Method for treating fears and anxieties of abused persons by using virtual, simulated retaliation

A method for treating severe feelings of victimization in a first person whom a second person recklessly or intentionally infected with HIV, said method comprising the steps of:

• (1) selecting for treatment a first person having an initial level of feelings of severe victimization by a second person and desiring treatment to reduce said initial level of feelings,
• said victimization comprising being infected with AIDS by a second person who, while knowingly being HIV positive, caused said infection by recklessly or intentionally failing to utilize known prophylactic measures to prevent HIV transmission during personal contact between said first person and said second person,
• said initial level of feelings including or associated with a knowledge of the consequences of an AIDS infection,
• said initial level of feelings characterized by and correlated with an initial physiological state of said first person, said initial physiological state characterized by and correlated with an initial pulse rate of said first person when said first person is caused to think of said second person,
• said feelings being caused by a set of antecedent circumstances and experiences remembrance of which has been internalized in said first person,
• said antecedent circumstances and experiences comprising said victimization of said first person by said second person;
• (2) causing to be visibly displayed to said first person an image of said second person closely resembling said second person, and ascertaining said initial pulse rate of said first person;
• (3) causing to be visibly displayed to said first person an image of a deadly weapon distanced from said image of said second person;
• (4) causing said image of a deadly weapon to touch or become located within said image of said second person in a manner such that said deadly weapon appears to harm said second person;
• (5) thereby triggering, at least potentially, a functional interaction of steps (2) through (4), on the one hand, and said antecedent circumstances and experiences remembrance of which has been internalized in said first person, on the other hand, to cause said first person to undergo a bodily transformation from said initial physiological state to a second physiological state, said second physiological state being characterized by and correlated with a lower pulse rate than said initial pulse rate and by said initial level of feelings being reduced;
• (6) monitoring said first person's pulse, beginning at least as early as step (2), and ascertaining whether said pulse rate has decreased below said initial pulse rate, wherein a decrease in said pulse rate indicates a lessening in said level of feelings;
• and
• (7) reiterating steps (4) through (6) until either said first person has a pulse rate at least five percent lower than said initial pulse rate or a predetermined time interval has elapsed, whichever occurs first, whereupon said reiterating steps (4) through (6) stops.

A method for catharsis treatment of an abused person suffering from a negative cathexis caused by personal abuse during an abusive interpersonal relationship, said method comprising the steps of:

• (1) selecting for treatment an abused person suffering from a negative cathexis,
• said negative cathexis being characterized by an initial level of severe feelings of fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability,
• said abused person desiring to receive treatment to reduce said initial level of feelings,
• said negative cathexis and said feelings being caused by a set of antecedent circumstances and experiences remembrance of which have been internalized in said first person,
• said antecedent circumstances and experiences comprising personal abuse of said abused person by an abuser, said abuser a second person with whom said abused person had an abusive interpersonal relationship,
• said initial level of feelings being accompanied by and correlated with an initial level of a parameter value for blood pressure, pulse rate, or respiration rate,
• an increased level of said parameter value being accompanied by and correlated with an increase in a person's feelings of fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability and a decreased level of said parameter value being accompanied by and correlated with a decrease in a person's feelings of fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability;
• (2) beginning a treatment session with causing a display device to display visibly to said abused person:
• (a) an abuser image, said abuser image comprising a true likeness of said abuser;
• and
• (b) a weapon image, said weapon image comprising an image of an axe, knife, or other deadly weapon, said weapon image distanced from said abuser image and located at a location that is movably controllable by a physical action of said abused person;
• (3) controlling by a physical action of said abused person said location of said weapon image so as to cause, responsively to said physical action of said abused person, said weapon image to move and touch or become located within said abuser image in a manner such that said deadly weapon appears visibly to harm said abusive person;
• (4) potentially triggering, as a result of a functional interaction of steps (2) and (3) on the one hand, and said antecedent circumstances and experiences remembrance of which have been internalized in said first person on the other hand, a reduction of said initial level of feelings of fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability to a lower level of feelings of fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability, said lower level of feelings of fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability being accompanied by and correlated with a reduced level of a parameter value for blood pressure, pulse rate, or respiration rate;
• (5) during and after step (2), detecting and monitoring at least one of said levels of a parameter value for blood pressure, pulse rate, or respiration rate of said abused person, and ascertaining whether said initial level of said at least one of said parameter levels has decreased, and if so to what extent;
• and
• (6) reiterating steps (3) through (5) until said initial level of said at least one of said parameter levels has decreased by a predetermined amount, or until said treatment session is over, whichever occurs first.

A method of transforming a physical state of a body of a person so as to reduce a level of feelings by said person of victimization, fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability caused by said person's being infected with AIDS because of another person's intentional or reckless conduct, said method comprising:

• (1) selecting for treatment a first person,
• said first person having a first physical state characterized by a first level of at least one physical variable,
• said at least one physical variable selected from the group constituting blood pressure, pulse rate, respiration rate, and sweat secretion rate, and characterized by and correlated with a first level of feelings of victimization, fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability,
• said feelings of said first person resulting from a set of antecedent circumstances,
• said antecedent circumstances comprising a second person infecting said first person with AIDS by exposing said first person to HIV by recklessly or intentionally failing to utilize known prophylactic measures to prevent HIV transmission during personal contact between said first person and said second person,
• said first person desiring to reduce said first level of feelings;
• (2) predetermining a desired level of reduction of said first level of feelings, said reduction indicated by a predetermined reduction by at least five percent of said first level of said at least one physical variable;
• (3) coupling to a body part of said first person a sensor for detecting a level of said at least one physical variable and providing an electronic output signal representative thereof;
• (4) providing said first person with an electronic display device visibly displaying to said first person on a screen of said display device an image of a deadly weapon and, distanced therefrom on said screen, an image embodying a true likeness of said second person;
• (5) electronically monitoring said output signal to detect successive levels of said at least one physical variable;
• (6) causing, by a physical action of said first person, said image of a deadly weapon to touch or become located within said image of said second person in a manner such that said deadly weapon appears to harm said second person;
• (7) reiterating step (6) and continuing to monitor said electronic output signal in accordance with step (5), until a functional interaction between said antecedent circumstances and reiterations of step (6) causes said first person to undergo a bodily transformation from said first physical state to a second physical state in which said electronic output signal indicates said predetermined reduction of said first level of at least one physical variable, said predetermined reduction of said first level of at least one physical variable indicating said desired level of reduction of said first level of feelings of victimization, fear, anxiety, helplessness, powerlessness, or vulnerability of said first person.