What's this body language mean?????

Question

theres a lady that never had a father when she was little and her mother and step father emotionally abused her and was told she was ugly(when she is the most stunning women I have EVER seen)and she has low self confidence even though shes very talented and beautiful.her mom and step dad told her she would never make it big in life, and never said i love you to her.they told her she wasnt beautiful enough to be famous.whenever someone talks to her about her childhood or the father that died when she was 15 months old she starts blinking a little more,and she like moves her jaw sort of side to side slowely and licks her lips a little and sort of moves her tonge a little back and forth and her eyes just look really sad.sometimes before she starts talking about it all she takes a deep breath and when she lets it out she says kinda fast, "uhh ..ok.." its like she doesnt want to think of her past and remember it or be sad. she is 66 years old now. *What do you think she is thinking when she does that body language? do you think that she feels the pain just like it was yesterday still? or less because shes older? thanks.

Answer 1

I'm no expert but I think that the blinking is because she is trying not to picture the past and the jaw is that there were so many things that she wanted to say but never did.  If you ask her straight out what it means, it'll make her self-conscious.  

The pain never goes away - sometimes you can get some distance but the grief she feels is profound and it's something that she's never going to "get over" - she may get some distance from it - but it'll always be there.

Answer 2

The pain of childhood never goes away, this dear lady has the wisdom to accept that it is something she can never change but has learned to live with it. At the end of the day it has made her what she is, good bad or indifferent it has shaped her. Too much store is set by "body language" in my opinion, many people have been made aware of "typical" body responses in order to categorise/pigeon-hole others. Trouble with that is that now we are aware of it we can use it to our own advantage, just as animals do. My view is that I set more store on what is actually being said, because the words can say one thing whilst the body language says another. Age is irrelevent, listening is what is important, there is a world of difference between hearing and listening and what "body language" may be doing. Good luck x.    

Answer 3

I am old too so I think I might be able to answer with some clarity on this. In addition there are similarities between the lady you speak of & my own mother who died a long time ago.

The pain is as it was yesterday - it is unlikely ever to leave her.

Age brings clarity & greater understanding so her pain has probably grown. Best wishes. uK