60 million people suffer from chronic pain worldwide. Managing pain can be helped by practicing mindfulness, a self-directed at-home practice that uses gentle exercises and relaxation techniques. University of Edinburgh researchers are working on VRinMind, a project employing virtual reality to enhance mindfulness practice for those with chronic pain conditions through immersive 3D audio-visual experiences.

Individual decision-making about the use of VR to enhance mindfulness practice may be beneficial for those who identify as having chronic pain conditions and wish to self-manage at home. The VRinMind project has drawn on a review of the literature regarding VR, mindfulness and pain management to identify common threads in the benefits and limitations of utilising immersive VR for managing pain. Patterns are being used to craft workshops where mindfulness practitioners and people who identified with chronic pain explore the experience of mindfulness in VR environments.

VRinMind is being led by Siobhán O'Connor (School of Health in Social Science), Beverley Hood and Alison Mayne (Edinburgh College of Art), and has been funded by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 2019 Challenge Fund.