I'm considering using benzos as a fast forward button for life until the Oculus is released, being blacked out all day on etizolam. It's not going to kill me and would only be for 8 months, and would go by in the blink of an eye.
I think the level of immersion may be able to elicit a reaction from the brain that is enough to prevent the normal effects of severe isolation. There's bound to be research on using virtual reality to help people with various disabilities, eventually I'll have hard data on efficacy, information on the most effective treatment methods, and programs people will have made. Think of the endless amounts of worlds people will one day have, there would always be something new and far better than what's outside.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Anxiety/comments/123uma/i_havent_left_the_house_in_four_years_im_19/http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f26/i-havent-left-my-house-for-over-4-years-i-1090586/Found multiple people who allegedly hadn't been outside for years. It would be cheap enough to hire someone on Craigslist to deliver the simple groceries I need in bulk, and order things online. Maybe one day robotics and automation (self-driving cars) will make online food shopping like Amazon Fresh the standard method. And the technology would evolve, develop. There could be omni treadmills and tactile feedback. One day you could put on a set or even have a brain-computer interface and see a world far greater than anything you could see outside, more real than real. From waking 'til sleep I'll try to keep it on as much as possible so I don't have to see what it's really like.
A while ago I still hadn't given up hope, but I've accepted that I'm never going to be normal. Think about how many people there are with horrible disabilities that will be that way for the rest of their life. Would you want to live like that? My last post will probably be letting everyone know why I would be leaving. When I first put it on I'll probably know right away what my choice will be. It's interesting to think how you're able to detach yourself so much from the world and no one will know, people will rarely say anything to you, and never really try to get to know you. You can't meet anyone if you never go outside, no one will ever meet you.