Thin line, I suppose. An acquaintance named Diane seems to consider herself as a character in her own life. It’s peculiar to me. For instance, she’ll say, “I was walking past the store and I said, ‘Diane,’ why don’t you go in a buy something?” Or she’ll be talking about a decision she made and she’ll stop to insert, “Look at me, I’m making an excuse for deciding to go downtown.” It’s as if she’s looking at herself as a separate individual. Sometimes it seems just like behavioral quirk, but sometimes, it really seems as if she’s separated herself from…herself. Is there a name for this mannerism? Is there, maybe, something more serious going on here?
It is called Illeism (speaking of yourself in the 3rd person). It is admittedly annoying but fairly common and usually does not indicate mental illness. I had a college roommate that did it constantly.
Omar listening.
Isn’t neurosis a form of mental illness?
As I understand it, pretty much everyone has some neurosis or another. That’s basically normal. We’re all a bit quirky about different things. It’s when it becomes a hindrance in your life - or someone else’s - that it tips into mental illness.
I’ve always thought is was an affectation put on by middle aged women.
What, illeism or mental illness?
I’m not sure it’s quite that. It sounds more like she speaks to herself in the third person.
If even that. It honestly sounds a lot like a rhetorical style. I’ve heard a lot of (British) comedians use this style, too, when telling funny stories about their life.
OK. This woman doesn’t sound overtly mentally ill. I guess it’s more of a quirk, but it seems to reveal to me a person overly interested in herself, her image, what others think of her and how much she desires to be “normal,” continually judging her own behavior. It’s a bit over the top, and as Shagnasty said, admittedly annoying. She may not be crazy, but I think I might be if her visit had lasted much longer.
Is she wealthy enough to be “eccentric”?
No? Then you call it “crazy”. 
I’m not at all clear what you’re talking about. In the first example, she talks to herself in the second person and addresses herself by name, but she doesn’t do that in the second example. (Using second person–your name and you–instead of first person I isn’t that unusual and I’ve read it may even have some benefits.)
In the second example she describes how she imagines she appears from the outside, which is different, but sounds like a sign of healthy self-awareness to me.
The only thing the two examples have in common that I can tell is that in both of them she is describing her internal state and thought process to you, when you may not be interested. Talking excessively about oneself and especially about one’s internal thoughts can be certainly be annoying, but that’s just being self-centered, not neurotic and not a sign of dissociation from the self.
Cerebus hates cute card games…
Seriously, I see it as only a figure of speech. “Well, will you look at me” isn’t that much different from, “Well, would you look at the time.”
Now, if she’s waving a meat-cleaver around at the same time…
I’d say it’s time to lock your pet rabbit’s cage in the basement.
I come from a long line of people who are actually mentally ill and no, she’s not. It may annoy you but it’s not crazy.
This.
It’s pretty typical to see behaviors that make some others uncomfortable labeled as a mental illness of some sort by said discomfitured people.
Simple hierarchy here:
Neurotics build castles in the air.
Psychotics move into those castles.
My mother cleans the castles.
I’ve used similar phrasings on occasion, probably having picked it up from fiction, where it is not uncommon. Your conclusion based on this affectation of speech that she sees herself as a character in her own life seems unsubstantiated.
Jimmy’s doesn’t like it when you call Jimmy neurotic. Jimmy’s getting upset!
It doesn’t sound neurotic or even particularly unusual to me. It’s just her style (though I can understand why you might find it annoying).
“Mongo just pawn in game of life.”
“Homey don’t play dat game.”