Podcast Summary: Disregard Scary OCD Thoughts

Podcast: OCD Recovery
Host: Ali Greymond
Date: December 18, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delivers a motivational reminder about the importance of actively disregarding intrusive and distressing OCD thoughts, no matter how compelling or upsetting they may seem. Drawing from her own recovery experience and expertise as an OCD coach, Ali emphasizes the power of consistent exposures and the necessity of breaking mental habits that fuel OCD.

The heart of this episode revolves around practical strategies to accelerate recovery from various OCD themes—including Pure-O, Relationship OCD, Harm OCD, Contamination OCD, and more—by prioritizing repetition, exposure, and refusal to engage with obsessive thoughts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Nature of OCD Thoughts

• OCD thoughts can appear extremely real, scary, or disturbing, but they are fundamentally still OCD, not reflective of your true character or intentions.
• Ali Greymond (00:08):

  "No matter how real OCD thoughts seem, no matter how scary they are, no matter how disturbing the content is, they're still OCD. This is not your first OCD thought. This is not your last OCD thought."

2. The Power of Repetition and Disregarding

• Recovery requires active refusal to engage: every intrusive thought is an opportunity to practice disregarding.
• The brain learns through repetition—if you continually respond to thoughts as important, the brain strengthens the OCD loop.
• Ali Greymond (01:35):

  "If thought comes in a million times a day, look at it as good—it gives me a million opportunities to disregard."

3. Exposure Practice: Volume and Consistency

• Many individuals seeking faster recovery are not doing enough exposure work; single-digit exposures per day are usually insufficient.
• Ali suggests dramatically increasing exposures: aim for 10 exposures per OCD theme or situation, rather than just a few.
• Ali Greymond (03:20):

  "Do 10 exposures for each one of your situations... and you will see how much faster you're gonna recover."

4. Expecting "Retaliation" from OCD

• As you increase exposures and refuse compulsions, OCD often responds with more intense or novel scary thoughts—this is normal and part of the process.
• Ali Greymond (04:11):

  "Of course, OCD will also bring its A game in trying to get you back in with scarier thoughts... if you see retaliation from OCD, don't worry. That's normal."

5. Accelerating—or Delaying—Recovery

• The speed of recovery is up to the individual: rapid repetition leads to quicker progress, while infrequent exposures prolong the process.
• Ali observes that setbacks (engaging in compulsions or rumination) slow progress but can be remedied with renewed effort.
• Ali Greymond (05:02):

  "You can do 100 repetitions in six months, or you can do 100 repetitions in three days. It's up to you. And that's how recovery happens. It's just how much you do every single day."

6. Detaching from the Content of OCD Thoughts

• Don’t personalize intrusive thoughts or assign them deeper meaning ("What does this mean about me?"). Disregard and move on.
• Ali uses a memorable metaphor:
• Ali Greymond (06:16):

  "Imagine you were living in a tiny apartment with paper thin walls, and the neighbor next to you is blasting music that has some obscene lyrics... For some reason, you're attributing it to yourself that, well, I'm a bad person because I'm hearing this. You're just here. You have no control."

7. The Role of Compulsions and Consistency

• Meaningful recovery requires daily, consistent effort; performing a high volume of exposures while minimizing or eliminating compulsions.
• If exposures are minimal or followed by compulsions/rumination, benefits are limited.
• Ali Greymond (08:32):

  "If you can master this... keeping that routine every single day, I promise you, you will recover and you will recover fairly quickly."

8. Personal Responsibility and Encouragement

• Recovery is self-driven: coaches and therapists can guide, but only you can put in the repetition and consistent disregard of OCD thoughts.
• Take action "every single day," with allowance for reasonable breaks.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Opportunity in Intrusive Thoughts:
  "If thought comes in a million times a day, look at it as good – it gives me a million opportunities to disregard."
  (Ali Greymond, 01:35)

• Regarding The Speed of Recovery:
  "You can do 100 repetitions in six months, or you can do 100 repetitions in three days. It's up to you."
  (Ali Greymond, 05:02)

• On Detachment and Perspective:
  "So don't take them personally. View it as just noise happening in the background. By disregarding, I'm getting out of this situation."
  (Ali Greymond, 06:56)

• On the Commitment Needed:
  "Only if you do the work... If you just listen to it and do nothing, it's not gonna work. So you actually have to do this every single day. Or at least, I would say, 90% of the days."
  (Ali Greymond, 09:14)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00–01:15: Introduction; reality and persistence of OCD thoughts
• 01:16–03:30: Need for active, repeated disregard; repetition as the key to unlearning OCD habits
• 03:31–05:25: Exposure strategy; increasing number and intensity of exposures
• 05:26–07:20: The “neighbor’s music” metaphor; detachment from thought content
• 07:21–09:15: The necessity for daily practice; summing up recovery process and encouragement

Conclusion

Ali Greymond’s concise yet passionate guidance in this episode centers on one theme: active, repeated disregard of OCD thoughts is the path to recovery. The key message—frequency, persistence, and non-engagement with the content—undergirds the entire episode and is delivered with relatable metaphors and firm encouragement. The episode is a valuable listen (or read) for anyone seeking concrete structure and motivation for their OCD recovery journey.