A Quirky Way of Talking

I've been paying attention to language and words lately, really focusing in on what people say and how they say it and there's a quirky thing many, if not all, people do when they talk about things that touch on their emotions.  Maybe you've noticed it, and if not, I encourage you to listen for it. 

What's the quirky way of talking that I'm talking about?

You're talking to someone and they're telling you a story, and you ask them a question that gets them to think about their emotions, something like "So, when that happened, what was it like?"  or "how did you feel?"  or "well, I can't imagine what you were feeling"... and they answer back as if they are talking about you...like this...

Story teller: relays story about almost getting hit by a car...

Your response:  "wow, that must have been scary"

Story teller: "yeah, for sure, like,  you just sort of freeze and then the adrenaline hits and you get all, like, "what if" and then you get freaked out,  you get angry...."

Have you noticed that?    Next time you watch an interview on TV where the interviewer is asking the interviewee how they felt or how  they reacted to some stressful event and inevitably, the answer will contain things like:

"well, you just never know what's going to  happen"  or
"you just shut down and keep functioning" or
"you get scared and you gotta find someone to talk to"

Why don't people talk from the perspective of "self" - why the tendency to talk from the perspective of "you"?  

Why not simply answer the questions with "I just shut down and kept functioning" or "I got scared and needed someone to talk to".  Are they distancing themselves from feeling?

It's  a quirky thing I've been noticing and I think it's kinda interesting.

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