EDTECH 532-Virtual Hallucinations in Second Life

This evening I travelled to a virtual hallucinations space in Second Life.  The purpose of such a space is to allow us to experience the tortures of schizophrenia.  As you go through the space there are voices constantly speaking to you, telling you are worthless, to kill yourself, and to do terrible things to others.  At the same time there are visual hallucinations where words appear more prevalent in text and confuse meaning.  To never be able to shut these hallucinations out must be terrible.  Educationally, this could create so much empathy within people who have never suffered a mental illness.  That empathy could lead to more understanding for students who suffer from mental illness in general and schizophrenia specifically.  This was indeed, a very valuable experience.