Giving Compass' Take:

• RAND Corporation reports on an evidence-based approach to addressing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans, in which virtual reality programs call up soldiers' memories of war so they can confront their anxiety.

• In what ways can we support more innovations such as this to tackle mental health issues? Besides cutting edge technology, how might we develop more interventions to help veterans transition to civilian life?

• Learn about a meditation app aims to help veterans tackle anxiety and loneliness.

It was called “shell shock” in World War I. In World War II, it was known as “battle fatigue” and “combat exhaustion” and caused as many as half of all military discharges during World War II, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

But it wasn't until 1980 that America's mental health community formally recognized this invisible wound of war as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The RAND Corporation's Invisible Wounds of War study estimates that as many as one in five who've seen battle experiences PTSD, which — if left untreated — can rip apart lives with nightmares, flashbacks, insomnia, anger, guilt, and feelings of isolation.

Since 9/11, nearly three million service members have deployed to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan—about half of them more than once.

Now, an innovative, evidence-based approach to treating PTSD is reaching more veterans than ever before. Called “virtual reality exposure therapy,” it heals by transporting the veteran back to the traumatic war event, into a computer-generated, parallel universe created in a Southern California lab.

Read the full article about healing the invisible wounds of war with VR by Stephanie O'Neill at RAND Corporation.