The Breaking Free from Fear & Anxiety Podcast is hosted by Matt Codde.
Visit www.restoredminds.com/about to know more about Matt!
In this podcast, you’re going to learn practical steps on the journey to recovery. In each episode, we will discuss common challenges and provide you with evidence-based strategies to help you overcome them.
At Restored Minds, we believe that recovery is possible for everyone and it's our mission to give you the tools to help you build better mental health so you can become the best version of yourself.
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The Real Reason You Can't Think Your Way Out of Anxiety and Intrusive ThoughtsMatt Codde, LCSW, founder of Restored Minds, breaks down one of the biggest traps in anxiety and OCD recovery: trying to use the mind to fix the mind. If you've ever tried to think, analyze, or reason your way out of a fear loop and found it just makes the racing thoughts worse, this episode explains exactly why.Matt walks through why the mind can't solve a problem it's the source of, why visualizing "getting better one day" quietly lets you off the hook from actually changing, and why real healing happens by stepping into consciousness rather than deeper into the mind. This is the foundation of Restored Minds' consciousness-based approach to anxiety, OCD, and intrusive thought recoveryTake the FREE Assessment here: restoredminds.com/start🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode✅Understand why using the mind to solve the mind creates more chaos, not less✅ Learn why visualizing a "healed future you" can actually stall your progress✅ See why thought-replacement strategies often fail to create lasting change✅ Understand the difference between coping with fear and transcending it✅ Learn what it means to become the witness of your thoughts instead of the thinker fighting them✅ See why becoming conscious of a wound does more than analyzing it ever will 🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:📥 FREE Recovery GuideStart your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to UnstuckLearn practical strategies to overcome fear and reclaim your life.👉 Buy now: https://a.co/d/1WEvonT📘 Taking Back Control (TBC) ProgramLearn how to apply these principles daily and dissolve anxiety at the root.👉 Apply Now: https://www.restoredminds.com/tbc🎧 Subscribe & Connect for More Support:✅ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly episodes, tools, and coaching content.👉 https://www.youtube.com/restoredminds✅ Leave a Review on your favorite platform to help others discover this life-changing content:👉 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3NJI2zD👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/46AiT30✅ Ask a Question for a future episode:👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/assessments/2147654461✅ Download the Book – From Stuck to Unstuck👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/bookFollow Matt Codde, LCSW on Social Media:🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/restoredminds/🔹 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattcodde.restoredminds📸 If this episode helped you, share it on Instagram Stories and tag us!⏱️ Timestamps• 00:00 What This Episode Is About• 00:49 New Restored Minds App Now Available• 02:21 The Mistake Everyone Makes: Fixing the Mind With the Mind• 03:20 How Your Mind Secretly Sabotages Your Healing• 06:44 Consciousness-Based Healing Explained• 09:09 The Real Turning Point: Being Done With FearDisclaimer⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.
