# 142 - When You Feel Raw - A Psychological Deep Dive into Emotional Exposure, Nervous System Sensitivity, & Inner Truth

There’s a feeling so many of us know deeply—the “raw” emotional state.
When your skin feels too thin.
When the world feels too loud, too sharp, too close.
When someone asks, “Are you okay?” and you almost dissolve.

In this episode, we unpack what feeling raw truly means from a psychological, emotional, and physiological perspective. Rawness isn’t a breakdown, a flaw, or a sign you’re “too sensitive.” It’s a threshold moment - a signal from your inner world that something is shifting.

We explore:
💛 the nervous system science behind emotional rawness (Polyvagal Theory)
💛 why rawness appears during burnout, trauma recovery, and identity transitions
💛 attachment patterns and why some people feel raw more often than others
💛 emotional construction theory and why small cues feel big in this state
💛 rawness as a doorway into growth, clarity, and deeper self-understanding
💛 practical ways to support yourself when you feel emotionally thin

You’ll learn why rawness often shows up during transitions, grief, inner work, breakthroughs, and periods of nervous system exhaustion, and why this tender state is not a failure, but a form of emergence.

If you’re feeling raw right now, this episode offers language, compassion, and grounded psychology to help you move through this state with gentleness instead of shame.

Disclaimer: This episode is for educational purposes only and isn’t a substitute for therapy or professional mental health care. If you’re in crisis, please call or text 988 in the U.S.