Wednesday, February 22, 2012

RESIDENT PROFILE: Anya Ibor (Colleen Crary) of Fearless Nation

It doesn’t matter who you are or what you have. All of us face stress in our lives, in one form or another. The truth is that I personally have very little to complain about, and much to be thankful for. But I know how stressful my days can be. Some of this is self-imposed, but it is also the result of some life-changing events that I have gone through. I know there are many out there who have faced traumatic situations much worse than mine, either at home or abroad, which make it difficult for them to cope from day to day.

It is exactly for these reasons that I am thankful for people such as Anya Ibor of Fearless Nation. Anya has been running her PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) program in both real life and in online worlds since 2009. With the opening of her region on Second Life, Anya’s PTSD recovery organization became the first to have a Web World presence. I am proud to say that she has now moved her Fearless Nation program to SpotON3D.

Anya, who is Colleen Crary in real life, says that her early experiences helped to prepare her for what she now does. After a brief career as a showroom model, she started in graphic design and TV production doing early computer animation. After this, she moved into advertising, marketing and new business development in emerging and fringe technologies including nanotechnology, green/clean tech, medical imaging and neurobiology R&D. After her father’s PTSD-related death, and learning of her own misdiagnosed PTSD symptoms, she decided to devote her life to helping fellow trauma sufferers. She went back to school and earned her Masters Degree in Forensic Psychology, and began applying proven research in trauma treatment to Web World environments.

Anya started her online Fearless Nation program in Second Life in 2009, then expanded it to SpotON3D/World Works in October of 2011. She has now closed her Second Life operations due to loss of participation. She attributes this both to Second Life expenses and to difficulty with participants adapting to the newer style viewers. “Most people with PTSD, especially military personnel, have very little money,” she explains, “and may be disabled (amputees, traumatic brain injury) or very medicated... the new viewers are impossible for the disabled.”

Anya says that she is thrilled to be in SpotON3D. Not only is it cost-effective and supportive of non-profit organizations, but she is impressed by how helpful the staff is. “(SpotON3D) is ultimately community-minded, and really lives up to the original idea behind the Internet: Civility, community, and good citizenship.” She has set up four regions here for Fearless Nation. The main one is rated Good4Everyone, and is where the classroom and PTSD library are located. Because of the presence of some content that could be disturbing to young children, the other three regions have been rated Good4Grownups, and require a Premium membership to visit.

Anya continues to be excited about the possibilities of the 3D Web. It is “more than a web page to help trauma survivors—in the web world they can reconnect with others, learn to control PTSD symptoms and move past trauma on multiple levels: These are the main tenets of recovery.” She wants to show others how the 3D Web can offer them an enriching and healing experience while providing the education and support they need.

Come and join one of Anya's PTSD classes within SpotON3D/World Works, held on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Fearless Nation Sim. Sign up for your free SpotON3D account at https://spoton3d.com/register/, or directly from your Facebook page at https://apps.facebook.com/webworlds/. For a complete schedule of classes, please see Our Calendar.

Anya/Colleen sums things up well: "Real time interaction in a 360 environment online is a powerful means to help people survive trauma and become flexible and resilient. Join the revolution in recovery at Fearless Nation!"

If you believe that you or a loved one are suffering from PTSD, or simply would like more information about this subject, please visit http://www.fearless-nation.org.

Anya Ibor/Colleen Crary is the Founder and Executive Director of Fearless Nation PTSD Support... A 501c3 NonProfit Charity Organization



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1 comment:

  1. You did the illo for a production of Much Ado About Nothing way back in the day? Nice.

    ReplyDelete