Hi, I wasn't sure where to post this to. Sorry if I’m posting in the wrong place. During the past three days I have been experiencing something similar to deja vu, where I see fractions of images and seem to recall something. It only lasts a few seconds but it causes a lot of anxiety. Partially because my vision goes blurry and I get very detached from reality. Unfortunately I have troubles remembering most of what I see afterward, but I have a strong feeling its related to some recurring dreams I have been having for a while.
I was wondering if anyone has had something similar and whether you can tell the difference between recalling a memory of a dream or remembering something that really happened..
thanks

[Miswimmy1]

I'm not sure. That is intriguing to think about. I think that memories can affect dreams. I think memory can be changed, because of *how* you see the event. But I'm not really sure. Dreams are based off of thoughts and memories that you have. So they all for together somehow.

[medkev13]

That's actually a catch 22 of sorts. The funny thing about the brain is that (and this neuroscience has proven) the brain treats memries as real, ACTIVE events. Not just treating them as things that have happened, but as if they are actively happening in the present (hence, when you're "living in your past" you're literally doing exactly that). Dreams are almost a secondary version of that. Our bodies treat dreams as something akin to an actual event, though without the physical reprocussions. In fact, much of that is because our dreams are built from our memories and perceptions. So if our dreams are built on memories, our brain treats them like they're really happening. And if we remember them later, we're actively reliving them AS memories. Following logic, "If A=B, and if B=C, then A=C" -- if our dreams are memories, and if memories are treated as active events, then our dreams are treated as active events.

If you're getting actual flashes of memory images, then what you're describing sounds to be closer to PTSD than de ja vu. They sound like flashbacks, to be blunt. And if they are (you notice I didn't say anything about mental repercussions of dreams) it is conceivable that this recurring dream has ingrained itself to the point that you're literally reliving it every so often now in waking life as a flashback.