Episode Overview

Title: How To Really Start OCD Recovery
Host: Ali Greymond
Date: November 28, 2025

In this episode, Ali Greymond, an OCD recovery coach and author, dives deep into the real starting point of OCD recovery—going beyond mere desire to change and focusing on decisive, committed action. Drawing on her own experience and the patterns she observes in clients, Ali explains what it takes to truly begin the journey of overcoming OCD, why understanding your mind’s processes is essential, and how to measure and adjust your progress every day.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

When Does OCD Recovery Actually Begin?

• Decisive Starting Point:

  • Recovery doesn’t start from wanting to get better. It begins at a moment of resolve—when you feel you’ve lost enough and are truly ready to fight for change.
    • “You kind of hit a point where you say, you know what, I can't do this anymore... I can't continue to live my life this way. So I'm going to really start fighting...” (01:40)
  • Often takes multiple false starts before real resolve kicks in due to fear and uncertainty.

• You Must Break the Unhelpful Cycle:

  • Sticking with cycles of reassurance or half-measures will yield no change—true progress only happens with a full shift in approach.
    • “If you're doing the same thing over and over again, right, you can't expect a different result.” (02:33)

Understanding How OCD Works – Knowledge is Power

• Deep Level of Understanding Required:

  • You need to know OCD mechanisms so thoroughly you could “do a lecture on how OCD works if someone woke you at two in the morning." (04:10)
    • “This is the level that you need to get it on, on the very subconscious level.” (04:21)
  • Understanding that thoughts are abundant (50,000–80,000 a day) and that your brain seeks your guidance on what’s dangerous (05:00).

• How the OCD Loop Perpetuates Itself:

  • The more attention you give a thought (with fear, compulsions, or reassurance), the more your brain flags it as important and continues to send it to you.
    • "The more you send this signal, the more the brain's like, I got it. I will send it to you all day long... Then you get more scared... And the cycle, the loop, you know, continues endlessly." (05:17)

• It's Not About Eliminating Thoughts, But How You React:

  • As soon as one OCD issue is 'solved' through compulsions, another arises—until you teach your brain that no thought is truly dangerous.

Personal Themes and Sensitivity

• OCD Latches Onto What You Care About:
  • “It grabs to things that you care about in the moment. Oh, you very much care about this. Okay, I'll make sure to protect you.” (09:46)
  • Events like bereavement, major life changes, trauma, or even positive transitions (like marriage or pregnancy) often trigger onset or spikes in OCD.
    • “OCD started... after some sort of bad situation at work, and then OCD started, or I moved and OCD started... It's a post stress reaction.” (07:55)
  • Highly sensitive people are more vulnerable to OCD and recurring cycles.

Taking Concrete, Accountable Action

• Action is Non-Negotiable for Progress:

  • Self-directed recovery or therapy must be action-based, not just supportive.
    • “You need to have it action based. What did I do today to make the situation better? Or what did I do today to make the situation worse? And being accountable and doing... fixing it.” (12:50)
  • If therapy isn’t yielding change after significant time, reevaluate your approach.

• Analyze Your Patterns, Plan for Change:

  • Identify the times and situations where compulsions are strongest. Develop tactical plans for handling these moments differently.
    • “Maybe in the morning I analyze too much. What would be a better way to handle tomorrow’s morning... maybe I can do this and this activity which will sidetrack me...” (13:36)

Micro-Steps and Building Momentum

• The '5% a Day' Principle:

  • Small, consistent increments in reducing compulsions/analyzing add up.
    • “As I say, 5% a day, in 20 days you will be down to zero analyzing, zero compulsions.” (15:13)
  • If even 5% is overwhelming, start with 1%, or small timed intervals (e.g., no analyzing for 30 minutes, then an hour).

• Brain Will Fight Back—Let It:

  • Expect your brain to send a flurry of new or shifted thoughts as you change your reaction patterns. Don’t give in.
    • “Let it do what it's doing. Let it send you a million other thoughts that are just the same thought but just slightly shifted, you know. Continue to refuse reaction.” (17:35)
  • The less you react, the lower your anxiety will become.

Notable Quotes and Moments

• On the Moment Recovery Really Starts:

  • “Actual OCD recovery starts in the moment where you feel like you’re so sick of this... you're done and you're fighting, and you're gonna fight no matter what.” — Ali Greymond (01:01)

• On Knowledge and Mastery:

  • “You need to understand how OCD works on this level... if somebody woke you up in the middle of the night at two in the morning and said, do a lecture on how OCD works, you need to do an excellent lecture.” — Ali Greymond (04:10)

• On Unhelpful Therapy:

  • “If you're doing it with a therapist, but the therapist is not really helping and in the year or two you haven't seen improvement, then you can just stop going to them because they're not doing anything for you.” — Ali Greymond (12:08)

• On Consistent Progress:

  • “Every day you need to be making steps forward. As I say, 5% a day, in 20 days you will be down to zero analyzing, zero compulsions.” — Ali Greymond (15:13)

• On Intrusive Thought Floods:

  • “You will see that the brain will desperately try to send you more and more thoughts to get you back into reaction. Don't fall for it. Just let it be.” — Ali Greymond (17:20)

Important Timestamps

• [01:01] — When OCD recovery actually begins
• [04:10] — The level of understanding about OCD you need
• [05:17] — How the OCD loop sustains itself
• [07:55] — How stress and life events can trigger OCD
• [09:46] — Why OCD targets the things you care most about
• [12:08] — Action-based recovery & Therapy pitfalls
• [15:13] — The 5% daily progress strategy
• [17:20] — How to handle the brain's attempts to trap you (thought floods)

Summary Takeaways

• OCD recovery starts with a clear, deep, and committed resolve—not just a wish to improve.
• Understanding OCD’s mechanisms at a deep level empowers you to make practical, effective changes.
• Progress is achieved through deliberate, small steps—track your effort and adjust your tactics.
• Be ready for pushback from your own mind; persistence is key.
• Therapy must drive change—if it doesn’t, move on or adapt your approach.
• Consistency in refusing compulsions and analysis, even in tiny increments, is what ultimately leads to freedom.

Tone & Language: Throughout the episode, Ali speaks with empathy and conviction, blending guidance with tough love, and encouraging listeners to take personal responsibility for their recovery journey.