OCD Labels: The Hidden Trap Behind Your Diagnosis
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 • Duration 13:52
Why Your OCD or Anxiety Diagnosis Isn't the Whole StoryGetting a diagnosis can feel like the moment everything finally makes sense. Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down why labels like OCD, anxiety, panic, or PTSD can be genuinely liberating and why they can also quietly become the very thing that keeps you stuck.In this episode, Matt shares his own story of first hearing the word "OCD" and traces the line between a label that opens up new possibility and a label that turns into a trap. He explains why fixing the "theme" your fear latches onto was never the real work, and what it actually means to move beyond diagnosis into a deeper level of healing.If you've ever felt like you understood your diagnosis perfectly but still couldn't get free, this episode is for you.Take the FREE Assessment here: restoredminds.com/start🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode✅Understand why a diagnosis can create an immediate and liberating paradigm shift✅ See why fixing the "theme" (harm thoughts, contamination, relationships, etc.) never actually solves the fear underneath it✅ Learn why tools like ERP and ACT can fall flat when applied from the wrong state of consciousness✅ Understand why fear is not a disease but a level of consciousness✅ See why labels can eventually become their own limiting trap✅ Learn what it means to move from diagnosis into consciousness✅ Understand the real goal beyond symptom relief: getting back to peace 🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:📥 FREE Recovery GuideStart your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to UnstuckLearn practical strategies to overcome fear and reclaim your life.👉 Buy now: https://a.co/d/1WEvonT📘 Taking Back Control (TBC) ProgramLearn how to apply these principles daily and dissolve anxiety at the root.👉 Apply Now: https://www.restoredminds.com/tbc🎧 Subscribe & Connect for More Support:✅ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly episodes, tools, and coaching content.👉 https://www.youtube.com/restoredminds✅ Leave a Review on your favorite platform to help others discover this life-changing content:👉 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3NJI2zD👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/46AiT30✅ Ask a Question for a future episode:👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/assessments/2147654461✅ Download the Book – From Stuck to Unstuck👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/bookFollow Matt Codde, LCSW on Social Media:🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/restoredminds/🔹 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattcodde.restoredminds📸 If this episode helped you, share it on Instagram Stories and tag us!⏱️ Timestamps• 00:00 What this episode is about• 03:05 The real benefit of a label: the paradigm shift• 04:27 Matt's own OCD diagnosis story• 05:53 Where labels become their own trap• 08:15 Fear is not a disease, it's the absence of love• 11:31 Letting go of labels and moving into consciousnessDisclaimer⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.
Why You Can't Think Your Way Out of OCD or Anxiety
Wednesday, September 2, 2026 • Duration 07:15
Feel Fear Without Believing It: The Consciousness Shift Behind OCD & Anxiety Recovery
If you're stuck in OCD, anxiety, or intrusive thoughts, here's the thing that keeps you stuck longer than the thoughts themselves. You keep identifying with your mind. It says something, and you believe it must be you, and it must be true, and you have to listen to it. That chain of events is the actual problem, not the theme of the fear.
In this episode Matt breaks down why you cannot solve a problem of the mind by using the mind, no matter how much you research, rationalize, or ruminate. Fear is a state. It's a field that runs through your nervous system, and your mind's only job in that moment is to try to explain why it's happening. Trying to think your way out just keeps you inside the loop.
What actually shifts things is a different plane entirely: experiencing fear from consciousness instead of from the mind. Not managing it, not fighting it, not solving it. Letting it surface and run its course. That's the real transcendence, and it's an inner realization, not something you get from listening, reading, or understanding harder.
Get started here: restoredminds.com/start
🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
✅Understand why identifying with your mind is what keeps the fear loop running
✅Learn why you can't think, research, or rationalize your way out of anxiety
✅See why fear is a state in your nervous system, not proof of anything
✅Discover the shift from being the mind to witnessing the mind
✅Learn what non-resistance actually looks like in a moment of fear
✅Understand why this is an inner realization, not an intellectual concept
✅Find out how the free assessment and new Restored Minds app can help you apply this
🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:
📥 FREE Recovery Guide
How to Stop Intrusive Thoughts by Releasing the Emotion Behind Them
Tuesday, August 25, 2026 • Duration 08:43
