I’m a 61-year old man who has known constant pain for almost 50 years. Currently I’m on a pretty massive daily dosage of opiates, and have been for over 15 years.

I’m also a gamer, and have over 1,500 games on the Steam game platform. While games have mostly acted to fill time mostly as a distraction for a basically home-bound person, just prior to Christmas ’18, I received a VR system as a gift.

Yes, VR creates a world so real (sometimes) that whether the pain is reduced, or the virtual world that does not include the pain aspect is just so real, makes little difference. Unfortunately, the sense of reality creates a strong feeling of “I can do anything”, and the result is very often greater pain (especially while first learning one’s limits.)

But if one can find that amazing game that finds the midpoint, the result can be astounding, and leaving at the end of each session can be heartbreaking. (That game for me is The Talos Principle VR, and I am in no way associated with this game other than as a very thankful player.) I have to presume that the possibilities in this article to a large degree involve finding and utilizing that balance point, and I can only offer my sincere hopes for success.

Thank you.