OVER-LON: Overview Virtual Effect for Relieving LONeliness

In recent years, loneliness has emerged as a pressing global concern, not merely as a social phenomenon but as a complex, multidimensional condition with profound psychological and physiological consequences. Despite the proliferation of digital communication technologies, individuals continue to report elevated levels of perceived social isolation, underscoring a critical discrepancy between connectivity and connectedness. Loneliness has been implicated in the etiology and maintenance of various psychopathologies, including depression, anxiety, and, notably, eating disorders.1 Within this context, emerging evidence suggests that immersive virtual reality (VR) experiences may offer novel, experientially rich pathways to reframe internal representations of isolation and foster a deeper sense of social embeddedness. This article presents the OVER-LON project, which aims to investigate the potential of a VR simulation of the Overview Effect, a cognitive and affective shift experienced by astronauts when viewing Earth from space, to alleviate loneliness and enhance perceived social connectedness. Drawing from research on awe and embodied cognition and enriched by insights from conceptual metaphor theory (CMT) and psychological flexibility, we propose a model in which immersive, metaphorically grounded interventions may offer a transformative medium for cognitive–affective reframing.