Do Intrusive Thoughts Last Forever? Here's What Actually Makes Them StickIf you've ever been told "you're just going to have these thoughts forever, you'll have to learn to cope," this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down why that advice is not only wrong, it's part of what keeps people stuck in the OCD and anxiety loop.Matt explains the real difference between a thought that's neutral and a thought that feels intrusive — and it has nothing to do with the content of the thought itself. Once you understand what's actually driving the intrusive experience, you stop fighting a battle you were never going to win.Get started here: app.restoredminds.com🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode✅Understand why the same thought can be neutral to one person and intrusive to another✅Learn why battling thoughts with more thinking always backfires✅See why "you'll have to cope with this forever" is misleading advice✅Understand how releasing emotion changes your relationship to a thought or memory✅Learn what it actually means for a thought to "lose its power"✅See how this applies to any intrusive theme, not just one specific fear 🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:📥 FREE Recovery GuideStart your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to UnstuckLearn practical strategies to overcome fear and reclaim your life.👉 Buy now: https://a.co/d/1WEvonT📘 Taking Back Control (TBC) ProgramLearn how to apply these principles daily and dissolve anxiety at the root.👉 Apply Now: https://www.restoredminds.com/tbc🎧 Subscribe & Connect for More Support:✅ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly episodes, tools, and coaching content.👉 https://www.youtube.com/restoredminds✅ Leave a Review on your favorite platform to help others discover this life-changing content:👉 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3NJI2zD👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/46AiT30✅ Ask a Question for a future episode:👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/assessments/2147654461✅ Download the Book – From Stuck to Unstuck👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/bookFollow Matt Codde, LCSW on Social Media:🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/restoredminds/🔹 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mattcodde.restoredminds📸 If this episode helped you, share it on Instagram Stories and tag us!⏱️ Timestamps• 00:00 — What this episode is about• 01:01 — The experiment that reveals what makes a thought "intrusive"• 03:05 — Debunking "you'll have these thoughts forever"• 03:36 — Why "just cope with it" is terrible advice• 05:46 — How releasing emotion recategorizes a thought in your brain• 06:49 — Intrusive thoughts are not a life sentenceDisclaimer⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.
How to Break the Sleep Anxiety Loop: A Real Recovery Story with Carly
Tuesday, August 11, 2026 • Duration 36:27
Sleep Anxiety and OCD: How Carly Broke the Hypnic Jerk Loop and Learned to Trust Her Body Again
If bedtime fills you with dread, if you've started dreading the sunset, or if hypnic jerks have turned falling asleep into a nightly battle, this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW sits down with Carly, a member of the Restored Minds community, to talk honestly about what it's like to live inside a sleep anxiety loop, and what actually got her out of it.
Carly walks through her own descent into relentless hypnic jerks, the compulsions she didn't even realize were compulsions (bedtime routines built on fear, checking the clock, seeking reassurance from her husband), and the belief that was quietly running the whole show: that a bad night of sleep meant a ruined day. This isn't a sleep hygiene episode. It's a conversation about fear, control, and what it actually means to trust your body to do what it already knows how to do.
🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
✅ Understand why sleep anxiety isn't a sleep problem, it's a fear problem
✅ Learn why traditional sleep hygiene advice can backfire when anxiety is driving it
✅ See why hypnic jerks happen and why they're not dangerous
✅ Discover the difference between "night work" and "day work" in sleep recovery
✅ Learn how hidden compulsions (clock-checking, reassurance-seeking, canceling plans) keep the loop alive
✅ Understand why setbacks are part of the process, not proof it isn't working
✅ See how the Triple-A Response applies to nighttime anxiety and daytime intrusive thoughts
🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:
📥 FREE Recovery Guide
Start your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.
OCD & Anxiety Treatment with Dr. Melissa Quinn: Meds, ERP, and Integrative Care Explained
Tuesday, July 28, 2026 • Duration 01:17:32
Is Medication Right for Your OCD? A Psychiatrist Breaks Down SSRIs, Dosing, and What Actually Works
If you've ever wondered whether medication could help your OCD or anxiety, or you've tried an SSRI and felt like "nothing worked," this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW sits down with Dr. Melissa Quinn, a triple board certified psychiatrist who specializes in OCD treatment, for a full breakdown of how medication actually works, why so many people are underdosed, and how medication and therapy work together rather than against each other.
Dr. Quinn walks through SSRIs, clomipramine, augmentation strategies, and common myths (including the cannabis conversation you don't want to miss), while Matt reframes ERP through the Restored Minds lens of emotional integration rather than symptom elimination.
