Unusual (?) behaviour

Would anybody know what it's called if somebody tends to call out the name of somebody who was once very close to them, but who hurt them at the time more than anybody else, anytime they think back on any embarrassing moment in their life?

For example, "Deirdre" if that was the person's name is said out loud when they think of a cringe moment totally unconnected to her, or to their relationship. The person has no ill-will at all towards "Deirdre" as it's now almost 20 years later, but they still call their name out when nobody else is around, and it's always in reaction to an embarrassing moment.
Any ideas?

jumbo

Tourette syndrome

Valmont

OP, I don't think it's called anything. It sounds to me like 'Deirdre' has come to signify the same thing as 'Oh God' for this individual - perhaps the name itself has stuck through habit over the years?

Torakx

That's kind of interesting.
I wonder if there is a link there between feelings of shame and this girl.
If it's only or mainly during embarrassing moments or thoughts, then that may be the feeling the name is anchored to, as Valmont mentioned, maybe through habitual use.
I think finding the root feeling at the core of the trigger events(embarrassing moments) and the anchored event(the girl and what happened)
I do think understanding it can help a lot. It's the only way I could get past a lot of issues I had myself.
A bit like stuttering maybe. I had a neighbour across the road from me when I was younger, who had a really really bad stutter. But he could sing brilliantly and used to do gigs in the local pubs.
I understand there is probably some "hard wiring" explanation for the stutter, but I also can't help noticing that to sing is to relax the mind in certain ways. You don't really think the same way when you sing.

This calling of that girls name, could be kind of similar at an emotional level.
A bit like people saying "eh" between each couple of words, so much so they don't even notice.
To break the cycle, the person could try to find that feeling attached to the girl and relive it in their mind, to find the feeling and understand it(exactly how it feels). Then practice using another word, while in that state.
Building a new habit over time.
I did something similar with my mp3 player and negative feelings towards exercise. The problem now is I can't go out jogging without my MP3 player lol

There is a funny comment I read in an NLP book.
Try not to think of a pink elephant. You can't help but think of one usually.
The brain doesn't seem to process negatives like "try not", it first interprets pink elephants in order to know what not to think of, thereby thinking of it..
This kind of reminds me of this situation. Habitually repeating someones name in relation to feelings or stress or shame. Something they may not want to think about , but it could be brought to your attention anyway through habitual thinking. and the instant that name pops into their head, it might be much like thatpink elephant story they kind of have to say it then... to complete the cycle and possibly even get a dopamine hit for that task completed..
Replace a habit is easier than stopping it from my experience.
Alcoholfor tea is another example. I don't drink alcohol anymore, just lots of tea. The habit is still there, of wanting something to drink to keep me busy.

Anyway if all I said seems like nonsense, thats ok by me. Just sharing thoughts and experiences.
Aside from allthe above, it also sounds very very slightly like OCD tendencies. But these are a lot of the times very general labels bandied about. I am not OCD, but I sure as hell have a few OCD like tendencies.
The act of repeating someones name during a certain feeling, whether you like it or not, could be seen as compulsive and obbsessive no?