Deep breathing can slow your heart rate and decrease physical tension in your body. [1] X Research source Slowly and deliberately breath in through your nose. Hold it for a few seconds and then release the breath through your mouth. Take as many breaths as you need to calm yourself.
Notice how your body is feeling. You might ask yourself, “Do I feel tense anywhere? Do I feel nauseous? Do I feel calm?” Pay attention to your breathing. Is it normal and steady? Shallow? Fast or uneven? Focus on what thoughts and memories you are having at the moment. Don’t try to stop them, just acknowledge them and let them pass through your mind. For example, you might think, “I’m thinking about how familiar this scene is. How I feel like I have done this exact thing before. ”
Buy a notebook small enough to carry with you everywhere. You never know where you might be when you experience déjà vu. Write it down every time you get the feeling of déjà vu. Write how long it lasted, where you were, what you were doing, who else was there, and the date. Write about how the experience made you feel. For example, did it startle you? Comfort you? Frighten you?
For instance, you could say to your friend, “I think I’m experiencing déjà vu and it feels really weird. Has this ever happened to you?” Or, you might tell your sibling, “I had the strongest feeling of déjà vu just now. Can I tell you about it?”
Identify the things that have you stressed and problem-solve ways to reduce the stress they are causing you. For example, if you are stressed about your workload then you might talk to someone close to you about how you are feeling and try to get organized. Start practicing meditation as a way to keep yourself calm and reduce some of the stress you might be feeling. Try some deep breathing exercises as a way to lower your anxiety and decrease any stress that you are feeling.
Go to bed at a regular time each evening. Do something relaxing and soothing in the hour or so before you go to sleep. For example, you might read a book, listen to calming music, or have a cup of tea. Make sure that you are taking time each day to simply relax and do something calming and peaceful.
Ask your physician if any of your regular or short-term medications increase the dopamine levels in your brain. Ask yourself if your déjà vu began or increased around the time you started taking the medication? If you have ever stopped taking the medication, did your déjà vu experiences decrease or stop?
You might say, “Dr. Yung, I’ve been experiencing déjà vu a lot lately and it’s worrying me a bit. ” Or, you could try, “I’d like to talk to about déjà vu and what it might mean if I have it a lot. ” Bring your déjà vu journal with you to your doctor’s visit so that you can share it with your doctor.
Try to keep track of how frequently you are having déjà vu experiences to determine if the frequency is decreasing. Notice if there are any patterns as to when or where your déjà vu experiences occur. Do they usually happen in the morning or evening, for example?
Make an effort to recall the specific circumstances of the original incident when you experience déjà vu. Practice paying attention to detail on an everyday basis to deal with your déjà vu and improve your memory even more. For example, notice how things smell, look, taste, feel, and sound. Also, pay attention to emotions in each moment. For instance, if you are swimming, you might notice that you feel relaxed and calm and that the water is salty and cool.
Déjà vu is the feeling that you have experienced a particular and exact situation or sequence of events before. For example, while on a vacation to a place you’ve never been before, you get the feeling that you’ve stood on that exact beach before watching the sunset, even though you know it’s impossible. Another experience you might have is called déjà entendu, the feeling that you have heard something before, but can’t remember from where. For instance, if you hear a Gregorian chant that sounds strongly familiar even when you have never listened to anything like that before. Learn about jamais vu, which happens when you are somewhere familiar but it feels like you have never been there before. This might occur when you walk into your bedroom, but feel as if you are entering the room for the first time in your life.
