Virtual Mental Illness

This might be similar to Sim-Someone Else's Shoes, but ... after spending a few too many hours playing The Sims, I notice that it has an effect on how I perceive reality. For a brief time, everything feels a little flat and digitized and when I go outside people appear to be "Sim-like" (robotic, etc.) as they walk down the street. I'm not crazy, really, but I am a psychology student, so I notice these things and I know that this sensation is similar to what schizophrenics experience when they "split" from reality.

Seeing that a computer game has the effect of subtley altering one's mental state in a way that mimics the symptoms of psychosis, I envision a computer simulation that would *induce* the symptoms of a psychotic break (in a closed, controlled and safe laboratory environment, of course). This would enable doctors and other interested parties to better understand, relate to and empathize with those suffering from various forms of mental illness. It would not necessarily help treat or cure mental illness, but it would at least help us understand where that crazy guy shouting on the corner is coming from.