Guardian science correspondent is put to the test in the panic-inducing VR world of a game that teaches breathing technique
Tethered to a chair, in a gloomy basement, I’m doing my best not to panic – by breathing in for four seconds, holding for seven, and slowly releasing for eight. But when a bloodthirsty monster appears at my feet and starts crawling towards me, I don’t need a dial to tell me that my heart is pounding, and I’m in imminent mortal danger.
Welcome to the future of anxiety treatment: a virtual reality (VR) game that teaches you a breathing technique to help calm your nerves, and then pits you against a monstrous humanoid that wants to eat you, to practice deploying it in genuinely panic-inducing situations.
You are welcome to send this page to a friend, family member or anyone who may be interested. There is no need to explain why, or to share anything about yourself.
The message includes the page title, and you can change it before sending. This website only counts that a share button was used; it never sees who you send it to.
Optional measurement cookies help us understand and improve the site. You can continue reading or book an appointment without choosing; essential site functions remain available. Cookie Policy.
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Optional measurement of whether a Google ad leads to an appointment booking. With your permission, an ad-click reference is kept in this browser tab and can be sent to Google Ads with the booking time. You can use the website and book without allowing this.
If you arrived through a Google ad and allow advertising measurement, an ad-click reference is kept in this browser tab. If you book with that permission, the reference, a booking-completion label and the booking time can be sent to Google Ads. This export does not include your name, email, telephone number, consultation details or chosen appointment time. You can book without this permission and change your choice using Privacy & cookie choices.
