anxiety related deja vu?

Posted , 5 users are following.

Hello everyone!

before I say anything else, I want to tell you guys that I have struggled with health anxiety for months now and I've been kinda "obsessed" with having some kind of epilepsy/seizures. when I read that deja vu can be caused by seizures I started obsessing over it and I would get them almost every day 5-6 times a day, they decrease a lot when I don't think about them and increase when I am stressed or crying or anything similiar to that.. I wonder-can anxiety cause deja vu? can I "manifest" deja vu by thinking about it too much? I could not find any useful information on internet since everyone links deja vu with only epilepsy but I have heard from some people that anxiety would cause deja vu.. could you guys please give me any information, suggestion..anything would be helpful ❤️

thank you so much!

1 like, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Posted

    I also wanted to add that I feel like such a failure.. in summer it will be 1 year since my health anxiety developed and I will feel better for a day or two and then I find myself googling and searching up various illnesses again and again and AGAIN.. I don't know how to break the circle... I feel like giving up and accepting my faith 😕

  • Edited

    this is kind of long but I wanted to share some things with you.

    i’ve had anxiety on and off for over 30 years and I’ve been through every sensation you can think of. And one thing I can tell you is that when you obsess over something and think about it all the time or Google your symptoms, everything is going to feel worse! That’s because you were telling your brain that something is wrong so your brain responds by creating those symptoms and sensations.

    And yes, anxiety can definitely cause déjà vu. I have had that more times than I can count and I am perfectly healthy. When you Google you are going to find the worst case scenario for everything and 99% of the time you’re not going to be in that category.Google doesn’t give you the whole picture.

    One thing I would suggest that you stop doing is calling yourself a failure. There are millions and millions of people who have anxiety that comes and goes. Sometimes you can feel good and all of a sudden anxiety will hit you. It’s not your fault.

    the MAIN And most important thing is how you respond to the anxiety. I found that when I respond in a relaxed, matter of fact way, the anxiety would tone down. Some counselors even say to "talk" to your anxiety. For example you can say in a very relaxed way "oh it’s you again. Take your time stay as long as you like but i’m busy doing something else right now." then that’s exactly what you do, you get busy doing something else. I’m not saying it will go away 100% but the more you do that the better you will feel. Of course you can do it your own way however works best.

    anxiety can be short term or chronic and you can find ways to manage it so you feel better. I would suggest speaking with a counselor who can help you.

    One thing to remember is that any anxiety sensation is not going to hurt you even though it feels weird and scary.

    YouTube has some great meditations to calm down anxiety. I listen to them every night when I lay down to sleep and I end up falling asleep before they’re over.

    remember do not overthink this. Just let the sensations or déjà vu come and go and you will find they will decrease as you relax your mind more. Feel free to private message me anytime. Have a nice evening!

    • Edited

      Jan, I want to begin by saying a HUGE thank you to you because this is not the first time of me writing a post here and you have always been so helpful and kind and caring...I want to show my personal gratitude and tell you that at some situations, your words were my only glimps of light in the dark, your words kept me going.

      I will try everything you suggested and I am sure that while people like you exist, it's always possible to find hope in every situation. thank you thank you thank you!!! have a beautiful day

  • Edited

    I have been dealing with the exact same thing. Ive had anxiety since i was 18 and recently with the pandemic crap Ive been extremely OCD and worried constantly. I already have health anxiety and started getting deja vu June 2020 it comes and goes ive seen 2 different neurologist had 2 brain MRI 1 in office EEG and 2 ambulatory EEG for them to all be normal. its so scary and I try to ignore it but it happens more and more and sometimes i get a rush of adrenaline as well. Im sorry youre dealing with this as well its no fun.

  • Edited

    déjà vu absolutely can happen often with stress and or anxiety. I had them so many times with anxiety and stress on and off for years.

    When you say you get them more with worry and then they settle down when you settle down that is very telling.

    If you had seizures déjà vu wouldn’t settle down when you stop thinking about it and it would not increase when you worried. however that can and does happen when you have anxiety.

    it’s been long enough for you to feel confident that you have very high anxiety that is causing déjà vu. as far as what you have been telling us, nothing bad has ever happened so it would be healthy for you to let it go and work on reducing your anxiety which will help get rid of déjà vu. Counseling could be very beneficial for you to reach that goal. It helps to have somebody supporting you in giving you very helpful information on how to feel much better.

    you can rest assured that anxiety most definitely can bring on déjà vu. Don’t waste another second. worry takes away days and even years of our lives and does not add a single day to our life. You’re OK. Enjoy the beautiful day and enjoy your life!

    • Edited

      youre always so comforting Jan- i see your replies to jonathan on other threads and youre helpful 😃

      i was wondering if you have ever had that adrenaline rush after the deja vu? i dont know if Ive freaked myself out or what but i feel like theyve been more intense lately. Im also coming off of lexapro its been 4 days i so badly need a medication but i have horrible side effects and my doctor keeps taking me on and off of ssris

    • Edited

      It's so ironic to me how I JUST NOW started having those adrenaline rushes as well and I could not explain what it was even when I would explain it to people I would be like "it's like a one second feeling but very intense, at that moment I feel like my heart is beating very fast and everything becomes dizzy" and no one could understand what it was and now I come here and see you mentioning adrenaline rushes and my brain is like "ding ding ding, it's something similiar to what you are facing" funny how we, humans are not original in any way lol...whatever you are going through it's nothing new or unique 😄D it's very comforting as well tho

    • Posted

      i get them often, more often when im anxious. be well and please reach out if needed 

  • Posted

    hey just wanted to say that i have been experiencing the same and im also always online looking for answers or people with relating stories. im always questioning if these are focal seizures forming in the temporal lobe. like you my deja vu peaks when im more stressed anxious, but youre also more likely to have a seizure when youre more stressed and anxious which always makes me question what it is. i also get real bad deja vu where i know what someone else is about to say, these are the ones that cause me to panic the most.

    i have talked to my doctor about all my symptoms and says they could be seizures. ive had an mri which came back normal and ive also had an eeg but still on a waiting list to hear about the results.

    i saw you posted this a few months ago and just want to know if you have any updates or how you are handling it all?

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