Anxiety and OCD: The Strategy Mismatch Issue | EP 351Anxiety and OCD: The Strategy Mismatch Issue | EP 351
The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast
Drew Linsalata explains how a “strategy mismatch” keeps anxiety and OCD stuck, showing how focusing less on fixing symptoms and more on tolerating discomfort can change the recovery path. The episode outlines practical concepts for recognising unhelpful patterns and considering a braver, process-focused approach.
29:05•26 Aug 2026
Why Your Brain Keeps Picking the Wrong Fight with Anxiety and OCD
Episode Overview
- Anxiety and OCD often arise from a normal problem-solving brain repeatedly trying to fix the wrong problem.
- The real issue is the internal discomfort, fear and uncertainty, not the specific thoughts or sensations that appear to need fixing.
- Safety behaviours, avoidance, checking and compulsions only provide temporary relief and keep the anxiety loop going.
- Shifting from solving the content of fears to focusing on the process of anxiety offers a more effective path forward.
- Recovery involves accepting discomfort, acting bravely despite fear, and gradually dropping the mismatch strategies your anxious mind suggests.
“Discomfort, fear, and anxiety do not confirm that you have the problem you think you have. They only confirm what you care about and fear.”
In this eye-opening episode, you'll learn about why anxiety and OCD can feel so relentless, even when you've tried absolutely everything to "fix" them. The Anxious Truth host, therapist and former anxiety sufferer Drew Linsalata, breaks down what he calls a "strategy mismatch" – when a perfectly normal, problem-solving brain keeps aiming at the wrong target.
Drew explains that anxiety disorders and OCD often latch onto thoughts about health, morality, relationships, safety or physical sensations like a racing heart or dizziness. The brain insists these are urgent problems to solve, yet, as he points out, "discomfort, fear, and anxiety do not confirm that you have the problem you think you have. They only confirm what you care about and fear." That mismatch keeps people stuck in the exhausting loop of trigger, fix, feel better, repeat.
Instead of trying to prove you're safe or endlessly researching whether your fears are real, Drew suggests shifting from fixing the content of your worries to focusing on the process itself: the cycle of fear, reassurance, temporary relief, and return of anxiety. He walks through how avoidance, compulsions, checking, reassurance seeking and "safety behaviours" seem sensible in the moment but never actually resolve anything – they just soothe you for a while, then demand to be repeated.
He also stresses the limits of podcasts and online content, reminding you that he can't give step-by-step directions for your specific situation, but he can offer a clear framework: notice what triggers you, what you do to feel safe, whether it truly solves anything, and what happens if you start letting discomfort rise and fall on its own.
Drew’s message is both challenging and hopeful: you may not be able to solve imaginary problems like a heart attack that never comes, but you can learn to be brave, stay with discomfort, and stop letting anxiety decide how you live. Could changing your strategy be the next courageous move in your recovery journey?
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