Summary: "Do You Need To Track OCD Avoidances?"
OCD Recovery Podcast with Ali Greymond – May 16, 2026
Main Theme
This episode addresses a frequent question from listeners: Should individuals track their OCD-related avoidances? Ali Greymond, drawing from her extensive experience and the Greymond Method, clarifies when tracking avoidances is (and isn't) necessary, rooting her advice in practical guidance tailored to various OCD subtypes.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Tracking Avoidance Isn’t Always Needed (00:00–01:10)
- Ali opens by sharing a common question from clients and listeners:
“Do I need to track avoidances?”
- Based on her work with clients, Ali notes:
- Very few people actually need to track avoidances.
- Out of all her clients, maybe one person every few months truly needs to do this.
- Most people with OCD don't engage in enough avoidant behaviors to justify the time and focus of dedicated tracking.
“It's not a common thing that people need to track. It's mostly ruminations and compulsions.” – Ali Greymond [00:08]
2. Focus is Better Placed on Ruminations and Compulsions (00:13–01:30)
- Ali encourages listeners to:
- Track ruminations and compulsions, as these are the behaviors that most commonly fuel OCD.
- Use tools (such as the OCD Help App) primarily for these aspects, unless avoidances are clearly frequent and impactful.
“Unless you see obvious avoidances that you're doing many, many, many times a day, most likely you don't.” – Ali Greymond [00:31]
3. Pure-O OCD & Tracking Strategies (01:10–end)
- If someone has Pure-O (mostly intrusive thoughts with minimal or no outward compulsions), then tracking rumination alone is enough.
- People often confuse fearing avoidance (rumination: “What if I'm avoiding?”) with actual avoidance behaviors. The former is a mental compulsion and should be tracked as such.
“A common OCD issue is avoidance where people fear 'what if I'm avoiding?'... But that's more the rumination about avoidance than actual avoidances.” – Ali Greymond [00:20]
Notable Quotes & Moments
- On frequency of necessary avoidance tracking:
“Out of all my clients I would say maybe one person every few months needs to track avoidances.” – Ali Greymond [00:04]
- Clarification of what to track:
“Stick to tracking rumination and tracking compulsions.” – Ali Greymond [00:33]
- Pure-O OCD approach:
“If you don't have any compulsions and your OCD is pure O, then just track the rumination.” – Ali Greymond [00:38]
Practical Takeaways
- For most people with OCD:
Focus on tracking ruminations and compulsions rather than avoidances.
- Track avoidances only if the behavior is frequent and clearly problematic.
- When in doubt:
If you notice yourself ruminating about whether you’re avoiding, log that as rumination, not as avoidance.
Episode Timeline
- 00:00 – Introduction to the main question: Should you track avoidances?
- 00:04 – Only very few people need to track avoidances.
- 00:08 – It's more about compulsions and ruminations for most.
- 00:20 – The difference between rumination about avoidance and actual avoidance.
- 00:31 – Practical advice: Stick to tracking ruminations/compulsions.
- 00:38 – Special note for Pure-O triggers.
- Close – Emergency session link mentioned (advisory, not content).
Conclusion
Ali Greymond boils down the question to practical wisdom: Most people with OCD should invest their efforts in tracking ruminations and compulsions, not avoidances—unless avoidant behaviors are exceedingly frequent and disruptive. Understanding the difference between rumination about avoidance and actual avoidance is key, especially for those with “Pure-O” subtypes.
This short, focused episode offers concrete, reassuring guidance relevant to all OCD subtypes.
