How To Get Rid Of Physical Compulsions - OCD Recovery

Episode Overview

Title: How To Get Rid Of Physical Compulsions
Host: Ali Greymond, OCD Specialist & Author
Date: December 27, 2025
Podcast: OCD Recovery

In this episode, Ali Greymond addresses the challenge of reducing and ultimately eliminating physical compulsions associated with OCD. Drawing on her two decades of experience, she breaks down practical, daily strategies for response prevention and emphasizes that real change is gradual but achievable. Ali encourages listeners to dismantle the lifestyle built around compulsions brick by brick, offering both hope and a structured path forward.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Compulsive Lifestyle – How Habits Form

Compulsions become habitual: Ali notes that, after years of performing physical compulsions, these actions become so ingrained that they “become a lifestyle” (00:14).
Clients often say things like, “I always do this this way and I always do that that way.”
Undoing these habits won't happen overnight, but there's significant opportunity for practice and improvement.

The Step-by-Step Reduction Approach

Main strategy: Address compulsions in every part of your routine, rather than focusing on only one set.
- “Every situation you enter… let’s try to do less.” (00:52)
- For every room or environment—living room, kitchen, bathroom—aim to do fewer compulsions than usual.
Consistency is key: Any small reduction today, when built upon and not reversed tomorrow, is progress.
Quote:

“It’s not all or nothing, but any little reduction you do in each one of those areas today… if you build on that instead tomorrow… you’ll get to zero.”
—Ali Greymond (01:21)

Why Singular Focus Can Backfire

Focusing only on one type or set of compulsion at a time is insufficient if compulsions are present throughout daily life.
- “If you’re doing a lot of compulsions all day and you’re working on just one... something else can come up. The brain will want to make up for it.” (02:02)
A holistic approach prevents the OCD from shifting or ‘compensating’ with new compulsions.

The Dirty House Analogy – Gradual, Layered Cleaning

Ali invites listeners to imagine their compulsive behaviors as layers of dirt in a house.
- “So we need to clean the top layer little by little. Then we’ll clean second layer and the third layer like this. Not all at once but focused and doing this continuously.” (02:34)
This analogy encourages patience and permanence: methodical, incremental progress is both achievable and sustainable.

Avoiding the Rumination Trap

Reducing compulsions should not be replaced by rumination or guilt about refusing them.
- “When you’re refusing compulsion you don’t want to be then going into rumination about how you refused… because that also feeds the OCD.” (03:05)
The dual goals:
a. Do fewer compulsions
b. Don’t ruminate afterwards
Memorable guidance:

“Bite what you can chew but continuously.”
—Ali Greymond (03:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On lifestyle change:

“These habits throughout the day become their entire life. So we will not be able to undo this overnight. But… you also have a lot of opportunity to practice response prevention.”
—Ali Greymond (00:21)
On holistic reduction:

“What I don’t recommend is saying, okay, I’m only going to work on this one thing and that’s it. It’s not going to be enough.”
—Ali Greymond (01:54)
Analogy for progress:

“Think of it as a dirty house. So we need to clean the top layer little by little. Then we’ll clean second layer and the third layer like this.”
—Ali Greymond (02:34)
On rumination:

“We want to make sure A, we’re not doing compulsions, but B, we’re also not letting ourselves ruminate.”
—Ali Greymond (03:10)

Important Timestamps

00:14 – Why physical compulsions become a lifestyle and acceptance of gradual change
00:52 – The approach of reducing compulsions in every situation or room
01:21 – The importance of small, consistent reductions
01:54 – Pitfalls of only focusing on one compulsion
02:34 – The 'dirty house' analogy: progress takes patience
03:05 – Don't let compulsions get replaced by rumination
03:20 – Key advice: “Bite what you can chew but continuously”

Summary Takeaways

Ali Greymond’s episode delivers a clear, hopeful, and practical approach for those struggling with physical OCD compulsions. Her advice is to steadily chip away at compulsions in every area of life—no “all or nothing,” and no overwhelm—while guarding against replacing those compulsions with obsessive rumination. Her use of everyday analogies, like the dirty house, reinforces the encouragement that genuine recovery is within reach when approached with patience, consistency, and perseverance.

Transcript

A (0:00)

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. You have OCD.com. you can sign up from there.

B (0:14)

Let's talk about reducing physical compulsions and what I see a lot with clients. And again, I've been doing this for 20 years. That with clients, when they do physical compulsions over a long period of time, it becomes a lifestyle where they'll say, well, I always do this this way and I always do that that way. And these habits throughout the day become their entire life. So we will not be able to undo this overnight. But at the same time, you also have a lot of opportunity to practice response prevention. So you can do this, considering it became your lifestyle to undo it. It's not that long, but it's not going to be overnight. So what you need to do, your number one thing needs to be that every situation you enter, you entered the living room. You do usually compulsions, let's say, in the living room, okay, let's try to do less. Then you entered the kitchen. Okay, I'm going to do less compulsions in the kitchen. Then you entered the bathroom. I'm going to do less compulsions in the bathroom. And it's not all or nothing, but any little reduction you do in each one of those areas today. And if you don't go back on that tomorrow, if you build on that instead tomorrow, right, by reducing more little by little, you'll get to zero. So this is about continuously reducing a little bit at a time, but in each area. So that structure of life that you created because of ocd, so that unhealthy structure of life, we're kind of undoing it brick by brick, but even less than that, but continuously throughout the day. What I don't recommend is saying, okay, I'm only going to work on this one thing and that's it. It's not going to be enough. Because if you're doing a lot of compulsions all day and you're working on just one specific set of compulsions, even if you fix that, you still have so much more other stuff to go. And by the time you fix it, something else can come up. You know what I mean? To. Because the brain will want to make up for it. So that's not the best way forward. The best way forward is little by little, but all the time. And that's what I do with clients. Is we look at, okay, where are we making mistakes? What are we doing? So this is our field of work that needs to be done. Think of it as a dirty house. So we need to clean the top layer little by little. Then we'll clean second layer and the third layer like this. Not all at once but focused and doing this continuously. And the other thing is always remember that when you're refusing compulsion you don't want to be then going into rumination about how you refused and now how things are bad because that also feeds the ocd. So we want to make sure A we're not doing compulsions but B we're also not letting ourselves ruminate. So bite what you can chew but continuously.