This Week in The Feel Better Letter ๐
โ
Fear creates such a powerful distortion that what you see through its lens can feel completely real.
โ
When you're in fear, your mind can convince you that you're being logical and rationalโeven when you're not.
โ
Knowing that something is fear doesn't always mean you can see your own fear clearly while you're inside it.
โ
New episode: How to Feel Fear Without Believing It
Matt's Message of the Week
When Fear Makes the Unreal Feel Real
One of the most difficult things about fear is that it doesn't feel like fear when you're inside of it.
It feels real.
It looks real.
It feels rational.
And that's exactly what makes it so difficult to see.
Fear creates such a powerful distortion that whatever you're looking at through that lens can appear as real as anything you've ever seen.
Your mind projects the fear onto a person.
A situation.
A possibility.
A thought.
And once that projection happens, you don't experience it as a projection.
You experience it as reality.
That's the trap.
We've all experienced this before.
You can look back at something you were afraid of in the past and recognize how irrational it was.
At the time, though, it probably didn't feel irrational.
It felt completely reasonable.
So the question becomes:
If you can recognize fear's distortion in hindsight...
Can you begin to recognize it while you're inside of it?
Because when fear is hijacking you, the hardest part is that you don't know you're under the spell.
You actually believe you're being logical.
That's why having objective people around you can be so important.
Someone outside of the fear can see what you can't see while you're inside of it.
They can help you question the direction you're going and recognize when fear is making something appear more real than it actually is.
And that's ultimately what learning to transcend fear requires.
Not believing everything your mind tells you simply because it looks and feels real.
Because something can feel completely real...
without actually being true.
(Click below to listen to the full message.)
4 Limited 1-on-1 Coaching Spots Opening
I'm opening up 4 limited 1-on-1 coaching spots this September.
This is for those of you who understand this work intellectually but are still struggling to fully integrate it into your life.
Sometimes, it's not about needing more information or working harder.
There can be limiting beliefs, unconscious blocks, and other patterns underneath the surface that are preventing you from truly embodying what you already know.
Through 1-on-1 coaching, we'll work closely together not just during our sessions, but throughout the week with ongoing messaging, voice notes, and support to help you refine and integrate the work into your day-to-day life.
If working together feels aligned:
๐ [Click Here to Apply for Coaching]
Helpful Episodes for the Week
How to Feel Fear Without Believing It
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.
๐ [Watch Episode]
Do Intrusive Thoughts Last Forever? Here's What Actually Makes Them Stick
In this episode, Matt explains the real difference between a thought that's neutral and a thought that feels intrusive โ 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.
๐ [Watch Episode]
How to Live Beyond Fear and Reclaim Your Life
In this episode, Matt gets brutally honest about fear, what it actually is, and why calling it a disease or disorder keeps people stuck inside it. Drawing from his own years lost in fear, Matt breaks down why the theme (harm, contamination, relationship, whatever the mind fixates on) is never the real problem, and why fear is a state of consciousness, not a diagnosis.
๐ [Watch Episode]
Interested in Working Together?
๐งญ Free Assessment: Get Your Custom Guide
Take a quick assessment to identify where you are in your recovery journey and get a personalized guide with next steps.
๐ [Take the Free Assessment]
๐ The Book: From Stuck to Unstuck
Learn the Triple-A Responseโข and discover a clear, proven path for stepping out of the fear loop and reclaiming your life.
๐ [Get the Book]
๐ฑ Taking Back Control Program
Join our 12-week recovery program and get the structure, support, and guidance you need to create lasting change.
๐ [Apply to Join]
๐ฃ๏ธ Work 1-on-1 with Matt
Get personalized coaching and direct support from Matt to solidify your recovery and deepen your practice of trust.
๐ [Work with Matt]
This Weekโs Reminder
Fear can make the unreal feel real.
It can make you believe you're being logical.
It can make a projection look like reality.
But just because it feels real...
doesn't mean it is.
To your freedom and success,
Matt