Dr. Melissa Quinn Details:
📍10850 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 850, Los Angeles, CA 90024
📧admin@melissaquinnmd.com
📞424-999-9316
🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
✅ Understand why OCD often requires higher medication doses than depression
✅Learn the difference between a treatment failure and an underdosed trial
✅See why medication is not a substitute for therapy, and how the two work together
✅Understand when benzodiazepines have a legitimate place in treatment
✅Learn why cannabis tends to worsen OCD symptoms rather than relieve them
✅See how tapering off medication safely actually works
✅Understand Matt's reframe of ERP as "Emotional Resistance Prevention"
🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:
📥 FREE Recovery Guide
Start your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.
You're Not Stuck, You're Arguing to Stay That Way
Tuesday, July 14, 2026 • Duration 22:27
Arguing for Your Limitations: 9 Self-Limiting Beliefs Keeping You Stuck in OCD, Anxiety & Fear
If you feel like you've been "trying to heal" for years but keep landing in the same place, this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down the most common ways we unconsciously build a case for why we can't change, grow, or heal, and why admitting "I was wrong" might be the most powerful phrase in your recovery.
This isn't about blame. It's about awareness. Matt walks through nine self-limiting beliefs he's seen (and lived through himself) that keep people trapped in OCD, anxiety, fear loops, and chronic suffering, from blaming time and money to hiding behind personality, family, and spirituality.
If you or someone you love has been stuck in the OCD or anxiety cycle and can't figure out why nothing seems to stick, this conversation will help you see what's really in the way.
🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
✅ Understand why admitting "I was wrong" is one of the most healing phrases you can say to yourself
✅Learn the 9 most common self-limiting beliefs that keep people stuck in OCD and anxiety
✅See why blaming time, money, or intelligence is often a disguised fear of change
✅Understand how family and generational beliefs can quietly block your healing
✅Learn why perfectionism is fear wearing a more acceptable mask
✅See how "resourcefulness" matters more than resources when it comes to recovery
✅ Understand how to start recognizing these patterns in your own life
🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:
📥 FREE Recovery Guide
Start your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.
Why Chasing Approval and Control Is Destroying You
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 • Duration 21:23
Nervous System Hijacked by Approval: Approval Addiction, Chronic Self Abandonment, and Chasing Control
In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW, explores what happens when your nervous system is hijacked by approval and you slowly slip into chronic self abandonment. He breaks down how approval addiction and tolerance for destruction quietly erode your sense of safety, shrink your world, and create the loss of authentic relationships—even while you look like “the good person” on the outside.
Matt then turns to control, describing how we end up chasing a phantom called certainty and living in the illusion of playing God. He shows how fear convinces you that control equals safety, while in reality it leads to the erosion of creativity and spontaneity and a growing tolerance for destruction in your relationships, experiences, and everyday life.
If you’re stuck in OCD, anxiety, people pleasing, or constant worry about what others think, this conversation will help you see the deeper fear loops behind your symptoms. It’s an invitation to stop abandoning yourself for approval and control, and begin living from authenticity, trust, and genuine connection.🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode✅ Understand what it means for your nervous system to be hijacked by approval.✅ Learn how chronic self abandonment develops through people pleasing and self rejection.✅ See why approval addiction leads to a quiet tolerance for destruction in your life.✅ Recognize how chasing a phantom called control keeps you stuck in fear and anxiety.✅ Explore the illusion of playing God and how it blocks trust in something deeper.✅ Discover how fear erodes creativity and spontaneity, shrinking your world.✅ Learn first steps to rebuild authentic relationships without abandoning yourself.🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:📥 FREE Recovery GuideStart your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to UnstuckLearn practical strategies to overcome fear and reclaim your life.👉 Buy now: https://a.co/d/1WEvonT📘 Taking Back Control (TBC) ProgramLearn how to apply these principles daily and dissolve anxiety at the root.👉 Apply Now: https://www.restoredminds.com/tbc🎧 Subscribe & Connect for More Support:✅ Subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly episodes, tools, and coaching content.👉 https://www.youtube.com/restoredminds✅ Leave a Review on your favorite platform to help others discover this life-changing content:👉 Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3NJI2zD👉 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/46AiT30✅ Ask a Question for a future episode:👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/assessments/2147654461✅ Download the Book – From Stuck to Unstuck👉 https://www.restoredminds.com/bookFollow Matt Codde, LCSW on Social Media:🔹 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mattcodde.restoredminds/🔹 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/restoredminds/🔹 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@matthcodde.restoredminds📸 If this episode helped you, share it on Instagram Stories and tag us!⏱️ Timestamps00:00 — What this episode is about: nervous system hijacked by approval03:30 — Nervous system hijacked by approval and chronic self abandonment07:20 — Approval addiction, resentment, and loss of authentic relationships12:00 — Approval addiction and growing tolerance for destruction17:20 — Chasing a Phantom: the illusion of control and playing God23:30 — Erosion of creativity, spontaneity, and trust in life29:00 — Waking up from fear loops and choosing authenticity over approval and controlDisclaimer⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.
