Unapologetically Sensitive

TITLE You Have Everything Inside You; This Is How To Tune In GUEST   Megan Wurst EPISODE OVERVIEW   Megan talks about how healing it was to hear other Highly Sensitive People (HSPs) relate to things that she experienced, and to hear other HSPs verbalize things she felt, but hadn't named.   Megan wanted a rulebook to learn how to manage the traits of being Highly Sensitive, but instead, she got a u...

TITLE Holiday/End of Year Support & Education Groups GUEST Solo Episode EPISODE OVERVIEW Are you longing for a sense of connection with others who share many similar strengths and struggles? Do you want a safe, supportive and nurturing space to hang out and talk about how to navigate the holidays and the end of the year with more ease? Have you been thinking about taking the Online HSP Course, but...

TITLE I Don't Have Time For a Breakdown; I Don't Need Help. I Can Do It Myself GUEST   Bianca Hughes, LPC EPISODE OVERVIEW   Bianca talks about women who feel overwhelmed, anxious, and they struggle with people-pleasing, overextending themselves, setting boundaries, and they believe that they have to figure it out for themselves, and that there is no time for emotions. This is called Black Superwo...

TITLE How Do We Navigate The Holidays During a Global Pandemic   GUEST   Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW EPISODE OVERVIEW   Jill is a grief expert, and she talks about options for the holidays.   What if we can't be together? What if we've lost loved ones due to COVID? How do we handle politics at the table? What about those struggling because they have lost jobs? How do we include them without them feel...

TITLE Boundaries & Self Care GUEST Solo episode EPISODE OVERVIEW Because of the post-election stress, I've had to set some boundaries around what I need to maintain my peace.  I didn't realize that I expected how people would respond, and I got some responses that felt unkind and hurtful.  I talk about how to process through hurts and disappointments, and how we can show up for ourselves and focus...

TITLE Fear of Failure & Overwhelm When We "Should" Be Excited GUEST Solo episode EPISODE OVERVIEW When exciting opportunities happen, our initial response can be overwhelm and fear. Sometimes we doubt our ability (or worth) to make/accept positive changes.  In this episode I talk about being asked to write a book, and how my gremlins came up (they're still up), and what I'm doing to be present to...

TITLE Shelly Aaron Interviews Patricia—We're All In The Perfect Place, At The Perfect Time—2 Year Anniversary Episode GUEST   Shelly Aaron interviews Patricia Young EPISODE OVERVIEW   Setbacks often feel terrible in the moment, but they often push us in a new direction.   Something that felt devastating opened a door that led me to work with Highly Sensitive People, creating a podcast, and doing w...

TITLE Being Present to Your Own Process with Jo Beckwith, aka Footless Jo GUEST   Jo Beckwith EPISODE OVERVIEW   Jo embodies vulnerability, strength, and courage, and she's so likable! She talks about the difficulty of being seen and allowing us to come on her journey with her. Jo talks about the goodbye party she had for her foot before choosing to have it amputated. We talk about creativity vs....

TITLE Healing from a Narcissistic (or Abusive) Relationship GUEST   Amy Marlow-Macoy, LPC EPISODE OVERVIEW   Amy describes the types of wounds that narcissistic abuse causes. We talk about people-pleasing, codependency, and the fear of being selfish. Amy weighs in on whether you can heal if the abuser is a family member, and you choose to continue to have contact. She provides some exercises and a...

TITLE What Brings Us Joy—Walking Through Overthinking GUEST solo EPISODE OVERVIEW In deciding to buy a kayak, I experienced overthinking; fearing I didn't have enough information; wanting to get all the information; feeling overwhelmed, and talking so much, my husband experienced kayak fatigue .  I wasn't sure I was worthy of the cost of getting something I really wanted. I talk about the bumps my...

TITLE How to Identify a Healthy Relationship GUEST Lindsay Gibson, PsyD. EPISODE OVERVIEW Dr. Lindsay Gibson, author of Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents describes healthy relationships look like, and she identifies characteristics of a person who is capable of having a healthy relationship. She talks about what to look for at the beginning of a relationship. She also talks about deal...

TITLE Where Identity Intersects With Being Rejected GUEST   Annie Schuessler EPISODE OVERVIEW   Annie was terrified to ask to be a guest on 20 podcasts this year; even though she's a podcaster! We talk about what her gremlins were telling her, and she breaks down her process step-by-step. She shares what she told herself when she was scared, and how she used mindfulness and reframing to reassure h...

