The Art Of Deja Vu: 7 Theories That Reveal Why Certain Moments Feel Weirdly Familiar
Why does it feel like things that are happening, have already happened?
Igor Rand | Unsplash You know when you walk into a place and you feel like you have been there before? Or you meet someone new but feel like you've definitely met them before? That is déjà vu — but what causes déjà vu, exactly? And why the heck does it happen?
What is déjà vu? Déjà vu is a very eerie feeling. It usually only lasts a few seconds, but you almost know what is going to happen next. Once this strange feeling passes, you feel like you are pushed back to reality, and you snap out of it. What causes déjà vu? The cause of déjà vu hasn’t been figured out yet, but there have been many theories that try to rationalize why it occurs.
Here are 7 theories that reveal why certain moments feel weirdly familiar:
1. You get your senses mixed up for a moment
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Your senses can bring up a lot of memories and feelings, like when you smell something and it instantly transports you back to your childhood. Your senses are a very powerful tool and could even trigger a certain experience or memory from your subconscious.
So, if you are in a situation and smell a familiar scent, it could make you feel like you have been in that moment before or bring you back to a moment you remember clearly. Sometimes, we even faintly recognize a smell or sight and naturally don’t even register the familiarity.
So, if you are having a déjà vu moment, then there could be a familiar sense around, and it is linked to another moment for you, and you don’t even know it.
It only takes a small amount of sensory input, like a familiar scent, for the brain to create a detailed recollection. Research has concluded that déjà vu could be linked to discrepancies in the memory systems, where sensory information bypasses short-term memory and reaches long-term memory instead.
2. There are parallel universes
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There is a theory that says we are all living in a bunch of parallel universes, and in those universes, there are many different versions of you. Relating to this, people believe that déjà vu happens because you are tapping into another situation from a parallel universe.
Maybe in this universe, you are going through this particular experience while the same thing is happening to you in a different universe. It is a crossover moment where two universes meet for a couple of seconds.
Theoretical physicist Dr. Michio Kaku has explored this mind-bending possibility, suggesting that quantum physics provides details indicating that déjà vu might stem from our ability to momentarily shift between different universes.
3. You are experiencing familiarity-based recognition
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Researchers studying déjà vu have identified a connection to familiarity-based recognition, which is when you think you are seeing something recognizable to you, but you actually don’t remember it. People report stronger déjà vu feelings when viewing items that share some overlap with previously experienced stimuli, but only when they can't consciously identify the source of that familiarity.
For example, when you run into someone who looks familiar to you but you don’t know how you know them, or even if you know them. Déjà vu may be similar, where you recognize a situation but can’t place why. Perhaps you have never actually experienced it before, but there is something familiar about it that you can’t place.
4. You are remembering a dream
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When you are having déjà vu, it could feel similar because it reminds you of a dream you have had. You might not even remember the dream, but when you are in the specific moment, your subconscious mind remembers the dream and flashes back to it momentarily.
Therapist and dream expert Dr. Leslie Ellis explains that this occurs possibly because our brains are capable of running on multiple tracks that overlap at times. Dreams are often filed away as memories deep within our subconscious, and when a similar experience occurs in our waking life, that dormant memory can be triggered without you consciously remembering the dream itself.
5. Your amygdala is responsible for déjà vu
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The amygdala is a part of your brain that is tied to your emotional responses. Most times, the amygdala responds when you are scared or stressed out. For example, if you are afraid of spiders, then your amygdala processes your reaction when you see a spider.
When you are scared, your amygdala can disorient your brain momentarily. When you fall, your amygdala will respond in panic, which can cause your brain to malfunction temporarily while you are falling.
When it comes to déjà vu, your amygdala can just be causing a slight brain malfunction while you process what is around you. For example, if you are in a place that is familiar to you, then you might panic for a moment, and your amygdala can make it feel like you have been there before.
While the amygdala is involved in the overall network that can produce déjà vu, some studies argue, it's not the primary driver of the phenomenon. What is well-supported is that the amygdala processes fear and stress responses and can override the brain's frontal lobes during intense emotional moments.
6. You have gone through reincarnation
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Reincarnation is the theory that you have lived previous lives. Although you don’t remember your past life experiences, you could feel that they are familiar when you are experiencing something similar to your past life. For example, if you lived on a boat in your past life and then go on a boat ride in this lifetime, then you could experience déjà vu.
Even though it is said that you don’t bring any of your past life memories into your current life, certain things or situations could trigger them and bring these memories to the surface. Dr. Lorell Frysh, a transpersonal psychologist, offers past life regression therapy to help clients foster healing on a very deep level, and works with the belief that memories from previous incarnations can surface in our current lives.
7. There is a glitch in reality
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Glitch theory claims that déjà vu is a product of a small lapse in our reality. Einstein stated that there is no such thing as time and if that is true, then the past, present, and future, are all happening at the same moment.
While mainstream neuroscience explains déjà vu as a memory processing error, some theories suggest the phenomenon could be related to quantum processes in the brain. Whether déjà vu represents a genuine glimpse into the simultaneous nature of time or simply reveals how our brains construct temporal experience remains one of consciousness's most fascinating mysteries. So, when déjà vu happens then it means that you are tapping into different experiences at the same moment.
Jaycee Levin is an Instagram influencer, actress, and freelance writer who covers astrology, entertainment, love, and relationships.
