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The focus of this work is the attempt to investigate methods from psychotherapy. The virtual application is an experiment to implement digitalized relaxation methods..

In order to understand how to deal with stress, fundamental questions of psychology and philosophy arise: Why is relaxation so important? How do relaxation methods from psychotherapy work? How can we make it easier for people to access their inner self? And can we learn to free ourselves from the pressure to perform? Can digitalization offer any added value at all?

Breathing

The application focuses on the physiological reaction characteristic of breathing. Breathing demands the person's full attention throughout the entire relaxation process. It also forms the visual focus in the virtual environment. During the exercise, the user has a breathing sensor attached around the chest. This continuously analyzes breathing and distinguishes between short, normal or long breaths. A sculpture visualizes the breath in real time. The breath sculpture floats in the middle of a large clearing. All around it, a hilly landscape fading into the distance forms the horizon. The grayish surroundings help the user to keep the values of the graphic and thus also its aesthetics in balance.

Landscape and breath sculpture in virtuality

Access

Since the focus is always on people and their perception is individual, the creative means must be flexible and adaptable. Digital media can help to make inner processes more tangible for those who are less or not at all accessible to traditional relaxation methods. It is important to note that people should not adapt to digitalization. Ways must be found to adapt digitalized methods to people, while constantly critically questioning their usefulness.