Why do we sometimes have the feeling that we have already experienced something, even though it never happened (“déjà-vus”)

Most people have had the feeling of having lived the moment they are going through, experiencing the confusion of not knowing if it is real or not; In short, the experience known as déjà vu🇧🇷 Have you ever wondered why this happens? Is it the memory of a past life or a mistake in the Matrix?

O awesome.club researched for you the possible explanations of the scientific community about this phenomenon.

The concept déjà vu means “already seen” in French and was first used by philosopher and psychologist Émile Boirac in his book L’Avenir des Sciences Psychiques 🇧🇷The Future of Psychic Sciences”), published in 1917. And although more than a century has passed since then, the explanation for this sensation remains a matter of debate.

O déjà vu it is described as the feeling of having lived something before, without being able to remember it and usually happens in a fleeting and unexpected way. For example, you are traveling by plane for the first time, but during the flight you have the sudden feeling that you have lived this situation before, that everything seems familiar: seeing the sky through the window, the flight attendants in the aisle and be meters high above the surface.

This happens for 60% to 80% of the population and it can be a very upsetting experience because one part of you feels that you have lived in the moment and the other part assures you that you have never been in that situation.

You déjà vu they arrive unannounced and are usually very brief, in addition to often happening to people without health problems, which could influence them to have this feeling, making their scientific study especially complicated.

And even if one is not very familiar with this concept, he will hardly be aware of experiencing a déjà vu🇧🇷 Although the cause is unclear, possible explanations have been established and some of them are related to memory.

Anne Cleary, a researcher at Colorado State University, USA, investigated the phenomenon and her work led her to the conclusion that the déjà vu it can occur as a response to an event that looks like something you’ve experienced, but for some reason can’t remember.

For the researcher, the déja vu it can be a trick of the brain, similar to when a word is on the tip of your tongue but you can’t remember it. It is a particular manifestation of familiarity, “you are familiar with a situation that you feel you shouldn’t be, so it’s so disconcerting, so surprising.”

The research also intends to understand why many people believed that the déjà vu It was a form of premonition. Using virtual reality, in which it was possible to induce the déjà vuthe study researchers realized that this premonition was nothing more than a sensation, as the predictions made by the participants were usually wrong.

This theory has to do with the perception of something at two different times, but with different degrees of attention. For example, let’s say you drive down a street while riding as a passenger in a car. In this situation you are distracted, not paying much attention to anything. Some time later, you pass by that same street, but this time walking and paying attention to the route, so you have a déjà vu🇧🇷

The theory assumes that the brain can begin to form a memory even if it has very little information (which can come from a brief sideways glance), even if the individual is unaware of it. Thus, he feels as if they are two different events, although in reality it is a continuous perception of the same event.

Another possible explanation is confusion in the brain between the part that tracks present events and the part in charge of memories, that is, a consequence of an electrical malfunction, similar to what occurs in an epileptic seizure.

When the brain receives information, it normally follows a path from short-term to long-term memory storage, but this theory suggests that short-term memories take a shortcut to being stored in long-term memory. In this way, the brain mistakenly perceives what is happening in the present as a memory of something that has already happened.

The feeling this can cause is that you are retrieving a memory from a long time ago, even though the experience really happened at the last second. In computer terms, it’s as if the memory file was stored in the wrong folder and now it causes problems by merging with another similar file.

As we have seen, in general, it can be said that the déjà vu relates to having experienced a similar situation before, but not being able to remember it. There is probably nothing to worry about, although you may notice these episodes more often if you are tired or under a lot of stress.

If déjà vu is accompanied by convulsions, it is advisable to consult a specialist. Otherwise, ensuring adequate rest and reducing stress levels can help make déjà vu less frequent.

If you also know this feeling, tell us what was your strangest experience when having a déjà vu.