Café SereniTEA

Café SereniTea is a seated VR experience for Oculus Quest. The User begins with the POV of someone experiencing a panic attack who then receives coaching on how to cope with their symptoms through exercises until they can seek a safer space. Next, the POV switches to a friend witnessing the first person’s distress who then receives coaching on how to neutralize environmental stressors for their friend. Café SereniTea gives Users insight into the lived experience of those suffering from panic attacks and provides skills they can use to navigate distressing situations.

Our general topic is about social anxiety and panic disorders. Social anxiety is highly prevalent in the general population and is resurgent with the recent return from isolation due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. Many people may need to learn skills to manage stressful environments and may not have professional support.  The problems we are tackling are: How do environments influence the onset and severity of a panic attack? How can those suffering from panic attacks mitigate their symptoms? How can peers recognize attacks and assist their friends in de-escalating a panic attack by removing stressors?

Spec Sheet

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U3bb8oEGB_7NzJvVIDWQz00AtFEciOc0LTcKUz0KOF8/...

Full Credits for XRStellar Team

Brandon Sands, Lorena Lopez, Manouj Kumar, Rachel De Paz, Tianyun Wang, Zevensuy Rodriguez