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Ali. I'm Ali Graymond. I'm an expert in OCD recovery because for the last 19 years, I've been helping people fully recover from OCD. If you would like to do personal coaching with me, all the information is on younhubocd.com you can sign up from there. A common question when tracking is when is it rumination and when is it automatic thoughts? So what can we control versus what is happening to us? It goes like this. OCD sends you a trigger. That trigger is automatic. So that could be a feeling that comes with a thought or a sensation that comes with a thought or just a thought or an urge or a dream or an image or something like that. But it's. It's kind of like a short burst where something came into your mind suddenly. It could be maybe a sentence or two that you, I mean, you know when you experienced it, that you had no control over that coming in. And it could be coming in all day, but it's like that immediate thing that, that burst and then after that it wants you to do something, to figure it out, to respond, to do a compulsion to avoid to do something. So that action, even if it's just overthinking, that's something that you're doing consciously. Maybe you don't feel like you're doing it consciously, but you do have control over whether you're, let's say, going on Reddit and trying to figure it out or going on Chad GPT and trying to ask those questions. When you're doing that, you're doing that consciously. And what we want to do instead is to say, you know what? I'm going to make the choice, no matter what, not to do that anymore. And whenever you do end up falling for it, that's what would be trackable. So that's what would count as rumination. So actively trying to solve the issue in some way, shape or form. And also when you are doing online research, the time spent doing online research counts as rumination because you're ruminating while doing that. Or when you're talking to somebody about your ocd, the time that, that you're talking to them also counts as rumination because you're thinking while you're talking to them. Right? So it counts as a compulsion. One compulsion plus the time spent ruminating, right? So both. And, and our goal is just to reduce, again, reminding you that OCD is rumination plus compulsions plus avoidances. If you don't have any of the three, you cannot prop up ocd so it will start to decline and eventually disappear. But what you're doing and what I was doing when I had OCD long time ago, is we keep propping it up through letting ourselves ruminate. So that's the behavior that we need to stop. Thank you for listening. If you have not subscribed, please subscribe. If you would like to do private coaching with me, please sign up through you have oct dot com. I'll see you tomorrow.
Podcast: OCD Recovery
Host: Ali Greymond
Episode Date: June 9, 2025
In this episode, Ali Greymond dives into a common concern for those recovering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): understanding the difference between automatic intrusive thoughts and active rumination. Drawing from her nearly two decades of experience as an OCD recovery coach and her own personal journey, Ali breaks down how recognizing and addressing these thought patterns is fundamental to healing.
Automatic Thoughts:
“OCD sends you a trigger. That trigger is automatic…You know when you experienced it, that you had no control over that coming in.” — Ali Greymond [01:20]
Active Rumination:
“That action, even if it’s just overthinking, that’s something that you’re doing consciously…When you’re doing that, you’re doing that consciously.” — Ali Greymond [02:31]
Tracking Rumination:
“Whenever you do end up falling for it, that’s what would be trackable. So that’s what would count as rumination. So actively trying to solve the issue in some way, shape or form.” — Ali Greymond [03:10]
Examples of Rumination:
Multiple Counts:
“When you are doing online research, the time spent doing online research counts as rumination because you’re ruminating while doing that. Or when you’re talking to somebody about your OCD, the time that you’re talking to them also counts as rumination because you’re thinking while you’re talking to them.” — Ali Greymond [03:35]
The Cycle:
“OCD is rumination plus compulsions plus avoidances. If you don’t have any of the three, you cannot prop up OCD so it will start to decline and eventually disappear.” — Ali Greymond [04:16]
Ali’s Recovery Tip:
“What you’re doing and what I was doing when I had OCD long time ago, is we keep propping it up through letting ourselves ruminate. So that’s the behavior that we need to stop.” — Ali Greymond [04:32]
On lack of control over triggers:
“You had no control over that coming in.” [01:23]
On conscious rumination:
“Maybe you don’t feel like you’re doing it consciously, but you do have control…” [02:38]
On OCD’s sustainability:
“If you don’t have any of the three, you cannot prop up OCD so it will start to decline and eventually disappear.” [04:18]
Ali’s personal experience and straightforward explanation make this episode a practical guide for distinguishing between involuntary symptoms and actionable behaviors in OCD recovery.