[Tangerine87]

Hi,

I was wondering if this is normal. Sometimes when I am talking about something difficult, I will talk in 3rd person (example if t has certain things like in his room like for example a baby doll).

I have been doing this a lot and I hope t isn't diagnosing me with a dissociative disorder. I do dissociate a lot in therapy.

[Michael W. Harris]

Originally Posted by Tangerine87

Hi,

I was wondering if this is normal. Sometimes when I am talking about something difficult, I will talk in 3rd person (example if t has certain things like in his room like for example a baby doll).

I have been doing this a lot and I hope t isn't diagnosing me with a dissociative disorder. I do dissociate a lot in therapy.

I now know that my alters talked with my Mom about me in third person. It did not ring any bells with her. If she had just told a mental health professional that this was occurring I would have already gotten a diagnosis! Normal people do not talk about themselves in third person.

I have friends who occassionally refer to themselves in third person and they are not dissociative. It could be my culture, maybe. ,It doesnt necessarily mean you have a disorder.

[possum220]

Talking in the third person may be a sign of splitting off or it may not either. As far as I am aware there must be more than two other distinct personalities to render a diagnoses of DID. (Along with a few other issues like losing time).

Can you ask your T straight out if they think you have DID? Much easier than guessing.

[amandalouise]

I never talked in the third person. My abusers had a code of conduct for me that included "do not tell or else this or that would happen" because of this my alters and I did not do anything that would result in telling the secrets that we held inside, including the alters existence. talking in the third person would have resulted in others around us asking questions....

example sitting in school if I said she knows the answer or they want to play ball, or She wants to play on the swings or rainy wants to play on the swings... a teacher would ask "who is she?" " who is Rainy?"

in therapy if I would have said we are going to go to the movies my treatment provider would have asked who is we?

the result was alerting others to the alters existence, which went against my abusers rule of do not tell.

so to follow the do not tell rule, I and my alters were always speaking in the first person (I, me , my, mine,...)

[RubyRae]

My husband talks in the 3rd person pretty often but doesn't have a dissociative disorder,it's just how he talks.I'm not sure where he picked it up from but sometimes it sounds strange to people that aren't used to it.

He also talks to/about other people in the 3rd person.An example is instead of saying "hi,how are you doing" to Joe he says "how's Joe doing today?".

[Michael W. Harris]

Originally Posted by Starry_Night

I have friends who occassionally refer to themselves in third person and they are not dissociative. It could be my culture, maybe. ,It doesnt necessarily mean you have a disorder.

In my case it does. I never talk about myself in third person.

[Michael W. Harris]

Originally Posted by RubyRae

My husband talks in the 3rd person pretty often but doesn't have a dissociative disorder,it's just how he talks.I'm not sure where he picked it up from but sometimes it sounds strange to people that aren't used to it.

He also talks to/about other people in the 3rd person.An example is instead of saying "hi,how are you doing" to Joe he says "how's Joe doing today?".

I have heard people say: "How is Joe doing today." I guess you would call that idiomatic speech. What is the definition of idiom? I think that is what they would call it. I am referring to the speech of different parts of the Country. Yes, that would not imply a dissociative disorder.

[Amyjay]

I totally talk in the third person in therapy when i am talking about an alter or they are talking about another one who isn't them. One part I know of talks to the t in the third person as though she is an outsider completely and not part of our system at all.
But everywhere else i am pretty sure every part of us uses "I" whether talking about their self or another one. It's all pretty hidden really apart from with our T and even then some parts are very cagey about "who" they are talking about.

I talk in 3rd person where appropriate like in therapy or here online...but in real life....I just dont talk about what the others did or passively own it.

Just because you are disassociating doesn't mean you are dissociating. Good luck.

[Heal_connect]

I observe myself objectively... analyzing my behaviors instead of feeling emotionally in the moment. I always view myself as the bigger picture... thinking why am i doing this instead of just doing this. it's kind of like what you are saying.