The Mysterious Meaning of Déjà Vu
About two-thirds of people have experienced déjà vu in their lifetimes
Date: 5/7/2022 3:01:49 PM ( 30 mon ) ... viewed 878 times
Spiritual Health
The Mysterious Meaning of Déjà Vu
Kells McPhillips
April 30, 2022
About two-thirds of people have experienced déjà vu in their lifetimes, but for something that's such a common experience (Olivia Rodrigo even wrote a hit song about it), the phenomenon is still shrouded in mystery. Theories about why people experience déjà vu—or moments that seem like they've happened before—range from metaphysical to scientific.
In French, déjà vu means "already seen"— the perfect description for this particular sensation. Maybe you're in the middle of a conversation with a friend and suddenly feel like it's familiar or perhaps you visit a place for the first time and find yourself feeling like you've been there before. Whatever the details of the weird, eerie moment may be, you'll know it when you feel it.
The most common theories may answer the (kind of unanswerable) question: What is déjà vu? You might find significance in these moments, if you're open to it.
The Neuroscientific Meaning of Déjà Vu
It's difficult to study déjà vu. It occurs randomly, which makes it challenging to recreate in a lab setting. And thus, researchers are largely working with theories. For example, science writer and postdoctoral researcher Jordan Gaines Lewis, PhD, previously told Psychology Today, scientists attribute the phenomenon to something like a glitch in the brain.
More specifically, your brain is always processing information in an attempt to paint a full picture of your world, and sometimes, that picture isn't perfect. Your sensory input and memory-recalling output cross wires, and you wind up feeling you've been standing there before. However, there's a flaw in this theory because déjà vu events don't always come from real past experiences.
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