Types of Déjà Vu

Deja vu falls into three main types: I’ve seen this before, I’ve been here before and I’ve done this before.

Many people dismiss the first type of deja vu, the “I’ve seen this before” type, without much thought. Via video and pictures, it is not uncommon to feel a familiarity with places that we have never been. There is even a current television commercial that references this experience. A man entering his hotel room for the first time tells his wife, “I’ve seen this before.”

The man’s reaction in the commercial is typical of those experiencing deja vu. He shakes his head as though trying to recall the moment when this previous memory comes from. His wife, scoffing, tells him that of course he has, he took the virtual hotel tour online.

All deja vu is not this easy to explain away, but the reaction can be very similar. Reactions to the first type of deja vu are usually mild confusion and disbelief, if it is recognized at all. Some people simply do not even acknowledge the feeling that they have seen or heard this before.

People are much more likely to react to the second form of deja vu, the “I’ve been here before” type. This often occurs when a person first visits a new place. Though it can be a reaction to having seen photos of the place before or reading particularly accurate descriptions, often then is a trick of the mind based in the hopes and planning for a special event.

For example, a person may never have been to Ireland, but anticipates emerald green fields and lush forests from the travel brochures and years of hearing about the island. He might then crest a hill in Ireland to find himself remembering a site he has never seen before. This may be because the brain anticipates that is what Ireland will look like.

Perhaps the most disconcerting form of deja vu and hardest to explain is the “I’ve done this before” type. Although there are some theories that this can occur when the brain takes an amalgamation of previous memories and meshes them with its perception of what is happening in the moment, there is no scientific evidence to support the theory.

This type of deja vu is usually accompanied by the feeling that these precise actions have been done before and are being repeated with the exact same result.