Alexinomia: The fear of using personal names

Abstract

IntroductionPreliminary research based on everyday observations suggests that there are people, who experience severe fear when addressing others with their personal names. The aim of this study was to explore the extent to which this hitherto little-known psychological phenomenon really exists and to investigate its characteristic features, considering the everyday experience of not being able to use names and its impact on affected individuals and their social interactions and relationships.MethodsIn this mixed-methods study based on semi-structured interviews and psychometric testing, 13 affected female participants were interviewed and evaluated using self-report measures of social anxiety, attachment-related vulnerability, and general personality traits. An inductive content analysis and inferential statistical methods were used to analyze qualitative and quantitative data, respectively.ResultsOur findings show that affected individuals experience psychological distress and a variety of negative emotions in situations in which addressing others with their name is intended, resulting in avoidance behavior, impaired social interactions, and a reduced quality of affected relationships.DiscussionThe behavior can affect all relationships and all forms of communication and is strongly linked to social anxiety and insecure attachment. We propose calling this phenomenon Alexinomia, meaning “no words for names”.

Speechlessness: a Conceptual Framework

“…church or memorial) (Kurzon, 2007 ) alexinomia Inability to pronounce a person’s personal name in social interactions and/or interpersonal relationships between multiple people. (Ditye et al, 2023 ) …”

“…The authors note, that affected individuals “ have a desire to use personal names in everyday social interactions , (…)”. (Ditye et al, 2023 , p. 13), but are impaired in their execution. The onset of the phenomenon is also accompanied by feelings of anxiety, panic, and psychological and physiological discomfort (Ditye et al, 2023 ).…”

“…The phenomenon of inability to pronounce the first name of an interaction/interlocutor, described with the term alexinomia (prefix á - [‘ not ’], word stems léxis [‘ words ’] and ónoma [‘name’]), serves in identical form the concept of alexithymia in loanwords of the Greek language (Ditye et al, 2023 ). First references to this phenomenon in the scientific literature can be found in Welleschick ( 2019 ), however, the researchers centred around Ditye et al ( 2023 ) are the first to address the phenomenon from a psychological perspective. The phenomenon often begins in childhood.…”

“…The phenomenon often begins in childhood. Potential factors predisposing individuals to alexinomia include social anxiety disorder, childhood trauma, negligence, and other personality disorders in the individual’s family (Ditye et al, 2023 ). The authors note, that affected individuals “ have a desire to use personal names in everyday social interactions , (…)”.…”

“…(Ditye et al, 2023 , p. 13), but are impaired in their execution. The onset of the phenomenon is also accompanied by feelings of anxiety, panic, and psychological and physiological discomfort (Ditye et al, 2023 ). The question of whether alexinomia is a psychosomatic or psychopathological phenomenon has not been discussed in the literature.…”