Comparison of the effect of virtual reality technology and hypnotherapy on the stress of premenstrual syndrome

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is one of the most common problems in women of childbearing age that often interferes with their work and social relationships. One of the theories proposed to cause the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome is environmental factors such as stress. The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the effect of hypnotherapy and virtual reality technology on the stress of premenstrual syndrome.

This clinical trial study was conducted on 90 students of Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences who were suffering from premenstrual syndrome and were selected using  convenient sampling and then randomly assigned to three hypnotherapy groups (30 people), virtual reality technology group (30 people) and control group (30 people).Data collection tools included demographic information questionnaires, premenstrual syndrome screening and DASS21. Relaxation through virtual reality and hypnosis was implemented in 3 sessions in the test groups, and a post-test was taken one month after the completion of the sessions. Data were analyzed using paired t-tests and Tukey’s post hoc test with SPSS-24.

The average stress score in the intervention groups compared to the control group had a significant decrease (P<0.001), but in the comparison between the two intervention groups, no significant difference was observed between these two methods, and the role of each was equally effective in reducing stress(P=0.620).

Both hypnotherapy and virtual reality technology are effective in reducing stress. It is recommended to use hypnotherapy and virtual reality technology to control stress