If you’ve ever dissociated mid-orgasm, gone numb during touch, or hyper-focused on your partner’s reaction instead of your own desire—this one’s for you. In this unapologetically nerdy and delightfully rebellious episode, Dr. Misty unpacks how shame hijacks your senses and rewires your brain to flinch away from pleasure.

We’re diving deep into the sexy side of neuroscience: trauma brains, vagus nerves, polyvagal theory, and why your erotic disconnection is not dysfunction—it’s adaptation. And most importantly, how to gently, playfully, rebelliously rewire your erotic brain using the magic of neuroplasticity and some juicy sensory rituals.

Expect brain science, somatic tips, shade at purity culture, and a permission slip to moan at your snacks.

✨ Companion worksheet inside The Ember Vault:
“F*ck Around and Find Out (What Feels Good)”

• (00:00:00) - Opening: Glitter, Science & Shamelessness
• (00:01:08) - Shame Isn’t a Feeling—It’s a Nervous System Hijack
• (00:04:38) - Polyvagal Theory & Why You Might Freeze During Sex
• (00:07:56) - Sensory Disconnection Isn’t Dysfunction—It’s a Coping Strategy
• (00:11:02) - Rewiring the Erotic Brain: Neuroplasticity Is Hot
• (00:14:45) - Your Pleasure Was Never the Problem
• (00:15:50) - Ember Vault Plug + Sensory Worksheet
• (00:16:30) - Reflection Prompt + Sign-Off

You weren’t born hating your thighs. That sht was planted—fertilized with shame, wrapped in diet tips, and handed to you like a cursed heirloom. In this fire-starting episode of Untamed Ember, Dr. Misty pulls back the curtain on the cultural, colonial, ableist, and neurotypical scripts that taught us our bodies were problems to fix—not magic to celebrate. From makeover montages to religious guilt trips, we explore the real origins of body shame and the billion-dollar industries that keep it alive. If you’ve ever shrunk yourself to fit the frame, this one’s your permission slip to burn the fcking script.

Topics include:

• The colonial roots of fatphobia and thinness as "virtue"

• How ableism and neurotypical norms silence desire

• The makeover trope and other pop culture betrayals

• Why shame is industrialized, not personal

• How to remember who you were before the edits

✨ Includes a bold worksheet inside The Ember Vault: “Who Wrote This Bullsht?”*

• (00:00:00) - Opening + Glitter-Fueled Mission Statement
• (00:01:10) - Where the Shrink Script Came From
• (00:04:25) - The Media’s Role in Writing Our Shame
• (00:07:08) - Shame in Disguise
• (00:09:20) - You Are Not the *EFFING* Problem
• (00:11:35) - Ember Vault Plug + Reflection Prompt
• (00:12:30) - Sign-Off: Stay Wild. Stay Loud. Stay Ember.

Purity culture isn’t just morally outdated—it’s neurologically confusing. In this raw and science-backed episode, Dr. Misty breaks down how sexual shame hijacks your nervous system, floods your brain with cortisol, and turns pleasure into a threat. From brain chemistry to personal stories of dissociation and healing, you’ll learn why your body might resist the very thing you crave—and how to gently reclaim safety, desire, and presence in pleasure.

Includes a reflection prompt and a companion worksheet inside The Ember Society for deeper healing and erotic rewiring.

Episode 8: Your Brain on Purity Culture (It’s Not a Vibe)
Theme: The neurobiology of shame and why pleasure feels dangerous when it shouldn’t

In This Episode:

• What shame does to your brain (hello, amygdala and cortisol)

• How purity culture wires your nervous system for fear

• Why shame is self-policing—and who benefits from that

• Dr. Misty's personal story of dissociating during sex (and healing from it)

• How erotic safety is built through presence, not performance

This Week’s Journal Prompt:

What moments in your life have taught your body that pleasure isn’t safe?

And how might you start building micro-moments of safety—not perfection, not performance—just one extra second of aliveness?

Companion Worksheet: “Shame in the Body, Safety in the Senses”
Available inside The Ember Society
You’ll get:
✅ A body mapping exercise for shame and safety
✅ Sensory pleasure prompts to rewire the nervous system
✅ Journal questions to explore performance vs presence

️ Join here → members.untamedember.com

Untamed Ember is the podcast for erotic liberation nerds ready to burn shame and reclaim pleasure.
Subscribe, leave a review, and send this to the friend who still thinks orgasms are “for marriage only.” (We’ll fix that.)

• (00:00:10) - Intro: Purity Culture and a Caffeinated Sex Therapist
• (00:00:59) - Your Brain on Shame: Cortisol, Chaos, and Church Guilt
• (00:02:02) - Control, Guilt, and the Beige Cardigan Agenda
• (00:02:46) - Pleasure Rewiring: Why Dr. Misty Dissociated During Sex
• (00:04:07) - Key Takeaways: Reclaiming Pleasure Is a Body-Based Rebellion
• (00:04:32) - Reflection Prompt: When Did Pleasure Stop Feeling Safe?
• (00:04:58) - Worksheet Plug: “Shame in the Body, Safety in the Senses”
• (00:05:25) - Sign-Off: You’re Not Broken—You’re Brilliantly Adapted