Lithium Hindsight 360: Designing a process to create movement-based VR illness narratives

Abstract

Illness narratives in the medical humanities have traditionally been text-based. For some patients, text may not be sufficient nor ideal for conveying their experiences to others. Lithium Hindsight 360 (LH360) is a virtual reality prototype intended to help bipolar disorder patients envision an alternative way of communicating their illness narrative to other individuals. Dance and somatic movement are used instead of text as a communication method to help non-patients understand the physical experience of having a mental illness. The creation process for the prototype will then lead to a set of design guidelines for patients interested in creating their own movement-based VR illness narrative. These guidelines are intended to help simplify a potentially complex and expensive process. In this demonstration, participants will be able to both view the prototype and walkthrough part of the design process.