Acceptance Of Feelings And Sensations During OCD - OCD Recovery

Podcast Summary: OCD Recovery with Ali Greymond

Episode: Acceptance Of Feelings And Sensations During OCD

Date: November 18, 2025
Host: Ali Greymond

Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delves into the crucial topic of accepting feelings and sensations that arise as part of OCD. Drawing from her personal journey and coaching experience, Ali explains how those with OCD often experience distressing emotions and sensations—especially with subtypes like harm OCD, sexual OCD, and sensory-motor OCD. She offers practical guidance on how to approach these intense internal experiences, highlighting that true acceptance (rather than resistance or correction) is key to recovery.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Nature of OCD-Driven Feelings

People with OCD often experience powerful, distressing feelings that feel "real":
- “When you have ocd...you have a lot of feelings that go along with it. And a lot of the times these feelings can be very distressing.” (00:08)
Common subtypes include harm OCD, sexual OCD, religious OCD, sensory-motor OCD, etc.

2. Understanding and Accepting the Feelings

Ali uses the metaphor of a “next door neighbor talking”—the feelings exist, but aren't truly you:
- “...just like I always talk about the next door neighbor talking...let them say whatever they want. They're over there, I'm over here. Same goes with the feelings.” (00:25)
The key is to accept the feelings as automatic responses from the brain, not as reflections of one's character or desires.
Viewing OCD sensations as "background noise" or an "overheard movie" can help detach from their emotional charge:
- “It's just like a movie, like a story that you're overhearing or in this case, you're over feeling. But they are not you. They don't represent who you are.” (00:47)

3. The Brain’s Mechanism and OCD

Ali explains that the brain responds with thoughts, feelings, or sensations based on fear, not logic:
- “Your brain thinks that you are scared of this...It just understands it as ones and zeros.” (01:03)
If you're afraid of something, the brain delivers more of it—whether that's a thought, image, or feeling.
- “You're afraid of a red balloon, I'll send you images of a red balloon. You're afraid of having feelings. I'm going to send you feelings.” (01:17)

4. Avoiding Engagement and Correction

Do not try to argue with or analyze the feelings—this keeps the OCD cycle going:
- “Don't engage in trying to correct it, because when you try to correct it...that's what sends you deeper into ocd. Instead, just leave it. Let it be however it wants to be right now.” (01:57)
Over time, refusing to react decreases the power of these feelings.

5. Resisting the "Checking" Habit

Ali warns against the common compulsion to constantly check whether the feelings are gone:
- “Don't look back into this...or are the feelings gone yet? Am I still feeling this way? Let me check.” (02:17)
This "are we there yet?" mentality keeps people stuck. Progress comes by not monitoring symptoms:
- “We've all done this. This is not productive. Don't do. Right.” (02:30)

6. Acceptance as a Core Recovery Tool

Acceptance doesn't mean agreeing with the intrusive thoughts—it means accepting the existence of automatic symptoms:
- “You're not accepting the premise that OCD tells you you're a bad person. You're not accepting that at all. You're accepting the autopilot as being autopilot.” (02:45)
Accept symptoms as temporary, and commit to non-engagement. Recovery is a process:
- “Because you're not engaging it, you will see that the feelings will slowly start to lose power.” (02:05)
Time and patience are crucial (“recovery from OCD is about six months when you're focused, when you're on track”). (03:23)

7. Realistic Recovery Timeline

Immediate relief is unlikely—change is gradual:
- “It's going to be, I would say probably a few weeks until you start to feel slightly better and then more and more and more.” (03:14)
Cheering patience: “The brain can only heal at the speed that it can heal...It can't go any faster.” (03:27)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On detachment:
- “Let it feel however it feels...However it twists the feelings, let it. Do it. And don't engage in trying to correct it.” (01:41)
On the futility of checking:
- “Let me get back into it and start to feel worse again because I'm going to start checking, right? We've all done this. This is not productive. Don't do.” (02:25)
On patience and progress:
- “It took you a while to get here. It's going to take a little bit of time to come out of it.” (03:11)
On the mechanism of acceptance:
- “Accepting the thoughts as currently being in the mind or the feelings currently being in your body, because they are. But you're accepting them as a temporary symptom of OCD that you can control by refusing reaction over time.” (02:53)

Important Timestamps

00:01 — Introduction to distressing OCD feelings and Ali’s acceptance approach
00:25 — Next door neighbor analogy for thoughts and feelings
01:03 — Brain’s logic and the "ones and zeros" metaphor
01:41 — Advice: Accept feelings, don’t try to correct
02:17 — Warning about checking if feelings are gone
02:45 — Clarifying the difference between accepting symptoms vs. accepting OCD’s messages
03:11 — Recovery is gradual, not instant
03:23 — Recovery timeframe and the speed of brain healing

Summary

Ali Greymond’s message in this episode is clear: acceptance of feelings and sensations is central to OCD recovery. By detaching from intrusive feelings, refusing to correct or analyze them, and having patience with the gradual process of change, individuals can reclaim their peace and move toward lasting recovery.

