Hi, all,

Below is the answer to a question about deja vu that was posted on an online student health journal I belong to.


ANSWER:
It seems this has been asked before… (just kidding). Déjà vu, that feeling that you've been somewhere or seen something before, has intrigued people for centuries, yet it is not well understood. The term déjà vu literally means already seen, but has come to mean already experienced or already been as well. Many people (about 60%) experience déjà vu at some point in their lives, but some theorists suggest the people are more likely to experience this feeling if:

* They are very imaginative
* They remember their dreams
* They are tired or stressed
* They have a high level of education
* They are open-minded
* They are between 15 and 25

Déjà vu is often confused with pre-cognitive experiences — feelings that you know what is going to come next. Hallucinations and false memories are also confused with déjà vu, but true déjà vu occurs during an event and lasts for only about 10 to 30 seconds. Theorists separate déjà vu into two types:

* Associative Déjà vu: this is the most common type of déjà vu and is believed to be caused by experiencing (seeing, smelling, hearing, feeling) something that you associate with something else in your past experiences. Researchers think this type of déjà vu is memory based.
* Biological Déjà vu: this type of déjà vu is related to a condition such as epilepsy, and is thought to be caused by biological signals in the brain.

Déjà vu is sensation that is yet to be understood by science, even though so many people have reported experiencing déjà vu. There are a number of theories as to what causes déjà vu, but because it is difficult to study, researchers don't know for sure. The general consensus is that it is a cognitive sensation, not related to physics or a parallel universe. Theorists suggest it may be caused by issues with memory retrieval or delayed neurological responses. Further research into this topic may continue, but a definitive answer may never be found. In the words of Lao Tzu, "Such is the essential mystery."

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It seems like I've read this before.

(someone had to post this reply)

Have'nt Ive seen this somewhere before? Heehee!

This is interesting. I used to have a lot of déjà vus a couple of years ago, but I might have been influenced by the fact that I was a huge Matrix fan back then^^

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How about when you experience deja vu while dreaming? I have that all the time . . .

Interesting you mention this Big E, I think I know what you're talking about.. I have the deja vu feeling quite frequently in my dreams and I often think my dream-self must be re-visiting places I must have seen in my other dreams before. It's not like "I had this dream before" but more like "I have been to this place before"- so more location or event specific rather than dream-specific. Sometimes my dream memory seems like coming from a couple of years back and that's always half-creepy.. Why would I get that so-sure feeling about the temporality of a certain dream?? I'm sure it's something about the nerve wires playing a trick or something..

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My husband has a recurring "place" dream all the time. He keeps dreaming about finding a new room in his childhood home or our current house.

My deja vu dreams frequently lead to lucid dreams, which was referenced in another thread. I'll be involved in my dream, then get that deja vu feeling that I've experienced this before, and then I think, "Oh, no, I've had this dream before but I can't quite remember it . . . " It's as if I have this whole other set of memories and experiences in my subconscious life. Which, to bring this back to one of my favorite subjects, is what I like to imagine time travel must feel like: creepy deja-vu dream-feeling.

One of my recurrent dreams has what looks like some boarding school with real cool corridors and secret passages. One time the deja-vu feeling helped me find a passage I was looking for (with the feeling "yeah I knew it would be right here"). The last time I was in the building, it was gone though...

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"Bear...? Is that you?"-- Hurley S03E4