Imagine putting on a VR headset at your house, and, within seconds, finding yourself standing at the rim of the Grand Canyon. The scale of the scene, with the layered red rock falling away beneath you and the vast sky stretching to the horizon, takes your breath away. “Oh my god…It feels so real,” a participant in our lab whispered recently, turning around slowly to take it all in. In that amazing moment, their perception of the scene in front of them was shifted, along with the loosening of the pressure their worries had on them. All of a sudden, they realized that they are part of the much larger world around them.
That feeling has a name. It is called awe, and it might be an underutilized tool in supporting mental health.
What is Awe, and Why Does It Matter?
Awe is the emotion we experience when we encounter something so vast, whether physically, conceptually or spiritually, that it challenges our existing understanding of the world (Keltner & Haidt, 2003). It is what we feel gazing at a starry night, hearing a piece of music that seems to reach inside us, watching Michael Phelps spread his wings underwater, or, if you are a parent, seeing your child walk for the first time. As our lab's principal investigator, Dr. Jennifer Stellar, often describes it, awe is deeply human and profoundly underappreciated for how it can transcend our self-focused mind toward the larger world.
Emerging research also suggests that awe does something distinctive to the mind. It quiets self-focused attention by shifting our awareness away from our own concerns and social comparisons and toward something greater than ourselves (Piff et al., 2015; Shiota et al., 2007). Awe increases feelings of connectedness to others and a greater sense of meaning and purpose in life (Piff et al., 2015), both of which are fundamental pillars of mental health (Bronk et al. 2009; Iasiello et al., 2026; Wickramaratne et al., 2022). But, awe is not just important for mental health, it may also be important for physical health. Studies have also linked awe to reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines: think of these as your body's chemical alarm signals released when the body is under threat. When chronically elevated through stress, these signals are associated with depression and anxiety, meaning awe's effects reach beyond the mind and into our physical biology (Stellar et al., 2015).
Awe likely does not just “fix” mental health problems, but it might create an opening in the walls we build around ourselves, through which change can enter. By evoking a sense of the small self (Piff et al., 2015; Shiota et al., 2007), awe can spark a powerful shift in perspective: the sense that this world has so much more to offer, and that our struggles, while real, are not the whole story. This is what makes awe such a promising entry point for therapeutic support.
The Problem with “Do the Exercises”
Evidence-based therapeutic approaches, including but not limited to cognitive behavioural therapy, mindfulness-based interventions and exposure therapy, have produced meaningful improvements in mental health outcomes for large populations globally (Carpenter et al., 2018; Cuijpers et al., 2016; Goldberg et al., 2021; Roth‐Rawald et al., 2023; Zuo et al., 2023). Yet, they share a persistent challenge: clients’ engagement and adherence. Many of them might find the exercises repetitive and effortful, and hence, disconnected from what actually moves them emotionally (Malik et al., 2022). Completing a thought record or a breathing exercise can feel like homework, which might be beneficial but also easy to skip.
This is not a failure of the therapies themselves. It reflects the fact that humans are motivated by relevant experiences, as well as intrinsic meanings and motivations (Alfonsson et al., 2017), not just by obligation. Effective mental health care requires more entry points that are experiences that feel personally resonant, that clients actually look forward to, and that naturally invite reflection and openness. Awe, we believe, is one of those entry points.
VR as an Awe Inductor: What We Are Exploring
In our Health, Emotions and Altruism Laboratory at the University of Toronto Mississauga, we are using virtual reality to reliably, safely and repeatedly induce awe and study its effects on well-being, including mental health, over time. VR offers something that nature walks, museum visits or even music cannot always guarantee: a controlled, repeatable, customizable and deeply immersive experience that can be delivered to anyone, anywhere, at any time, online or offline.
Crucially, one of the most interesting problems we are grappling with is that awe is not one-size-fits-all. What moves one person to speechlessness may not move another the same way. For many, the Grand Canyon evokes awe instantly. For others, it might be the interior of a vast cathedral, a synth in the bridge of a song, a painting or a baby’s first utterance of “mama.” Thus, the stimulus matters, and it needs to resonate with the individual.
This is where technology becomes particularly promising. We are exploring how to personalize awe induction by identifying what kinds of awe-eliciting content resonate with each person and incorporating that into a routine that fits naturally into their lives. Rather than only following in-clinic sessions, imagine a brief, tailored awe experience available at home, woven into a person’s life like a mental reset button. This experience can enhance therapy, making this process more emotionally alive, enjoyable and, critically, sustainable.
Technology That Makes Us Feel More Human
Public conversations about technology and mental health are often focused on harm, such as social media and anxiety, screen time and loneliness, or short-form content and shrinking attention spans. These are real and urgent concerns. But they can obscure an equally important truth: that technology, when thoughtfully designed and purposefully applied, can also help us access some of the deepest and most nourishing human experiences.
VR-induced awe is a way of expanding the emotional palette available to both clients and clinicians, therefore, potentially advancing therapy’s effectiveness. When someone spends a few minutes of awe and wonder, they often arrive at their therapy session or their day with an open mind. When the self is a little quieter, the possibility of change feels a little more real.
An Invitation to Wonder
What would mental health care look like if awe were a part of the toolkit? If, along with cognitive restructuring and behavioural activation, therapists could offer their clients a brief, personalized experience with something vast enough to remind them that the world is larger than their suffering?
We are still in the process of understanding what awe can do. But the participants in our lab who turned slowly in their headsets, whispering in awe that it felt so real, were experiencing a sudden recognition that they are part of something far greater than themselves. That feeling might be medicine, and in the digital age, we may finally have the tools to offer it to many people.
Edited by: Tega Ubor
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