Breaking Free from OCD, Anxiety & Stress with Matt Codde

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 lo...

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 hidd...

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...

If you have OCD or anxiety and you can't stop seeking reassurance, you are not alone and you are not broken. Whether it's Googling, calling loved ones, or mentally reviewing events over and over, reassurance seeking feels necessary in the moment. But it keeps you stuck. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW explains exactly why reassurance seeking is so hard to stop, and what you actually need...

If you've been struggling with OCD or anxiety for a long time and feel like nothing is working, this episode may reveal why. Matt Codde, LCSW explains why self-rejection is one of the most overlooked barriers to healing, and how learning to be more loving toward yourself is not a self-help cliche, but a clinical cornerstone of lasting OCD recovery. This episode applies to anyone dealing with O...

If you've been living with OCD, anxiety, or chronic fear, you may have been telling yourself that now just isn't the right time to fully commit to recovery. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW shares a perspective that goes beyond symptom management — one that asks a deeper, more honest question: what are you actually prioritizing over your own healing, and why? Matt explores how fear isn&#3...

If you've tried ERP, meditation, supplements, and every tool you can find but still feel stuck, the problem likely isn't the tools. It's the belief you're bringing to them. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down why approaching OCD and anxiety recovery from a "fix the problem" mindset actually reinforces the cycle and what to do instead. Most people with intrusive...

Getting from survival to stable in OCD recovery is real, hard-won progress — and it deserves to be celebrated. But staying in that "I'm fine" zone for too long comes with a hidden cost that most people don't see until they're sliding back toward survival mode. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW explains why stabilizing is only the beginning — and what happens when you don'...

If you've been doing the work on your OCD or anxiety and you're no longer in crisis — that's real progress. But if you still feel like you're just 'managing' or waiting for the next episode to hit, this video is for you. Most people with OCD and anxiety move between Stage 1 (Surviving) and Stage 2 (Stabilizing) their whole lives — never realizing that Stages 3 and 4 even ex...

If you've been using ERP or the Triple-A Response and still feel stuck, this episode explains why. Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down one of the most misunderstood concepts in OCD and anxiety recovery: the difference between chasing a future free of intrusive thoughts versus ascending to a higher level of consciousness where those thoughts lose their grip. Most people in OCD recovery are secretly op...

Most people struggling with OCD and anxiety have tried everything: reading, therapy, tools, strategies — and still feel stuck. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW walks through the real reason recovery stalls, and it has nothing to do with lack of information or resources. The problem is a paradigm — a way of seeing the problem that keeps producing the same result no matter what you try. Until that...

If you struggle with false memory OCD or real event OCD, you know how exhausting it feels to replay the past over and over trying to find certainty. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW explains why OCD traps people in mental compulsions like rumination, memory checking, reassurance seeking, and endless analysis. This episode breaks down why false memory OCD is not actually about the past — it’s abou...

If OCD or anxiety has left you feeling empty, hopeless, or like the joy has been completely stripped from your life — you're not broken. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down exactly why OCD and anxiety create emotional numbness, apathy, and depression as a secondary effect, and what you actually need to do to move through it. Most people assume OCD is just about fear and intrusive tho...

Most people with OCD focus on the visible rituals — washing, checking, or avoiding. But the compulsions that most often keep the loop alive are invisible: they happen entirely inside your head. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW, breaks down the five mental compulsions that he sees most often in his work with OCD and anxiety clients — behaviors like rumination, mental checking, mental reviewing, me...

If you've been dealing with relentless intrusive thoughts — about harm, sexuality, religion, or relationships — and every attempt to fight them has made things worse, this episode is for you. Pure OCD (also called Pure O or purely obsessional OCD) is one of the most misunderstood presentations of OCD, and in this video, Matt Codde, LCSW, sets the record straight. Here's the truth: Pure O i...

A real OCD recovery story: How Jaro broke the fear loop after 10+ years — and what finally worked. If you've been struggling with OCD for years — trying therapy, reading books, understanding everything intellectually, but still feeling stuck — this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW, sits down with Jaro, a member of the Taking Back Control (TBC) program, for an honest conversation about his...

One of the most common questions Matt receives is: "How long will OCD or anxiety recovery take?" In this episode, he gives an honest, clinically-grounded answer — and it's not what most people expect. Rather than a specific timeline, Matt reframes recovery as a journey that depends entirely on your clarity of purpose and your willingness to keep going no matter what. Matt shares that...

If you've been working on your OCD or anxiety for months — or even years — and still feel stuck, this episode is going to reframe everything. Most people believe recovery means the intrusive thoughts stop. The anxiety disappears. They finally feel "normal." But chasing that version of recovery is exactly what keeps so many people trapped. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down...

If you can't stop thinking about your partner's past — obsessing over their ex, replaying old memories, or demanding reassurance — this episode is for you. Retroactive jealousy OCD isn't really about the past. It's a present-moment insecurity that gets projected backward, creating an exhausting loop of doubt, questioning, and compulsive reassurance-seeking. In this episode, Matt Co...

If you or someone you love is caught in relentless doubt about a relationship — questioning feelings, hyperfixating on a partner's flaws, or seeking constant reassurance — this episode is for you. Matt Codde, LCSW breaks down what relationship OCD really is, why it has almost nothing to do with your partner, and what real recovery actually looks like. Relationship OCD is one of the most misund...

How to Build an ERP Hierarchy for OCD — And Why Most People Do It Wrong If you've been trying ERP for OCD and feel like you're spinning your wheels, there's a good chance your exposure hierarchy is missing something critical. In this episode, Matt Codde, LCSW walks you through how a traditional ERP hierarchy works — and, more importantly, the key shifts that actually create lasting rec...

ERP for OCD & Anxiety | Why Hierarchies Alone Don’t Break the Loop ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) is often called the “gold standard” for OCD and anxiety treatment. But if you’ve tried ERP and felt like it didn’t quite work—or you got partial results and then new fears popped up—you’re not alone. In this episode of The Restored Minds Show, licensed therapist Matt Codde, LCSW breaks dow...

If you’re stuck in your head, constantly overthinking, replaying thoughts, or trying to “figure it out”… this episode will show you how to stop rumination the right way. Rumination isn’t just thinking—it’s a compulsion that keeps you trapped in the OCD and anxiety loop. And the more you try to solve it mentally, the worse it gets. 🧠 What You’ll Learn in This Episode ✅ Why trying to “stop ruminat...

If you feel stuck overthinking, replaying thoughts, or trying to “figure things out,” this Rumination Episode will change how you understand it completely. In this episode, we break down what rumination really is, why it feels so automatic, and how it silently keeps you trapped in the OCD and anxiety loop. More importantly, you’ll learn why trying to solve your thoughts doesn’t work—and what actua...

If you’re struggling with harmful intrusive thoughts, this episode will change how you understand everything. Harm OCD isn’t a disease — it’s a self-reinforcing loop driven by fear, thoughts, and compulsions. In this episode, we break down why trying to “fix” the thoughts keeps you stuck, how the OCD loop actually works, and what it really takes to break free and reclaim your life. If you’ve been...