Déjà vu may be a mini-seizure in the temporal lobe in people who do not have epilepsy, but it may not create any other issues since it ends before it progresses too far. This relates to the theory that déjà vu might be produced by a strong sense of familiarity. When you experience déjà vu, you feel like you've been here before, even though you know that can't be true. Scientists think that your brain makes an error when trying to analyze new information, which could explain why you feel like you know what's going on even though you really don't.
People who have epilepsy tend to have more déjà vus than those who don't. About one in four people with epilepsy will experience déjà vu at some point in their lives. That number is higher for people with severe epilepsy—about half of those people will experience it at some point.
Déjà vu can be very disturbing for someone who experiences it because they feel like they're reliving something that just happened. They may also believe that something terrible is about to happen. In fact, studies show that people who experience déjà vu often end up being involved in accidents or incidents that no one else saw happen. Because of this risk, scientists think that perhaps déjà vu is another way for the brain to protect us by making us feel like we need to act or react in some way.
Most people get déjà vu without any negative health consequences. Déjà vu can be a symptom of a neurological condition in rare situations. Individuals with epilepsy frequently experience focal seizures, which occur in one part of the brain, occasionally in the temporal lobe, where memories are stored. Focal seizures can also occur due to other causes such as tumors or trauma. If you have epilepsy, your doctor will perform special tests to determine the cause of your symptoms.
Déjà vu is not a disease itself, but rather a subjective feeling that something familiar is happening for the second time. It may be difficult to explain why some people feel this way about things that have no actual meaning for them. Scientists used to think of déjà vu as a symptom of another problem, such as a mental illness or a body injury. However, recent research has shown that it is actually the result of certain normal physiological processes occurring properly.
People who have never experienced anything abnormal with their nervous system often believe that someone with dementia or a neurodegenerative disease must be suffering from déjà vu. This is not true; people with dementia do not have these feelings because their brains are not functioning properly. Rather, they are experiencing similar sensations as everyone else, but cannot interpret them correctly. For example, someone with dementia might think that someone is invading their privacy by standing too close behind them when in fact there is no one there at all.
Deja vu is frequently caused by nothing significant, however it can occur right before or during epileptic convulsions. Many persons who have seizures, or their loved ones, become aware of what is going on quite fast. However, while focal seizures are widespread, they are not usually immediately identifiable as seizures. Some people have had several similar experiences over a short period of time and believe that they are being haunted or pursued by some kind of entity.
People who experience repeated dreams after waking up during the night show an increase in deja vu activity when sleeping. This may be because things that happen when we're awake continue to run through our minds when we sleep, or perhaps because the mind works differently when we're asleep than when we're awake. Either way, this correlation has been used by some psychologists to suggest that dreams play a role in causing or at least contributing to deja vu sensations.
It is not known exactly how often deja vu feelings arise from something other than a previous experience of some sort. Experts think that many more cases go unreported because people don't recognize its significance or because they assume that it means nothing serious.
However, if you feel like something is following you or you've seen something before but can't place where, then deja vu might be the cause. It's important to know that de ja vu is not dangerous, but it can make you feel worried or anxious.