“I wish somebody would have told that to me: it's okay to struggle. We're supposed to struggle; we’re humans. We’re complicated; we’re messy.” ~Patricia Young

One of my greatest joys in life is connecting with a fellow outcast and truth-teller. All the better if said person comes equipped with a badass nickname like Mad Lady-Balls. Patricia Young, LCSW, the person behind the stern, brass-plated moniker is everything you’d expect her to be: hilarious, whip-smart, and dishy. She’s also unapologetically sensitive, a trait she’s built into both a successful career and a popular podcast.

Highly sensitive. If you’ve ever had that phrase leveled against you, then you know the sting of those words. You’re also acquainted with the shame-spiral that accompanies all that over-thinking and over-feeling. But it’s precisely these traits, the intensity and the emotionality, that Patricia says any highly sensitive person (or HSP) should reclaim and celebrate. They’re the qualities that make HSPs gifted healers, or align them with social justice issues. Still, it’s not always an easy go.

“We have so many strengths,” Patricia says of her fellow HSPs, “and our culture doesn't really value sensitivity.” Her podcast, Unapologetically Sensitive, however, gives HSPs the space to come as they are: too intense; too dramatic; too anxious; too somber. Patricia gifts HSPs with the tools to fashion those tired pejoratives into enviable superpowers.

I could talk to Patricia for hours; she extends the same authenticity on display in her podcast to this show. She does the same in her therapy and coaching practice. “It doesn't matter if we're therapists or not. We're still human beings that have human struggles on a daily basis. And I really want to pull the curtain back on that because we're just humans.”

I love this so much, not least of all because she follows that sentiment up with THIS gem: “The healers that don't look at their own wounding scare the f@!#ng sh!t out of me.” Same, girl. Same.

Patricia Young is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Coach. She knows what it’s like to feel like an outcast, misfit, and truth teller. Learning about the trait of being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP), helped Patricia rewrite her history with a deeper understanding, appreciation, and a sense of self-compassion. She created the podcast Unapologetically Sensitive to help other HSPs know that they aren’t alone and that being an HSP has amazing gifts and some challenges. Patricia works online globally working individually with people, and she teaches Online Courses for HSPs that focus on understanding what it means to be an HSP, self-care, self-compassion, boundaries, perfectionism, mindfulness, communication and creating a lifestyle that honors us.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Dr. Elaine Aron

Brené Brown

Unapologetically Sensitive e50 - Boundaries w/ Sarah Buino

CWH e99 - The Enneagram Episode

CONNECT WITH PATRICIA:

Unapologetically Sensitive