OCD Recovery Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Full OCD Recovery: What OCD Actually Wants From You
Host: Ali Greymond
Date: December 5, 2025

Episode Overview

In this concise, actionable episode, Ali Greymond dives deep into the core mechanism that keeps obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) alive: the act of rumination. Drawing from her two decades of experience and her own recovery journey, Ali breaks down what OCD "wants" from sufferers—namely, ongoing mental engagement. The episode’s focus is on reframing how listeners perceive OCD’s demands, empowering them to disrupt the cycle by refusing to feed it with rumination and compulsions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. OCD’s Real Goal: Continuous Engagement

• Not About "Solving"
  • OCD presents distressing thoughts not to be solved, but “to get you in the process of solving,” Ali emphasizes ([00:12]).
  • The disorder thrives not because you figure out a solution, but because you remain caught in the loop of trying to do so.

2. Rumination: The Main Fuel of OCD

• Metaphor: The Battery

  • Ali uses a vivid metaphor: "Think of yourself as a battery. This is how you power up your disorder." ([00:30])
  • The more you ruminate, the more energy you give your OCD, making it stronger and more persistent.

• Breaking the Feed

  • To get rid of the disorder, “stop doing the thing that powers it up the most, which is rumination.” ([00:36])
  • Recognizes that compulsions matter too, but notes, “for a lot of people, it’s rumination.” ([00:49])

3. Choice and Practice: Refusing to Ruminate

• Recognizing the Decision Point

  • When a trigger arrives—whether as an image, thought, feeling, or sensation—"now you have the choice to ruminate or not to ruminate." ([00:51])
  • Ali presses listeners to “make the right choice. Don’t let yourself feed this disorder.” ([01:09])

• Empowerment Through Action

  • The episode is practical and supportive, urging real-time decisions and daily mental habit changes.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It wants you to be in the process of solving.” – Ali Greymond ([00:13])
• “It’s not the solving that’s important, it’s the continuous rumination. That’s how you feed OCD.” – Ali Greymond ([00:29])
• “Think of yourself as a battery. This is how you power up your disorder.” – Ali Greymond ([00:30])
• “Stop doing the thing that powers it up the most, which is rumination.” – Ali Greymond ([00:36])
• “Yes, a trigger came in. Yes, it was disturbing. ...Now you have the choice to ruminate or not to ruminate.” – Ali Greymond ([00:51])
• “Make the right choice. Don’t let yourself feed this disorder.” – Ali Greymond ([01:09])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:00] – Introduction to what OCD is actually doing.
• [00:12] – OCD’s real aim: keeping you in the loop of “solving.”
• [00:30] – Rumination as the disorder's fuel, battery metaphor.
• [00:49] – Distinguishing between compulsions and rumination.
• [00:51] – The pivotal choice when faced with a trigger.
• [01:09] – Final advice: making the choice not to feed the disorder.

Summary Takeaway

Ali Greymond’s episode distills the heart of OCD recovery to a simple but challenging daily decision: not to engage in rumination or compulsions, no matter how distressing the trigger. The empowerment lies in recognizing that OCD’s survival depends on your mental engagement—and recovery is possible by breaking that cycle, one choice at a time.