Are anxiety attacks and Deja vu the same?

Question

Could anxiety trigger this? I am known in the family as a worry wort:

Sometimes I get what I can only describe as "deja vu" attacks. I call them attacks because they are quite frightening, though there is no immediate danger present when they happened. They are triggered by normal everyday activities, (this first one was cleaning out a bird cage) and can even happen during sleep so that I wake up having them during the night. After i got married, they seemed to stop (about 2-3 years ago) and they have recently started up again.

Basically (again) I can be doing just about anything (sleeping, cleaning house, working), and I suddenly get this eerily cold feeling all over and an AWFUL smell in my nose ( no one else smells it) and the feeling like I know EXACTLY what will be said or done next. I find myself desperately trying to do something DIFFERENT (as calmly as I can) to break out of the "haze" (for lack of a better term). Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. They normally last for about a minute or so, and I'm almost shaking when they are over.

Answer 1

Anxiety or panic attacks usually involve feeling extremely fearful for no specific reason and may include physical manifestations like sweating, tightening of the throat, racing heart beat and even chest pain for some people.

What you describe doesn't sound like that.

Deja vu is a vague feeling that something you experienced right now has a strange connection to something you may have done before. It's probably related to the experience of dissociation, or unreal feeling, described in mental health. This can be indirectly related to anxiety although the feeling can be very different.

However, what you describe doesn't sound like dissociation or deja vu either.

Feeling cold, and having a sensation of smelling something that other people don't smell could be another type of mental health symptom, or maybe something with the nervous system.

If this is really bothering you, it would be a good a idea to see a doctor.  

Answer 2

Although the two experiences are different.  Deja Vu being the very realistic feeling that whatever is happening at a particular moment has already happened before.  Whether it really has or not the feeling that it has is unbelievably real.  An anxiety attack or panic attack comes with an inexplicable feeling that you are being overwhelmed and it can be terrifying, even to the point of passing out.  I've suffered from both before.  Deja Vu many times but I have a phobia about not being able to breathe so I've had a panic attack at work before because it was too stuffy and I started to freak out and fainted from breathing too fast or rather taking in too much oxygen too quickly.  Deja Vu can be frightening as well especially when it doesn't seem to end.  And can have the effect of causing a panic attack.  Quite often in fact.  The brain can have trouble processing how the same exact occurrence is happening twice.  And this instills a feeling of panic which well, leads to an attack.  Probably the best way I can describe it.  Hope that helps a bit.

Answer 3

No they are not deja vu is when something happens once again for instence say you see a cat walk by, you look away and look again another cat that looks exactly like the other walks by. I'm not very sure about an anxity attack,but im possotive that they are not the same

Answer 4

They aren't the same, Deja Vu is when you are experiencing something, that just feels like its happened before, same room same people, but you can't actually recall when it happened or anything.

These experiences could give you anxiety though, I suggest you go and see a doctor about this, if its interfering with your everyday life.

Answer 5

even if you don't believe in physic'ss and things like that, you could have some kinda of physic form.

Answer 6

Anxiety (panic) attacks are much worse than the deja vu.  Your heart pounds, your hyperventilate, you feel like you are going to die.

They are similar in that they both come out of nowhere.  But panic attacks are terrifying, while the dejavu is merely creepy.  Panic attacks last longer, probably 4-5 minutes - seem like forever.

Answer 7

Déjá Vu are caused by experiencing something you KNOW you've experienced before, but the first time - You didn't mentally take note of the circumstances.

Anxiety Attacks can be caused by ANYTHING making you Anxious, so basically - I believe Déjà Vu CAN lead to Anxiety Attacks, but Anxiety Attacks can't really directly trigger Déjà Vu.