I 23(f) have lost two close friends in horrific circumstances over the last few years. Can anyone explain to me why bodies,
particularly faces, looks so different after death – is it because they’ve been embalmed, or is it the human brain not being able to process what they’re seeing infront of them? Apologies if this is too gruesome for this sub, i think this might be me grieving and just trying to find some way to understand why.
In: Biology
Uncanny valley also comes into play. Our natural instinct is to avoid death and disease so things that we perceive as unnatural give us a “weird feeling”
Sorry for your loss. I know exactly what you’re talking about, as I have lost a friend in a similar situation… It’s very uncanny valley and hard to believe it’s actually the person.
Just rhetorical stuff.
I get in to some Suicide stuff
>!When my sister died from suicide, she looked wrong at the funeral because she had shot herself. It was gently explained to us that because she had shot herself it had messed with her face a bit. She also looked odd because the lady who did her makeup did a good job but didn’t *quite* get it right, which wasn’t her fault.. but when you look at your person every day and the makeup is at like 90% accuracy it looks strange.!<
I’m an older fellow and I’ve been sitting at the bedside of a few people when they pass and I have to say the difference is immediate….as soon as the last breath is gone the face relaxes completely and they just look empty somehow …it’s hard to describe, I’m not religious but there is a definite sense of emptiness about the body at the moment of death
Having been to many funerals for both young and old throughout my life, it was my younger brothers service that still haunts me a little to this day – over 23 years ago. He was 24 and I was 26. He passed unexpectedly and it was shocking to a very large circle of friends and family. No matter the angle I viewed his face in death, I just couldn’t make it line up with the image of him in life. It looked out of proportion and incorrect. I know medically “why” to a degree, but my mind’s eye did not like it.
Dehydration & decomposition?
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