Just this

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Autophoby - The fear of referring to yourself. The fear of using the pronouns "I" or "Me." A good example is Elmo of Sesame Street. He never says those pronouns! If only more politicians had this fear.

Comments

[prettygoodword.livejournal.com]

But -- that's not a fear, in Elmo's case. He's young enough that he hasn't gotten the hang of pronouns in general, especially first-person pronouns. There's a distinct developmental leap when those finally click. Until then, it's common for littles to use their own name, as that's what other people call them. (For a few months, around the time they turned 2, the now-kindergartner referred to themselves as "you" -- which was very confusing, but there's no way to explain how that was wrong without quickly turning into an Abbot and Costello routine. Eventually, one day, using "I/me/my" suddenly clicked, without any direct guidance.)

Autophoby proper is a more grownup thing.

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Since I'm not around kids, I didn't know this. I just know Elmo annoys the poochies out of me when he does it.

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

Good word! Miss Manners always uses third person, but I doubt it's a phobia, more likely a, umm, philia?

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

That's true... I always thought of it as more of attention seeking myself, but a definition is a definition.