A few points: 1. I share your sense of skepticism about these types of things. I generally thought people with anxiety just exaggerated until I started getting

A few points: 1. I share your sense of skepticism about these types of things. I generally thought people with anxiety just exaggerated until I started getting panic attacks and anxiety myself (due to DPDR). 2. The biggest difference between meditating and DPDR is the sense of anxiety. When you meditate to lose yourself you feel at peace (I assume). With DPDR, you feel panic. 3. When you look at loved ones during episodes, its discomforting feeling creeped out by them. It's not pleasant. Now why is one pleasant and the other isn't despite having a similar mechanism? That's a great question. Perhaps the brain reacts differently when you do things on purpose v.s. when things happen to you against your will and out of your control. I imagine there are more differences as well. The brain is a complex organ.