Fantasy worlds created by virtual reality have been shown to provide a novel form of relief to patients suffering from intractable pain….
“My pain when the nurse is changing my bandages is consistently extreme… But during the time I was in VR, I was pretty much unaware that the nurse was even working on my wound. | I mean, at some level I knew she was working on me, but I wasn’t thinking about it because I was inside that SnowWorld.” — patient Mike Robinson, in a story by Becky McCall —Real pain dulled in virtual worlds (BBC)

The researchers are also using a simulation of the events of 9/11/2001 to desensitize survivors of the attacks to the trauma they experiencded that day.

Thanks for the link, Rosemary.