<p>Speaking about oneself in the third person is known as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illeism" rel="nofollow">illeism</a>.</p>

<p>It is not a symptom of any mental condition listed in the DSM. As Wikipedia notes, it is sometimes used in speech and literature for stylistic reasons.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-12-31T23:49:29.373Z
I was asking about the cases when a person generally feels like using it, excluding intentional uses such as in literature, etc.
drabsv
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2014-12-31T21:56:11.560Z
2014-12-31T21:56:11.560Z
Jeff
<p>Is speaking (or preferring to speak, even if not actually doing it) about oneself in third person a symptom of any specific mental condition?</p>

<p>I can remember a person in an IRC role playing chat room who preferred to speak this way. But apart from this specific case, I am also asking in a broader context.</p>

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2015-01-09T15:28:57.587Z
Upvoted because it is an interesting question. My non-expert opinion: I think it would hard to design a study that pinned such behavior on a "specific mental condition". For instance, it could easily be viewed as an effect of narcissism (cf. the royal "we", or "your king commands it") or a sign of dissociative disorder ("The other one told me to do it"), etc.
dwn
<abnormal-psychology>
What does speaking in third person denote?
drabsv
# What does speaking in third person denote?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-12-31)

Is speaking (or preferring to speak, even if not actually doing it) about oneself in third person a symptom of any specific mental condition?

I can remember a person in an IRC role playing chat room who preferred to speak this way. But apart from this specific case, I am also asking in a broader context.

**Tags:** abnormal-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Upvoted because it is an interesting question. My non-expert opinion: I think it would hard to design a study that pinned such behavior on a "specific mental condition". For instance, it could easily be viewed as an effect of narcissism (cf. the royal "we", or "your king commands it") or a sign of dissociative disorder ("The other one told me to do it"), etc.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2014-12-31. Score: 3

Speaking about oneself in the third person is known as [illeism](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illeism).

It is not a symptom of any mental condition listed in the DSM. As Wikipedia notes, it is sometimes used in speech and literature for stylistic reasons.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I was asking about the cases when a person generally feels like using it, excluding intentional uses such as in literature, etc.  

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