Note: For more resources, Ali invites listeners to her website for 1-on-1 coaching (content after 03:40 is not covered in detail as per guidelines).

Transcript

A (0:01)

Hi, everyone, I'm Allie Graymond. Today I wanted to talk to you about acceptance of feelings when you are dealing with ocd. When you have ocd, especially when you have OCD that's related to harm, sexuality, you have a lot of feelings that go along with it. And a lot of the times these feelings can be very distressing. I feel like I want this. I feel attraction. I. I do not mean all those things can feel very, very real and very, very distressing. The way I want you to handle it is I want you to accept them not as being a part of you, but more as being an automatic part of ocd. So just like I always talk about the next door neighbor talking that. Okay, they're just over there saying something. Let them say whatever they want to say. They're over there, I'm over here. Same goes with the feelings. You accept the feelings as they are. You accept that they're there and you're looking at them as, okay, they're there. So what? They're irrelevant. I'm fine with them. You're fine with them because they have nothing to do with you. It's just. It's just like a movie, like a story that you're overhearing or in this case, you're over feeling. Right. But they are not you. They don't represent who you are. They're just a reflex of your brain. Because your brain thinks that you are scared of this. It doesn't even understand what this is. It just understands it. Like a computer understands the image on the screen, but it understands it as ones and zeros. That's how your brain understands that if you're reacting to something, it can be religious, ocd, harm. Ocd. Or it can be just a red balloon. Fear. Right. If you're afraid of a red balloon, I'll send you images of a red balloon. You're afraid of having feelings. I'm going to send you feelings. You're afraid of physical sensations. I'll send you physical sensations. People with sensory motor will understand. That's a very common one for sensory. Well, that is the sensory motor ostie. Right. So just accept it as it is and don't feed into it. Let it feel however it feels. Yeah, it feels very real. Yeah, I feel very attracted. Yeah, I feel very much like I'm gonna hurt this person, you know? Yeah, I feel like I want this or I feel like I don't want this and I should want this. You know, whatever it makes you feel, however it makes you feel, however it twists the feelings. Let it. Do it. And don't engage in trying to correct it, because when you try to correct it, don't. That's what sends you deeper into ocd. Instead, just leave it. Let it be whatever however it wants to be right now. And because you're not engaging it, you will see that the feelings will slowly start to lose power. The other thing is, when you do this, don't look back into this. What I call are we there yet? Or are the feelings gone yet? Am I still feeling this way? Let me check. I feel a little better. So let me get back into it and start to feel worse again because I'm going to start checking, right, We've all done this. This is not productive. Don't do. Right. So it's this process of accepting. It's. I, I do want to highlight it a little bit more because I find that in a lot of. Not in every OCD situation, but in a lot of situations with ocd, acceptance is very important. Again, you're not accepting the premise that OCD tells you you're a bad person. You're not accepting that at all. You're accepting the autopilot as being autopilot. You're accepting the thoughts and as currently being in the mind or the feelings currently being in your body, because they are. But you're accepting them as a temporary symptom of OCD that you can control by refusing reaction over time. Over time it will start to reduce. Not over time, of. I've done this for an hour. Why am I not better? I've done it for a week. Why am I not better? It's over time because it took you a while to get here. It's going to take a little bit of time to come out of it. So like I always say, you have to accept that it's going to be. Again, accept. Right? But. But this is for real, right? You have to accept that it's going to be, I would say probably a few weeks until you start to feel slightly better and then more and more and more. And the recovery from OCD is about six months when you're focused, when you're on track. Because the brain can only heal at the speed that it can heal. You know, it can't go any faster. It's a physical process that's taking place. So it is important for you to focus and to do active recovery work with acceptance, with disregarding, with choosing not to dig into the thoughts or dig into the feelings or compare the feelings. Right? Let it be whatever it is, and you will see you will get better. I hope you find my videos helpful. Thank you so much for watching. If you haven't subscribed, please subscribe. If you would like to do one on one recovery program with me, all the information is on youhubocd. Com. You can sign up from there and we'll get started.