What Are Déjà Vu And Premonitions?

Have you ever experienced this weird feeling of being in a new place yet having a strange feeling like you’ve been to that location before? Or for that matter, have you ever felt that you know a person even when you’ve just been introduced to him?

Well, these experiences are not extraordinary! They happen to all, mostly in the age group of 15 years to 25 years, where people dream of these things well in advance and experience it later, giving rise to a feeling of familiarity of the situation. This is called Déjà vu.

What is Déjà vu?

(Image Courtesy: In 5D )

The term, coined by French psychic researcher Emile Boirac, owes its lineage from the French. It means ‘already seen’; giving you a sense of belief that you have already seen these things. However, the reality is that you are seeing it for the first time.

Having said that, more than 70% of the people in the world experience Déjà vu! As a matter of fact, the phenomena occurs so frequently and rapidly that it is difficult for the researcher to ascertain the cause of déjà vu among humans.

Why do you experience Déjà vu?

(Image Courtesy: World Atlas)

One can experience déjà vu for a plethora of reasons. Here are some:

#1. You have seen a picture or two of the same place in the past. In such cases, the brain saves the photo in its memory, and when you see something similar, you tend to believe you’ve seen it before.

#2. You have indulged in some book or a magazine that would have familiarized you about the place. Thus, when you visit the place, you feel that you have already been there.

#3. Your subconscious mind may have stored a memory from a movie that you have watched in the past and have forgotten about it. Since the scene before your eyes replicates the one from the film, you feel like you have experienced this before.

#4. The place or the person who you have met recently may have featured in your dreams a while back. Probably that’s why you experienced that eerie feeling.

#5. It could have triggered with the help of the five senses. Thus, the food you eat, the view that you are seeing, the surrounding atmosphere, the smell of the area or the noise of the person or the thing would have familiarized you with the place or the person, leading you to believe that the episode is a blast from the past.

How Does Déjà vu Happen?

(Image Courtesy: Camp Wonderopolis)

Although it is extremely difficult to understand the reasons that cause Déjà vu to occur in the first place, there are several theories that suggest some chemical fuse in the brain that leads to it imagining weird things in the head.

Here are some of the theories:

#1. Some Psychiatrists cite mismatching in the brain to confuse the present with the past. They blame the wrong connection in the brain as the reason to portray a live experience as a one that was experienced in the past.

#2. Another theory suggests that there is a mismatch in the brain while creating a perception of things. Our memory consists of small bits of sensory information. When this sensory input mixes with the memory recalling output, it produces a false impression on the mind of the person.

#3. Another significant theory in the field of Déjà vu suggests malfunctioning between long and short term circuits in the brain. There are times when information leaks out from the short term memory and makes its way into the long term memory, giving an impression that the memory is actually from the distant past. However, it is the present, and the vision is from the real world.

#4. Another researcher blamed the error in timing as the reason for experiencing Déjà vu. According to the findings of the researcher, the sensory information taken at the moment may be taking a long time in processing and re-routing to long term storage, causing a delay to register the action. Probably that’s why one feels like we have seen the things or met the person in the past. But it’s not true in real terms.

Are you satisfied with the finding? Is there something you would want to share with us? Comment on the box below to share your opinions and views on the same.