Full OCD Recovery: What Counts As OCD Rumination? - OCD Recovery

Summary3 min read

OCD Recovery Podcast with Ali Greymond

Episode: Full OCD Recovery: What Counts As OCD Rumination?
Air Date: December 13, 2025
Host: Ali Greymond

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond dives into the critical topic of OCD rumination—what it actually is, how to recognize it, and why accurately tracking it is essential for recovery. Ali explains that many new listeners struggle to distinguish between normal thoughts and rumination, and provides clear guidelines for identifying when everyday actions are feeding the OCD loop. She emphasizes the parallel relationship between rumination and anxiety, and outlines the first steps to stop OCD in its tracks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Rumination in OCD

What Counts as Rumination:
- Any time you're thinking about your OCD fear—even indirectly—that's rumination.
- Includes:
  - Talking to others about OCD or fears (even support conversations).
  - Online research related to the fear.
  - Taking protective or avoidant actions based on fear (e.g., avoiding triggers).
  - Trying to push thoughts away or obsessing over why the thoughts won't leave.
- Quote (00:23):
  
  “Yes, it does. So rumination is anytime you are thinking about your OCD fear. So if you’re doing online research, right, you are thinking about it. If you are talking to somebody, you are thinking about it.”

2. Recognizing Unintentional Rumination

Many forms of rumination are "hidden" in seemingly helpful behaviors.
Talking with friends, family, or even AI/chatbots about your fears counts.
Repetitively searching for ways to "fix" anxiety (including supplements or strategies) can become compulsive.
Quote (01:38):

“Sometimes clients will obsessively research supplements to get rid of anxiety. That also counts… If it’s becoming obsessive, if it’s becoming not healthy, then you know what’s going on, right?”

3. Importance of Accurate Tracking

When you start to count all forms of rumination, you may realize it's occurring most of the day.
The severity of your OCD correlates directly with the amount of time spent ruminating.
If your anxiety is “through the roof,” honestly re-examine if you’re still ruminating.
Quote (02:12):

“The amount of rumination is aligned with the level of anxiety. So if your anxiety is through the roof and you’re claiming that you are not ruminating, check these things again.”

4. Practical Recovery Guidance

The only way to reach zero anxiety is to reach zero compulsive behaviors—including all forms of rumination.
Ali recommends dissecting your day to identify where rumination occurs, then creating a personalized action plan.
Quote (02:37):

“You need to have an action plan of ok, I’m going wrong here, here and here. So I need to do better here, here, and here in order to get my anxiety to zero. Because the only way to get the anxiety to zero is to get the behaviors to zero.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On how seemingly innocent conversations can count as rumination:

“If you are talking to somebody, you are thinking about it.” (00:24)
On the compulsive nature of research:

“Even things like sometimes clients will obsessively research supplements to get rid of anxiety. That also counts.” (01:37)
Summary insight on the relationship between rumination and anxiety:

“The amount of rumination is aligned with the level of anxiety… If your anxiety is through the roof and you’re claiming that you are not ruminating, check these things again.” (02:12)
On building a practical path to recovery:

“Create an action plan… The only way to get the anxiety to zero is to get the behaviors to zero.” (02:44)

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:14 – Introduction to rumination and what counts as rumination
00:24 – Examples: talking, research, protective actions, mental checking
01:38 – Researching supplements and healthy vs. obsessive behaviors
02:12 – Correlation between rumination amount and anxiety severity
02:37 – Creating a personalized recovery action plan

Tone & Delivery

Ali Greymond’s tone throughout is supportive, straightforward, and practical. She speaks directly to those struggling with intrusive thoughts and behaviors, normalizing their experiences and urging honest self-reflection. Her message is empowering: OCD recovery requires clarity about mental habits, and change begins with honest tracking and targeted action.

Summary:
Ali Greymond’s episode serves as a powerful clarifier for anyone unsure where their mental energy is going. By expanding the definition of rumination to include conversations, research, and avoidance, she encourages listeners to uncover hidden compulsions and commit to a thorough, honest recovery plan.

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Transcript3 lines

[00:00]
A
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.
[00:15]
B
Today, I wanted to go over what counts as rumination, because we have a lot of new listeners, and people ask me this all the time. Well, what if I'm talking to somebody? Does this count as rumination? Yes, it does. So rumination is anytime you are thinking about your OCD fear. So if you're doing online research, right, you are thinking about it. If you are talking to somebody, you are thinking about it. If you are doing a protective action. So let's say you're avoiding something, and you're avoiding something all day, consciously, again, you are thinking about it. So all of these behaviors, even if, let's say you're trying to push the thought away, that's also thinking about it. And then if you're ruminating, why isn't the thought going away? My life sucks. Why me? Blah, blah, blah. Also ruminating. So if you start to count all of this and add this to your tracking, you'll be like, oh, my God, I'm ruminating all day long. Which makes sense if you think of how bad your OCD is. So if your OCD is very bad, chances are you're ruminating very much. If somewhat bad. Somewhat ruminating. Little. Just a little bit left. Okay. Maybe just a little bit of rumination. I'm telling you, I work with clients day in and day out. It's always parallel. The amount of rumination is aligned with the level of anxiety. So if your anxiety is through the roof and you're claiming that you are not ruminating, check these things again. Talking to people about your OCD or talking to ChatGPT, researching on any kind of online research, even things like sometimes clients will obsessively research supplements to get rid of anxiety. That also counts. You know, I mean, it's fine to research supplements and all of that. It's okay. But it's like there's a limit to it. If it's becoming obsessive, if it's becoming not healthy, then you know what's going on, right? So just take a more deeper look at these things. That's what I do with clients, is we dissect where they're going wrong, and then we create an action plan. That's what you need, is you need to have an action plan of okay, I'm going wrong here, here and here. So I need to do better here, here, and here in order to get my anxiety to zero. Because the only way to get the anxiety to zero is to get the behaviors to zero. And you always have to remember that.
[03:11]
A
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 ocd dot com. I'll see you tomorrow.