Objective: Virtual Reality (VR) is a technological interface that allows users to interact with a simulated environment. VR has been used extensively for mental health and clinical research. Mental health disorders are globally burdening health problems in the world. According to the Psychological Interventions Implementation Manual published by WHO on 6th March 2024, around one in eight people in the world lived with a mental disorder. This literature review is synthesized to find out the effects of VR therapy on stress, anxiety and depression. Method: We used Google Scholar database using keywords of VR, stress, anxiety and depression. Publication from last ten years (2014 to 1024) are considered. Researches only in the English language are included. All the papers and articles with the keyword VR missing were rejected. Result: Google Scholar yielded 17,700 results from our keywords. Nine studies met our search criteria that are included in this review. Out of nine, five studies encountered mental stress and gave effective results in reducing it by VR therapy. The other four targeted mood disorders, Social anxiety disorders, depression, loss of happiness and sleep deprivation. They also showed immense potential in reducing mental illness while using VR. Conclusion: Findings are in favor of the effectiveness of VR in reducing stress, anxiety and depression. Still, it is insufficient evidence to consider VR as solely independent treatment over the traditional medication. In future, the limitations can be overcome to relying on VR and using it in hospitals as a reliable source of cure for mental illness.

翻译：目的：虚拟现实（VR）是一种允许用户与模拟环境互动的技术界面。VR已广泛应用于心理健康和临床研究。心理健康障碍是全球范围内造成沉重负担的健康问题。根据世界卫生组织于2024年3月6日发布的《心理干预实施手册》，全球约八分之一的人口患有精神障碍。本文献综述旨在探究VR疗法对压力、焦虑和抑郁的影响。方法：我们使用Google Scholar数据库，以VR、压力、焦虑和抑郁为关键词进行检索。纳入近十年（2014年至2024年）的出版物，仅包含英文研究。所有缺少VR关键词的论文和文章均被排除。结果：Google Scholar根据我们的关键词产生了17,700条结果。其中九项研究符合我们的检索标准并被纳入本综述。在这九项研究中，五项研究涉及心理压力，并显示VR疗法在减轻压力方面产生了积极效果；其余四项研究则针对情绪障碍、社交焦虑障碍、抑郁、快乐感缺失和睡眠剥夺。这些研究同样表明VR在减轻心理疾病方面具有巨大潜力。结论：研究结果支持VR在减轻压力、焦虑和抑郁方面的有效性。然而，目前尚缺乏充分证据将VR视为可完全替代传统药物治疗的独立疗法。未来可通过克服现有局限，使VR成为医院中心理疾病治疗的可信赖手段。