Why Your Anxiety Won't Go Away: The Secret Payoff of Fear
Thursday, July 2, 2026 • Duration 13:43
The 5 Hidden Payoffs of Fear That Keep OCD and Anxiety Loops Running
Most people assume fear is just something that happens to them. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW and founder of Restored Minds, explains why part of the mind actually believes it's benefiting from staying afraid, and why that belief is what keeps the fear loop running.
Matt breaks down 5 "secondary gains", the hidden payoffs of safety, control, identity, pain avoidance, and self-justification that quietly convince you fear is protecting you. He walks through real examples (driving anxiety, health anxiety, relationship fears, money fears) showing how fear often creates the exact outcome it claims to prevent.
If you've ever wondered why you can't just "stop worrying," this episode explains the piece that usually gets missed: you can't let go of fear until you're willing to let go of what you believe it's giving you.
🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
✅ Understand the five secret "payoffs" your mind believes it's getting from staying afraid
✅ Learn why fear tends to create the very outcome it claims to prevent
✅ See why hypervigilance is the opposite of control, not a form of it
✅ Discover how pride and identity can quietly keep you attached to overthinking
✅ Recognize how staying in fear can be a shield against older, deeper pain
✅ Learn what "secondary gain" actually means and how to spot yours
✅ Understand the one shift that makes it possible to finally confront fear
🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:
📥 FREE Recovery Guide
Start your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.
Why OCD Keeps You Stuck: Victim Consciousness Explained
Tuesday, June 30, 2026 • Duration 15:44
Stop waiting for OCD and anxiety to change before you do — here's why the shift has to come from within first.
If you've been stuck in the loop of OCD or anxiety for a long time, there's a good chance something deeper is keeping you there: victim consciousness. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down why seeing yourself as a victim to OCD, anxiety, or fear keeps you perpetuating the very state you want to escape. Real recovery isn't about finding the right technique or waiting for symptoms to disappear. It's about a fundamental shift in how you see yourself and your role in your own healing.
Whether you've been struggling for months or years, this episode will challenge you to look honestly at the paradigm you're operating from and explain why consciousness, not circumstance, is where lasting change begins. Matt draws from real-world examples and his own personal experience to walk you through what it actually means to move from victim to someone actively claiming their own recovery.
🧭 What You’ll Learn in This Episode
✅ Understand what victim consciousness is and how it silently perpetuates OCD and anxiety
✅ Learn why waiting for external circumstances to change keeps you stuck in fear
✅ See why OCD recovery is not a linear process and how to stop approaching it that way
✅ Understand how your current state of consciousness creates your emotional reality
✅ Learn the internal shift required to stop sustaining a fearful state of being
✅ See why resistance to emotion is what keeps you stuck, not the emotion itself
✅ Understand how taking radical ownership unlocks a completely different experience of life
🚀 Resources to Help You Heal:
📥 FREE Recovery Guide
Start your journey to freedom from OCD and anxiety with expert tools and step-by-step guidance.
