Podcast Summary: OCD Recovery with Ali Greymond

Episode: Full OCD Recovery: How To React Passively To An OCD Thought

Date: January 4, 2026
Host: Ali Greymond

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond, OCD specialist and creator of The Greymond Method, dives deep into one of the central skills of OCD recovery: learning to react passively to intrusive OCD thoughts. Drawing from two decades of experience and her own recovery journey, Ali discusses why emotional neutrality—rather than effortful acceptance or resistance—is key to breaking the OCD cycle. The conversation focuses especially on “Pure O” (primarily obsessional OCD) but applies broadly to all forms of OCD.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

What Does It Mean to "React Passively"?

• Main Concept: When an OCD thought appears, it seeks a reaction—whether that's reassurance, compulsive checking, or an emotional response.
• In Pure O (obsessive thoughts without visible compulsions), this often manifests in seeking reassurance, online searching, ruminating, or talking to others for comfort.

"When an OCD thought comes in, it wants you to give it energy. So reactive energy."
— Ali Greymond [00:14]

The Pitfalls of Engaging With the Thought

• Typical Compulsions: Checking, reassurance-seeking, and researching are all ways OCD tries to get energy from you.
• Even shifting feelings (turning a “bad thought” into a “good thought”) is a subtle form of compulsion—so is trying to force yourself to accept a worst-case scenario.

“There’s a lot of stuff floating around about this online... If you accept worst case scenarios, all it’s going to do is it’s going to up the level of what you need to accept to the point where you just won’t be able to accept it anymore because of your morals and values. So it’s a road to nowhere. You don’t need to do that. It’s crazy to be honest with you to do that.”
— Ali Greymond [01:28]

What Passive Response Really Looks Like

• Definition: Passive response means acknowledging, “This is just another OCD thought,” and moving on—essentially treating the thought as neutral background noise.
• The power is in being unimpressed and unaffected by the content or frequency of the thoughts.

“No energy and no energy given through either the content or the idea of having OCD... The more energy you give it, the more the disorder grows. Bam. End of story.”
— Ali Greymond [03:32]

Common Traps and Misunderstandings

• Getting Mad at OCD: Even seemingly positive reactions—like getting mad to “disregard” the thought—risk energizing the cycle if they become emotional outbursts.
• Worrying About Having OCD: Feeling frustrated or despairing about having OCD is another way the disorder pulls for energy—this, too, should be met with neutral indifference.

“Even an anger reaction to the thought, like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I have this thought again, you know, punch a hole in the wall or something like that,' still feeds it a lot.”
— Ali Greymond [03:50]

Practical Approach

• Acknowledge: “That’s OCD.”
• Stay Neutral: Don’t try to get rid of the thought, swap it for a better one, or analyze it.
• Move On: Continue your day as if the thought is irrelevant noise.
• Don’t Feed the Cycle: Any strong emotional reaction—positive or negative—gives OCD more power.

"Continue on with the day as if you don't hear about it. Continue. Turn on complete ignore mode."
— Ali Greymond [04:35]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Accepting Thoughts:
  “The only thing you need to accept is that this is your thought number 1 million. That’s OCD.” [01:59]
• On Emotional Neutrality:
  “Try to treat whatever OCD gave you…as neutral. ‘Yeah, this popped into my brain, okay.’” [02:09]
• On Resetting Perspective:
  “You, future you, would be the same about this thought. That, yeah, that thought popped into my brain…” [02:32]

Important Timestamps

• 00:14 – What it means to react passively to an OCD thought
• 01:00 – Why vows to accept the “worst-case scenario” are unhelpful
• 02:04 – How to treat OCD thoughts as emotionally neutral
• 03:32 – The cycle of giving energy to OCD
• 03:50 – Why anger and emotional outbursts feed OCD
• 04:35 – Practical advice: complete ignore mode

Episode Tone

Ali’s approach is frank, direct, and supportive. She challenges misconceptions and offers actionable advice, always encouraging listeners to keep their responses simple, neutral, and free from unnecessary emotional entanglement.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone struggling with recurring OCD thoughts and seeking practical ways to cut the cycle at its source. Ali’s guidance distills years of experience into clear, powerful steps for reclaiming everyday life from OCD's demands.