Cindy Scharkey: On Permission for Pleasure — and Why You’re Worthy of It

What would change if you believed you were worthy of pleasure?

In this episode of The Truth Is, I sit down with Cindy Scharkey — Registered Nurse, OB/GYN nurse, Certified Childbirth Educator, and host of the podcast and author of Permission for Pleasure. With nearly 40 years in women’s health, Cindy has witnessed how silence and shame shape women’s relationship with their bodies, sex, and desire.

Many women come to her with questions about sex and desire. What they often uncover is something deeper: a relationship with themselves that was never fully examined.

We talk about inherited narratives around purity, modesty, and worth. The belief that pleasure must be earned. Why what we call a “desire problem” is often a pleasure problem. And how difficult it can be to admit we were never taught to truly listen to our own bodies.

This conversation, and Cindy's work, goes beyond sex. It’s about permission — to feel, to listen, and to stay in relationship with yourself. And part of that practice is allowing what is present, without polishing it or performing.

At its core, this episode asks what happens when we stop living from inherited assumptions and start listening to what is actually true.

In this episode, we explore:

• The idea of a “pleasure crisis” — and what it feels like in real life
• Curiosity as a way back into relationship with your body
• Why what we call a “desire problem” may actually be a pleasure problem
• What happens when we override sensation — and what shifts when we listen
• The courage it takes to question what we were taught about sex and worth
• Permission not to manufacture meaning — but to be in the truth of the moment
• How pleasure, grief, and aliveness can coexist
• Small, embodied practices — from dancing naked to finding “sips of joy” — that keep us connected

Connect with Cindy:

Website: www.cindyscharkey.com

Listen to her podcast: Permission for Pleasure

Explore her book: Permission for Pleasure

Follow Cindy on Instagram: @cindyscharkey

Connect with The Truth Is: @thetruthis_podcast

Credits

• Hosted by Kathryn Flaschner
• Video Production & Editing by Anton LaPlume
• Edited by Dan Croll
• Music by Will Savino → wsavino.com
• Visual Identity by Sarah Gainor & Jonathan Bush
• Advised by Natalie Tulloch