I'll watch it again with that in mind; I guess my take is somewhat similar - not that this stuff is in his head, but that this stuff is in all our heads as we consume a film, music, TV, etc., we also share media images. These shared images, or fantasies ("Stars make dreams and dreams make stars", Inland Empire) partially explain these "time-loops", they are nothing more than the repeated broadcasts and reinterpretations people make of the media they consume - blonde woman, brunette woman, whatever works for them...then again, who the *&%# knows?