TITLE It Was Hard Being Sensitive; But It's Not Hard Now   GUEST   Kelsey Cochrane EPISODE OVERVIEW   Kelsey talks about trying to fit in and learning how to feel her feelings without judging them.   Kelsey started letting others know what she needed, and this has allowed others to also ask for what they want. Kelsey talks about being her own worst enemy, and how she has learned to use self-compas...

TITLE Navigating the Bumps We Experience in Relationships   GUEST Solo episode EPISODE OVERVIEW Are your needs being met in your relationships? Are you the one who is always there for others? Is it reciprocal? Do you have a higher need for connection than your friends? Why do HSPs stay in relationships when they aren't working? Do our high levels of empathy help or hurt us in relationships when we...

TITLE Narcissism, Gaslighting, Love-Bombing, Hoovering and Healing From A Narcissistic Relationship   GUEST   Amy Marlow-MaCoy, LPC EPISODE OVERVIEW   Amy talks about how gaslighting can show up in any relationship, and how to spot it when it happens.   She talks about how to identify a narcissist, and we talk about codependency, love-bombing, hoovering, grey rock, extinction burst, and revisionis...

TITLE I Didn't Know How To Use My Sensitivity GUEST   Kelly Vance EPISODE OVERVIEW   We talk about boundaries, perfectionism, and the negative labels we use to describe our sensitivity, and how Kelly changed how she views herself.   Kelly talks briefly about how she felt seen and heard when I unintentionally voiced my monogamy bias after learning that Kelly is polyamorous. We laugh at our HS quirk...

TITLE Best of the Podcast—What is a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)? Aren't all HSPs Introverts? GUEST Jacquelyn Strickland, LPC EPISODE OVERVIEW Jacquelyn Strickland co-created the HSP Gathering Retreats with Dr. Elaine Aron in 2000, and she has worked exclusively with HSPs since then. Jacquelyn talks about the 4 Core Characteristics of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), and the differences bet...

TITLE I Felt Like I Finally Belonged Somewhere, and I Wasn't Alone—2 Participants From The HSP Online Course Share Their Experience GUEST Shelly Aaron & Melissa EPISODE OVERVIEW Shelly and Melissa speak candidly about their experience taking the Online HSP Course. They talk about the relief of seeing others who also have strong reactions to things, and how normalizing this was. They talk about the...

TITLE Best of the Podcast 20+ Ways to Practically Manage Change & Loss   GUEST   Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW EPISODE OVERVIEW   Loss & change encompasses jobs, education, career, moving, illness, disability, relationships, pets, birth, adoption, coming out, learning you didn't have an ideal childhood, and the obvious, death. Jill provides concrete examples of how we can set boundaries, create new tra...

TITLE Best of the Podcast - What is an Emotionally Immature Parent, & How to Identify a Healthy Relationship GUEST Lindsay Gibson, PsyD. EPISODE OVERVIEW Dr. Lindsay Gibson, author of Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, & Recovering from Emotionally Immature Parents explains what an emotionally immature parent is, and how this impacts their adult children.   I talk about crying when I...

TITLE Are You An Emotional Chameleon? The Importance of Identity For the Highly Sensitive Person GUEST Jeannette Folan EPISODE OVERVIEW HSPs can be emotional chameleons.  Jeannette talks about why she believes identity plays such an important role in the well-being of the Highly Sensitive Person.  She explains how we begin to understand our true identity, and how it benefits us to identify as spir...

TITLE When Your Fur Person Dies GUEST Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW EPISODE OVERVIEW We talk about why pet loss is so significant and why it's important to talk about it as well as HOW to talk about it.  If you are a single pet parent and you lose your pet, it is the same as losing a spouse. Jill talks about things we can do when we're in the grief process, or anticipating death. She talks about how to...

TITLE I Can Do Hard Things: Friendships Woes, Attachment and Healing GUEST Solo episode EPISODE OVERVIEW We CAN navigate through difficult times.  HSPs often have challenges in relationships. I talk about friendship wounds and how my attachment injuries show up in relationships and how I do my own healing work in and out of the relationship.  I give 10 touch points for relationships, and ways to e...

TITLE When Your Kid Doesn't Want to Let You Down GUEST Daniel Young EPISODE OVERVIEW As a follow up to Bonus Episode 78, my son Daniel shares his perspective about how we as a family handled him doing things we didn't agree with, and the rules we set when he moved back home. Daniel talks about the rush he would get sneaking around, and how that changed when we knew what was going on.  He talks abo...