Breaking Free from OCD, Anxiety & Stress with Matt Codde

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.
👉 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) Program
Learn 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
01:21 Carly's History with OCD and Anxiety
02:12 The Hypnic Jerk Loop Explained
06:55 Why You Can't Force Yourself to Sleep
09:14 The Setback That Taught Her the Real Goal
14:05 The Storm Clouds Method for Non-Resistance
16:03 Hidden Compulsions: Clock-Checking and Reassurance
21:14 Why "Normal" Is the Right Exposure
24:01 The Elephant on Her Shoulders: Daytime Work
28:38 Her Message to Anyone Still Stuck

Disclaimer⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.

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.
👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start
📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to Unstuck
Learn practical strategies to overcome fear and reclaim your life.
👉 Buy now: https://a.co/d/1WEvonT
📘 Taking Back Control (TBC) Program
Learn 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/book
Follow 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!
⏱️ Timestamps• 00:00 What this episode is about•
00:53 Why Matt rarely does interviews, and why Dr. Quinn was the exception
•03:03 The presentation begins: biological treatments for OCD
• 06:58 Medication options: why SSRIs are the frontline treatment
• 13:33 The #1 reason medication "doesn't work": wrong dose
• 41:20 The cannabis conversation
• 44:00 Redefining ERP as Emotional Resistance Prevention
Disclaimer⚠️
This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.

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.
👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start
📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to Unstuck
Learn 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/book
Follow 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!
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00 What This Episode Is About
01:10 The Healing Power of Admitting You Were Wrong
05:53 Limitation #1: "I Don't Have Time"
07:53 Limitation #2: Intelligence, Too Smart or Not Smart Enough
09:44 Limitation #3: "This Is Just Who I Am"
10:49 Limitation #4: The Past, "I Tried That, It Didn't Work"
12:02 Limitation #5: Family, Relationships & Environment
14:05 Limitation #6: Money & Resources
16:44 Limitation #7: Spiritualizing Your Suffering
18:21 Limitation #8: Control & Catastrophizing
18:57 Limitation #9: Perfectionism
19:48 How These Beliefs Keep You Stuck
21:03 Closing Thoughts
Disclaimer
⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.

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.

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.
👉 Download now: https://www.restoredminds.com/start
📖 Get a Copy of Our Book: From Stuck to Unstuck
Learn practical strategies to overcome fear and reclaim your life.
👉 Buy now: https://a.co/d/1WEvonT
📘 Taking Back Control (TBC) Program
Learn 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/book
Follow 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!
⏱️ Timestamps•
00:00 What This Episode Is About
•02:44 Payoff #1: The Illusion of Safety
•05:45 Payoff #2: The Illusion of Control
•06:52 Payoff #3: The Pride of "Overthinking Better Than Everyone"
•07:53 Payoffs #4 & #5: Avoiding Deeper Pain and Using Fear as an Excuse
•10:49 Finding Your Own Secondary Gain
Disclaimer
⚠️This content is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a licensed professional for personalized support.