5 Enthralling Theories To Explain Déjà Vu!
Déjà vu is the name given to the unsettling feeling we get when we feel we have been in the exact same situation before. For a few seconds, we are convinced that we have lived the moment previously—to the point where it almost feels like we can predict what is going to happen next. Then just as quickly as the bizarre feeling comes, it goes and we’re back to our normal reality. Although an actual cause of déjà vu has yet to be confirmed by science, over 40 theories have been proposed to try to explain it. This list includes 10 of the most interesting and thought-provoking examples!
5. Parallel Universe Theory
The idea that we live among millions of parallel universes containing millions of versions of ourselves carrying out our own lives with a diversity of different possibilities has always been a somewhat exciting thought. Déjà vu could actually contribute to this theory! Believers in this theory claim that the human experience of déjà vu can be explained by considering the unsettling feeling of having lived a moment before as a “crossover” with a parallel universe. This would mean that whatever you’re doing while experiencing the déjà vu, a parallel version of you is doing it in a different universe simultaneously, therefore creating an alignment between the two universes! Although intriguing, this theory is not backed with much scientific evidence, which makes it difficult to accept. However, the multiverse theory, which states that millions of universes form randomly side by side with only an exceptional few forming with the accessories to support life like ours, could help to assist this hypothesis.
4. Precognitive Dreams
A precognitive dream is where a dream we have predicts something that happens in the future—someone finds themselves in a situation they had previously dreamed about. A lot of people report having precognitive dreams about great tragedies (such as the sinking of the Titanic), suggesting that humans have a subconscious sixth sense!
This could explain déjà vu by suggesting that the moment we have the experience of living something before is when we have previously dreamed about the present happenings. For example, you may have a dream about driving on a certain road and then later you drive on the same road as the one in your dream. You have a precognitive recollection of the road which allows you to recognize it. As dreaming is not a conscious process, this explains why we don’t consciously recognize the stimulus (the road from the example) yet still feel that it is familiar.
3. The Amygdala
The amygdala is a small region of our brain. With one located in each cerebral hemisphere, the amygdala is involved in our experience of emotion (most commonly anger or fear). The amygdala is responsible for our fear response to things in our environment. So if you’re afraid of spiders, your amygdala will process your response when you see one. When we’re put in a dangerous situation, our amygdala may act to temporarily disorient our brain. If you were standing underneath a falling tree, your amygdala may have a panic response that causes your brain to malfunction. The amygdala can be used to explain déjà vu if we consider the moment as a temporary brain malfunction. If we are placed in a situation that is almost the same as a situation we have been in before but it is changed somehow (for example, the layout of a house may be identical to another you have been in, but the actual furniture could be different), our amygdala could produce a panic response. This means we are put in a temporary state of confusion, and this could be our experience of déjà vu.
2. Reincarnation
The general theory of reincarnation is that we lived as someone else in a previous life before we were born into this life. Although there are some intriguing accounts of people who seem to recall accurate personal details of their past
lives, believers in reincarnation claim that the majority of us move into the next life with no recollection of the previous one. This means that we carry no direct memories from our old life. Believers in reincarnation say that we come into our new life with a set of signals that reflect states of consciousness. This means that memories created on one level of consciousness cannot be retrieved in another (like being unable to recall something that happened while you were drunk). As déjà vu occurs in an abnormal level of consciousness, the theory of reincarnation would explain the experience by referring to the moment as a signal from a previous life. There could be a trigger in the environment which allows the transition of consciousness to occur. Perhaps we recognize a certain sound, smell, or image from our previous existence and momentarily remember our previous life (which would explain why we feel we are reliving the past in the present). However, there is no way to scientifically prove or disprove this theory. It all comes down to a matter of faith!
1. A ‘Glitch’ In Reality
The “glitch” theory is perhaps the most bizarre yet exciting explanation included on our list. Déjà vu may seem like a minor moment in your lifetime which you soon forget after it happens, but if this theory is true, déjà vu could actually be a phenomenal event.Glitch theory describes déjà vu as a momentary breakdown in our reality. Einstein famously suggested that there is no such thing as time—that time is a human creation made to establish order and structure. However, time might simply be an illusion from which déjà vu gives us a small break. This would explain why we feel we have lived the moment before. If time is a made-up convention, then what we believe to be the past, present, and future are actually all happening simultaneously. Therefore, when déjà vu occurs, we are simply slipping into a greater level of consciousness where we are able to live more than one experience at the same time. This theory has wider implications, too. If déjà vu is really a glitch in reality, this may mean that damage to the foundations of our universe are created whenever an experience of déjà vu occurs. Some people hypothesize that these are the moments when UFOs can be sighted because déjà vu opens up bridges between different realities. Exciting . . . yet so far impossible to prove. Jaydon is a 17-year-old literature, drama, and psychology student from the UK. He’s very interested in writing, creativity and discovery.
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