to get linux to work.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago

I went ahead today after a lot of deliberation and bought one. Big upgrade from the Go but also familiar in a lot of ways (not comfortable, hot, sort of nauseating). I'm happy. I cleaned the kitchen for the first time in a week. It took me out of my head for a few hours and that's what I wanted.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

my index hurts my eyes, even with corrective lenses, which stresses me out. i dunno, maybe there's something about having big lamps 2cm in front of your eyeballs.

[–] Anticorp 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You might get used to it if you keep doing short sessions. Also, fiddle with the adjustments until it’s most tolerable.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

i've had it for years and never managed more than 20 minutes in one sitting because my eyes dry out.

[–] Anticorp 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Bah! That sucks. Some people never do get used to it. I felt so nauseous after playing Elite Dangerous VR for a few minutes the first time that I had to go to bed. But after many short sessions I was able to play without any nausea at all.

It’s really important that the headset runs at 90hz and 90fps. Do you know if your computer hits those rates?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I've got a 7900xtx.

honestly the biggest problem isn't nausea, it's heat from the display. that's what dries me out.

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Have you tried an open interface?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

don't think so, what is that?

[–] mayo 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Using a halo style head strap the headset isn't pressed against your face so you can remove the foam pad. It's what the Quest pro used.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 months ago

yeah that would increase air flow. question is if there's anything like that for the index...