Deja vu- Feeling of something happened before
Have you ever had a strong sensation that what you felt just, have already happened? Bet you did! This strong sensation can be you doing something like doing an activity for first time or going a new place (according to you), meeting someone in some condition, listening to some music and every possible wonders. Did you just got a strong feeling it has already happened???
Yeah, you have just experienced DEJA VU!!! But this is not the only question that hits us when we experience deja vu, our mind enquires ourselves if this actually happened before, why this happened, am i the only one who had it or IS IT SOME DESTINY? Slow down, here we will try to explore every possible question that arises from deja vu.
What exactly is Deja vu?
Deja vu or déjà vu is a French word which literally means "already seen". It is described as event of having strong sensation that present experience has already been experienced by the person in his past life. This experience could be an actual event in life.
Did it actually happen before?
There are several hypothetical theories that describe déjà vu. More pronounced is theory of memories.
If you believe that you are destined to do this, more precisely, "prophecy", then no, this is no precognition as proposed by scientists.
What is the cause behind Deja vu that never happened?
Let's get deep into this. Our brain is a complex organ that works basically sequentially as-
Experience- it could be when what and how of an event
Storage- the information is stored in form of memory
Interpretation- memory is interpreted and used to recall the information stored in that part
Now, in deja vu, it is believed is that there is some irregularity in this sequence. There is experience, which is interpreted before it is actually stored in brain. This results in a phenomenon of malfunction of memories. Brain is not able to understand the sequence and fires the experience as past experience, which actually, has not happened.
Why did i have deja vu of a similar memory that actually happened before?
This can be explained again by theory of memories. Memories are reconstructed and reused whenever there is a demand. Even the memories which are forgotten, are nevertheless stored in brain. Sometimes, the forgotten memory (but still stored) is reconstructed but may not be sufficient to relate the current experience with exact past experience. Even though the past experience is different from the current one, there is misinterpretation of memories, leading to belief that this has actually happened before.
Am i the only one to face this deja vu?
No, you are certainly not the one. According to studies, around 2/3 (approximate 70%) of healthy population suffers the phenomenon of Deja vu once in their life. There is nothing to worry about or be concerned to have a natural phenomenon of memories. Moreover, deja vu is not related to any prophecy that this was the destiny, or precognition that this ought to happen.
Can Deja vu mean i have any abnormality or disease?
99% facing deja vu are healthy people, however, sometimes deja vu can also be related to pathological diseases. The most common being, Temporal lobe epilepsy, has the strongest association with deja vu. It is believed that suffering deja vu can be prior to temporal lobe epilepsy, or it can also occur during the convulsions.
Apart from this, it has also been proposed to be linked to schizophrenia and anxiety, but there are not enough proofs to support the statement.
Drug induced deja vu can be attributed to drugs like amantadine and phenylpropanolamine, which cause hyperdopaminergic action, that is, excess of dopamine action.
Can Deja vu be related to my dreams?
This is merely a theory. Some people believe that ASTRAL PROJECTION can be the cause of Deja vu. According to paranormal activity researchers, our spirit explores world when we fall asleep and dream. Different locations, people, feelings and events can be experienced by a person in his mere dream. This can cause strong feeling of 'already happened' when the event is actually triggered in real life.
At the end of day, Deja vu is more of game of memories, doesn't mean you have been destined nor means you have any disease, but you just had the beautiful phenomenon of nature.