Podcast Summary

Podcast: OCD Recovery

Host: Ali Greymond
Episode: How To Disregard OCD Feelings
Date: December 4, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond, seasoned OCD recovery coach and author of "The Greymond Method," explores a central aspect of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): the overwhelming feelings that accompany intrusive thoughts. She explains why it’s crucial to recognize these feelings as symptoms of OCD, discusses practical strategies for disregarding them, and emphasizes the necessity of accountability and gradual progress in recovery. Drawing on both her own experience and more than ten years helping clients, Ali offers direct, encouraging advice for those at any stage of their OCD journey.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding OCD Feelings (00:00–01:18)

• OCD does not only manifest as intrusive thoughts—it’s a “package” that can include:

  • Distressing feelings (guilt, shame, unworthiness)
  • Urges to confess or “figure things out” for certainty
  • Sensations, images, dreams, or false memories

• Key point: These feelings add to the realness of OCD.

  “OCD comes as a package. So it doesn't just come in as a what if thought. It comes in as a what if thought, as a feeling, as an image, as a dream, as a sensation, as a false memory. It can come in with any combination of those things. So having feelings that go along with OCD is, first of all, classic OCD.”
  (Ali, 00:34)

2. Identifying and Labeling OCD Patterns (01:18–02:18)

• Everyone with OCD experiences these feelings—the specifics just depend on personal themes (harm, morality, future events, etc.)

• Essential skill: Track and recognize your own OCD patterns.

• When guilt, shame, or unworthiness appears in context with your OCD theme, it belongs in your “OCD box.”

  “Any guilt thought, any shame thought, any thought that you're a bad person as connected to this thing immediately has to go in the OCD pile in the OCD box.”
  (Ali, 01:54)

3. Choosing to Disregard—Not to Achieve Certainty (02:18–04:33)

• Disregarding OCD feelings is a deliberate act; it does not require genuinely feeling “okay.”

• Trying to achieve the feeling of being okay with OCD thoughts/feelings is futile. Instead, recognize them as “false alarms.”

• Don’t engage in:

  • Confessing
  • Rumination
  • Emotional investment in the feelings

  “You can't try to achieve a feeling of being okay with these feelings... You have to make a choice that, yes, I do feel it, but it's a false alarm, and I'm disregarding.”
  (Ali, 02:32)

• OCD often shifts themes or details, but the emotional pattern is the same.

• Not powering up OCD feelings through compulsions or rumination is key.

  “If you see through this game and see it as this is just another thing, who cares? Okay. I feel guilt today. Okay, fine. Yeah. So guilty. The worst. The worst person in the universe. Yep, of course. Right. And then moving on from that…”
  (Ali, 04:33)

4. The Importance of Tracking & Accountability (05:37–08:45)

• Track time spent on compulsions and rumination, aiming to reduce even by one minute at a time.

• Consistent tracking brings accountability and accelerates recovery.

• Recovery requires active participation—waiting doesn’t work, nor do most quick fixes.

  “Track the time, track compulsions, track rumination, track with the idea of reducing. Even if you reduce by 1 minute each time period, that's fine, that's enough to recover, but just do it.”
  (Ali, 05:43)

• Ali stresses that there’s no magic bullet; various interventions (medication, hypnosis, light therapy, talk therapy) rarely solve the issue alone.

• Medication like SSRIs might bring around 10–20% symptom relief, but recovery hinges on proactive behavior change.

  “And I'm telling you, it's not effective. It's not effective. Medication, SSRIs. Yeah, okay. You'll squeeze maybe 20% reduction out of it. Maybe 10. 10 to 20% max. So it still comes down to you and what you are doing.”
  (Ali, 08:18)

5. Final Encouragement & Recovery Mindset (08:45–End)

• Accountability and gradual daily improvement are essential.

• Reducing compulsions and rumination—even a little—adds up over time.

• If you keep making small steps and stay accountable, you will recover.

  “It's just about accountability and pushing forward every single day. No matter what you do this, you stay on track. I promise you, you will recover.”
  (Ali, 08:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On labeling OCD feelings:
  “Having feelings that go along with OCD is, first of all, classic OCD. That's how OCD goes. That's what adds to the realness. So, first of all, viewing it as a symptom.”
  (Ali, 00:43)

• On why feelings persist:
  “Your feelings will always tell you to do otherwise.”
  (Ali, 01:59)

• On the futility of seeking quick relief:
  “When I was going through OCD... you’re like, well, maybe there’s a pill I can take, maybe there’s a vitamin I can take. Maybe I can change my lifestyle… and I’m telling you... I’ve seen it all. ...It’s not effective.”
  (Ali, 06:13 & 07:51)

• On the solution:
  “Sitting and waiting for recovery to happen, guys, honestly, it’s a waste of time. It doesn’t work. This is not like a cold where eventually it will pass.”
  (Ali, 06:54)

Segment Timestamps

• Understanding OCD and its ‘package’: 00:00–01:18
• Patterns and labeling OCD thoughts/feelings: 01:18–02:18
• Strategy: Disregard, don’t ruminate: 02:18–04:33
• Tracking, accountability, and recovery actions: 05:37–08:45
• Closing thoughts, encouragement: 08:45–End

Tone & Style

Ali’s approach is direct, practical, and compassionate. She offers relatable experiences and never sugar-coats the difficulty of the journey, but reassures listeners that full recovery is achievable with consistency and effort. The episode is conversational, motivational, and focused on actionable guidance.

Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode is a practical and reassuring guide for anyone struggling to manage OCD feelings. Ali Greymond breaks down why these feelings show up, how to recognize them as symptoms (not truths), and lays out a realistic path to recovery built on tracking, accountability, and gradual improvement. She demystifies why “feeling right” isn’t necessary for progress, counters myths about cures and shortcuts, and delivers a consistent message: you can recover if you commit to recovery work and don’t fuel the OCD cycle through rumination or compulsions.