Paddler

Yeah, this is a weird one. So I'm passing the longest continuous time period I have gone in my adult life without drinking. Horray... I passed the mark that used to always stumble me up.

Anyway, I'm having a LOT of DeJa Vu. You know... that feeling you get when you think you've done something... or something might happen. Sometimes it's thinking something bad might happen and other times it's something good, or fun... but most of the time it's just that "I've lived out this exact scenario before" feeling...

Anyone else get this? Anyone know where it comes from?

lilyrosemary

I don't know but would it have anything to do with your brain reacting to the change of chemicals in your brain? Interesting though.

NapsteR1

I get this very strongly about once a month - I find myself in a snapshot of a situation I've dreamt about before. Not sure it's got to do with drink though but I did start at 15, I used to have a dream when I was a kid of being in a grey room with a constant roaring noise and slamming doors behind me, I'd turn around and there was no-one there. There were grey cylinders in front of me and I had the feeling they were important but just moved them around. This dream kept on recurring and wasn't one of my favorite.

Years later I got a job in a supermarket and one day had to go up to the upstairs stockroom and put discounted stickers on tinned goods that were near out of date or bent. The upstairs was where the cold stores were and the noise of the chillers was a constant roar, customers weren't allowed up there so the walls and floor were painted grey. They was a door in from the corridor behind me to my right and the door to the staff room was directly behind me. People could come in from the corridor and be in the staff room before the corridor door slammed shut.

This is 100% genuine - I'll have a dream where I'm sitting at my desk at work but the desk is wrong and the windows are in the wrong place. Couple of years later I started a new job, couple of weeks in the light came in just right and wham - I'm back in the dream snapshot.

Very wierd but comforting, as long as I keep dreaming - there will be more to live for!

hypochondriac

It may be good to ask your doctor about that Paddler. There is medical stuff associated with this and it isn't just a creepy feeling, though we all get it from time to time x

fantail

Really interesting! OK, not medical advice at all, I just like learning about things like this so I did some quick googling. Maybe a jumping off point to a conversation with your doctor?

So according to Scientific American, deja vu is probably related to the "familiarity" aspect of memory, which is controlled by our medial temporal cortex: What is going on in the brain when we experience déjà vu?: Scientific American

The medial temporal lobe is one of the parts of the brain that long term alcohol affects. You might want to ask your doctor to check out your vitamin and mineral levels.

And the other interesting thing I found... according to the SA link above (which unfortunately just has the abstract not the whole article) deja vu may be associated with having familiarity without conscious memory. E.g., having the kneejerk reaction that you are familiar with something, but not consciously recalling when or how.

This article about a study on blackouts in alcoholics mentions: "In individuals who regularly experience alcohol-induced memory loss, or a blackout, it is the contextual memory that seems to be most impaired. This refers to the details surrounding an experience, such as where, when and with whom the event occurred. However, blackouts seem to affect some drinkers more than others, and are not necessarily determined by the amount of alcohol that an individual consumes. Simply put, you either blackout when drinking large amounts of alcohol or you do not." Alcohol | Brain Study

Anyway I haven't experienced it myself, just thought this might be interesting.

Paddler

Yeah... I googled it too and was both relieved and freaked out depending on the article you read...

It isn't bad... and never super detailed. And, it only lasts about 20 seconds. Just that moment when you're like, "WTF... I've done this before... this exact thing..." and then you start trying to manipulate the Deja vu to keep it going.

Super weird. The brain is a crazy thing, huh.

KAMRIZ

Hi Paddler!

I've had more deja vu experiences since I got sober, I get them probably once a month now, the last time I had one I as in a public restroom washing my hands which I thought was funny....not sure why I had to relive that experience again, not very profound!

I have had them all of my life, however not so much when I was drinking, so I'm happy they are back.

I have always equated deja vu with my intuition and/or subconscious...my intuition is also coming back slowly but surely, my drinking squashed that too. I think deja vu is cool and mysterious and awesome sauce.

Leemzer

I have them more now too and I am 6 months sober. I used to have deja vu a lot as a child, but not in my teens and drinking years. I like the feeling and it does not bother me at all.