In moments of extreme emotion why do we almost always put our hands over our mouth?

I think the center of ourselves is our eyes, our heads. We cover our eyes because that’s what we speak out of. An involuntary response. Like covering our eyes when faced with danger. To put up our arms in a defensive manner to protect head, throat and chest.

That’s interesting. But we cover our mouths….which would protect our chest and throat but not our head.

People probably once thought it looked rude or idiotic or unpoised to have one’s mouth gaping opened— but rather than shut their mouth, they still wanted to emphasize that they were overcome with emotion or shock by having the mouth opened.

We occasionally hear or read about how bad people’s hygiene was in earlier centuries. In Elizabethan times, most people had rotten teeth and held hankerchiefs over their mouths when speaking

It may be like a person speaking in a defensive manner, and crossing their arms across their chest while doing so. Body language,

When I find myself in a shocking situation I have no wish to emphasize a thing. I’m not thinking about people around me like, “Well, I have to show them how shocked I am.” I just react…by opening my mouth, then covering it with my hand. It’s almost like some sort of instinct.