Brad Feld on OCD, Depression, and the Courage to Be Honest

The Anxious Achiever

Morra Aarons-Mele

Business, Careers, Management, Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.7 • 599 Ratings

🗓️ 13 November 2025

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Stigma loses its power when leaders tell the truth. In this episode, venture investor and Techstars co-founder Brad Feld shares why he went public about depression and OCD, how a 2013 crash led to a decade of deep therapy, and why aligning what you feel, say, and do is a leadership advantage. We talk about the “inappropriate anxiety spikes,” the trap of calling mental health a “superpower,” and the difference between passive and active avoidance. Brad also breaks down a simple dashboard for monitoring burnout, practical somatic cues to watch for, and clear guidance on when to hire a coach versus a therapist. Get ready to rethink performance, protect your team from collateral damage, and lead with courage, clarity, and real agency. Check out our sponsors: Northwest Registered Agent - Protect your privacy, build your brand and get your complete business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes! Visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/achieverfree In this Episode, You Will Learn 00:00 Why did you choose to speak openly about mental health? 09:00 How stigma and shame create a negative feedback loop for founders. 14:30 The irrational links between thoughts and actions that drive compulsion. 18:00 How reframing failure helps you find grace in what doesn’t work out. 20:00 The concept of “passive avoidance” and how it quietly erodes relationships. 26:00 What are the two ways anxiety shows up in leadership? 30:15 How absurdism brings comfort amid uncertainty. 33:30 Why performative passion often hides real insecurity. 37:45 The “anxiety spikes” that jump from 2 to 11 in seconds. 43:00 How ACT therapy helps you feel, accept, and act instead of suppressing emotion. 46:00 The dashboard of green–yellow–red lights to watch your energy in real time. 50:00 Advice to leaders who want to understand how their behavior impacts others. Resources + Links Get a copy of my book - The Anxious Achiever Watch the podcast on YouTube Find more resources on our website morraam.com Follow Follow me: on LinkedIn @morraaronsmele + Instagram @morraam Follow Brad: @bfeld

Transcript

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0:00.0	Are you launching a business? Get more from Northwest Registered Agent. Protect your privacy,
0:08.5	build your brand, and get your complete business identity in 10 clicks and 10 minutes.
0:13.6	Visit Northwest Registeredagent.com slash achiever free.
0:22.4	Today, legendary Vent capitalist Bradfeld on shame and fear and our relationships with
0:32.2	depression, our mental health, and the people we love.
0:36.5	I'm Maura Aaron's Mealy, and this is the anxious achiever,
0:40.4	the show that looks at the intersection of mental health and leadership and work
0:45.4	and asks, how can we do it all better?
0:49.4	If you've followed entrepreneurship or tech over the past couple decades, you probably know
0:55.7	the name Brad Feld.
0:58.1	He's co-founder of the VC firm Foundry, co-founder of tech stars, and he's really one of the
1:05.3	rare leaders who's built lasting success while being radically transparent about his own mental health. Brad has lived
1:12.9	with OCD, depression, anxiety, and he's chosen not to hide it. We talk about his long journey
1:20.8	through therapy the moment his wife Amy said, I can't keep living the way that we are and how
1:25.4	that reckoning taught him what he calls
1:27.7	internal consistency, aligning what you say with what you feel and what you actually do.
1:34.7	We talk about what he calls passive avoidance, the silent regret of knowing that something's
1:39.6	wrong and not dealing with it, which I definitely did this morning when I realized that none of the introductions to my podcast had been saved and I've just had hand surgery and I just ignored it.
1:55.0	I ignored it and I sat there and I got angry and anxious at the same time.
1:58.9	We know that that's a really fun combination, right? Angry and anxious at the same time. We know that that's a really fun combination, right?
2:01.0	Angry and anxious at the same time. And I remembered what Brad said, that this anxiety, this anger,
2:08.5	this avoidance, it will either be inflicted outward on other people or turned inward until it burns
	...

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