Is it normal when my boyfriend opens up to me, he feels cold and scared?

Sounds like he has a lack of confidence and inner strength. The strength he has on the outside is a front.

Guys are like walnuts. (Excuse the poor metaphor...) They're all tough and difficult to crack open. But once you do they're either sweet and soft or black and rotten.

I get shaky and my hands get cold when I'm talking about something emotional, especially with someone I hardly talk to about that stuff and ESPECIALLY if it's about what I think of them.. even if it's online and I don't have to see their face and they can't see mine. I'm not really what you would call a tough guy though, I've been told I'm one of the most polite people someone knows and I don't really like the whole macho thing or fighting or exciting manly stuff. I complain about my guy friends not being able to express my emotions and not trusting me but I have a really hard time with it too :/

Thanks so much for all the answers given so far! I shouldve explained that ys parents were and, in their own way, are abusive. His mother used to beat him for the smallest of things. Numerous times, he told me, that his mother would beat him for leaving clothes on the floor, or beat him into submission when he refused to listen to her. Since then she's been on medication, and she's been a much more motherly figure, but his father is one of those people who will hate him for everything he does. His father, for the longest time, believed he was gay and would beat him for it. His father asks much of him and in return, complains that his work was sloppy and haphazard, though it was done by his instructions. It hasn't happened in front of me, abuse from his father, but the signs are evident. He has scars from his childhood and bruises from more recent ordeals. When we talk on the phone and he says something personal, he often sneaks outside to avoid a confrontation with his father if he knows It's something that will result in a beating. I feel terrible for him and I've often felt that he deserves someone better than me that understands what he's going through... Again, thanks for all the answers. They've been a great help :)

I have a ton of pride, sometimes to the point of being accused of having an ego. This being said, I am the same way. When I open up about a couple of things, I go a big rubbery one, namely things about my mother, and this one past relationship that I really screwed up.

You should be happy that your husband is able to open up to you, that is not easy. And you should be supportive when this happens. Even the hardest people need support from time to time. Sounds normal to me.

Many guys are put down in childhood for expressing their feelings. Some with force like spankings for crying or physically pushed away when wanting comfort, others with yelling/screaming/harsh words from parents or relatives. I know this may sound an unlikely extreme but I've seen all these instances personally with cousins and school friends growing up. Because of that, there is a break of trust and safety and so they may literally get 'shaken up' or break out into a cold sweat because expression of deep feelings have had such negative repercussions in the past. The first 5-7 years of a child's life is said to be the most concrete of their foundation and what they learn will stay with them all through their lives. I'm not saying this is exactly what happened to your man but I think it may be an idea. Girls aren't usually treated so harshly for crying or running to comfort or having hurt feelings, that being said, I have the same problem with trust in my emotions. Even though I'm a girl and didn't get much negativity for crying or being sensitive, I hate talking about how I feel. It's about trust and how someone will react. Sorry this is so long but I hoped some of it helped!!

I'm just like this, even though I'm a girl.
If I'm describing something personal, I'll still appear to have my cool on, but I'm noticably shaking and start feeling sick - Pretty sure it's anxiety.