OCD Recovery Podcast: "Don't Defend Your OCD"

Host: Ali Greymond
Date: December 31, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delivers a succinct, focused message on a common trap in OCD recovery: feeling compelled to defend oneself against obsessive thoughts. She explains why arguing with or trying to prove oneself to OCD only strengthens the disorder’s grip, and instead advocates for a stance of non-engagement. The podcast is direct, prioritizing practical advice for listeners struggling with various forms of OCD, including Pure-O, Relationship OCD, Harm OCD, and more.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Rejecting the Urge to Defend Yourself

• Core Message: Responding to OCD by trying to explain, defend, or prove "you are a good person" traps you in a defensive posture.
  • Ali Greymond (00:00):

    "You don't need to explain yourself to your ocd. You don't need to defend yourself. You don't need to show your OCD that you are a good person. You don't need to prove your point."

• Insight: Every attempt to rationalize or counter obsessive thoughts keeps sufferers in an endless argument, reinforcing their significance and presence.

2. Engagement Leads to Defeat

• Warning Against 'Debate': Entering a back-and-forth internal dialogue with OCD puts you in a losing position.
  • Ali Greymond (00:15):

    "As soon as you get into a conversation with your ocd, you are already in a defensive position. You are already in a losing position."

• Key Point: Every internal “debate” with your OCD is a setup for failure because it validates the intrusive thoughts.

3. Winning by Non-Engagement

• Advice to Listeners: The most effective way to "win" against OCD is by disengaging entirely.
  • Ali Greymond (00:25):

    "Don't play the game. The way to win this game is not to play it. Let the thoughts come in. Live your life parallel to the thoughts. Do not engage."

• Practical Takeaway: Acceptance of intrusive thoughts—allowing them to exist without resistance or engagement—is a powerful recovery tool. Focus on continuing your daily life alongside the thoughts without giving them meaning or response.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On defending yourself (00:00):

  "You don't need to explain yourself to your ocd."

• On the futility of debate (00:15):

  "As soon as you get into a conversation with your ocd, you are already in a defensive position. You are already in a losing position."

• On disengagement as victory (00:25):

  "Don't play the game. The way to win this game is not to play it. Let the thoughts come in. Live your life parallel to the thoughts. Do not engage."

Structure & Tone

• Language & Tone: Direct, encouraging, and authoritative.
• Purpose: To offer immediate, actionable advice that listeners can apply to resist the urge to reason with or justify themselves to their OCD.

Useful Timestamped Segments

• 00:00–00:10: Introduction to the concept of not defending oneself against OCD.
• 00:10–00:20: Explanation of why defending yourself is a losing position.
• 00:20–00:35: Actionable advice: “Don’t play the game”—with a focus on non-engagement.

Summary Takeaway

Ali Greymond’s central advice in this episode is simple but potent: Don’t get drawn into debates with your OCD. Refuse to defend yourself, prove anything, or justify your thoughts. Instead, let the thoughts exist without engaging, and continue living your life alongside them—this is the path to weakening OCD’s power.

[End of summary]