Have you ever been suddenly overcome with the strange feeling that you're repeating the past? That weird sensation is known as déjà vu.
The rational part of your brain tells you that the experience is brand new, and it's impossible to feel the way you're feeling. However, that is overcome by a very real and vivid sensation that you've been in that exact seat, having that exact conversation before.
Déjà vu is something that a lot of people experience, but can seldom explain. After all, how do you begin to define the unnerving feeling that you're getting in touch with a past life or a long-forgotten memory?
It's both an unsettling and thrilling feeling, and it leaves most of us with more questions than answers, especially because no one knows exactly what it is.
There are plenty of strange theories and explanations out there as to what your déjà vu could mean. Everyone from doctors to psychics has something to say about it.
Scroll through to learn some of the mysterious and bizarre causes that could be at the root of your déjà vu.
Thumbnail: Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
What Is Déjà Vu?
So what exactly is this weird phenomenon? Déjà vu is French for "already seen," which pretty aptly describes the feeling.
Dr. Vernon M. Neppe, who wrote The Psychology of Déjà Vu in 1983, describes it as "any subjectively inappropriate impression of familiarity of a present experience with an undefined past."
Basically, it's that slightly spooky feeling that you have been somewhere, met someone, or done something before, even though you know it's impossible.
1. The Hologram Theory
Does the smell of evergreen trees ever make you think it's the holiday season even though it's summer?
The hologram theory, by Dutch scientist Herman Sno, suggests that reliving one fragment of a familiar memory can sort of trick our minds into triggering a feeling that the entire experience is familiar even though it isn't.
Our five senses are intimately linked to memory, so one familiar odor or taste can send you right back down memory lane.
2. Precognitive Dreams
Some people say that if you can dream it, you can do it!
The precognitive dream theory, according to Health Guidance, describes experiencing something you have already had a dream about. Therefore, you feel like you have experienced it already.
Some people even believe that it's not as simple as just remembering your dreams. They believe that some dreams can actually predict the future.
3. Dual Process Theory
This theory is the one most widely accepted in the field of psychology. It, of course, has to do with their favorite organ — the brain.
The dual process theory says that déjà vu occurs when the memory-making processes in our brain are momentarily out of sync.
When long-term and short-term memories aren't stored properly and there is a glitch in our brains, we experience déjà vu.
4. Parallel Universe Theory
This theory is (not surprisingly) unpopular among psychologists, who seem to think the idea of a parallel universe is a little too out there for their liking.
This theory suggests that déjà vu happens when a parallel self in a parallel universe collides with the here and now.
The idea is that one shared experience across the cosmos can trigger a memory of a parallel past.
Psychologists may not love this theory, but physicists are more open. Scientists who study the universe have never disproven the possibility of parallel universes.
5. Divided Attention Theory
Do you ever look at something so quickly that you forget what you even saw? Well, your brain may be subliminally recording it without you ever realizing.
This subconscious recollection means that when we experience déjà vu, we may have actually had the experience before. It just feels new because we never remembered it consciously in the first place.
Some trained police therapists are even able to draw these "recorded" details out to help solve crimes, by giving their subject a cognitive interview.
6. Hiccup In Your Brain
The amygdala is the part of our brain responsible for our fight or flight response, according to the University of Texas.
The human brain is more powerful than the fastest supercomputer, but it still isn't perfect and sometimes it can falsely recognize ordinary situations as warranting fear or an emotional response.
When this happens, our brain attaches special significance and a rush of adrenalin to a totally normal moment, which makes us feel like we are recalling something important.
7. Reincarnation Theory
Of course the eeriest déjà vu theory (and my personal favorite) is that the eerie sensation strikes when you happen to do something that you experienced in a past life.
While there is no historical or scientific proof to this theory, it's definitely fun to think about who you might have been in a previous existence.
It's also interesting to ponder which modern experiences we might share with people who lived in the distant past.
8. Glitch Theory
The glitch theory is inspired by the film The Matrix, in which characters learn they are living in a computer.
This kooky theory holds that déjà vu is a glitch in a simulation where we are able to experience past, present, and future all at once.
This is definitely the most outlandish explanation of them all.
Frankly, the present is more than enough for me, thank you!
Make sure to SHARE these wild and wacky explanations with your friends!
