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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. Let's talk about brain chemistry and brain chemistry as it relates to ocd. First of all, in general, remember when you went through the worst time of your life besides ocd, how was your brain chemistry? You were high cortisol, high adrenaline, probably stressed out, right? That's one type of chemistry. Now, remember the best time of your life, your dopamine was up, your oxytocin was up, you were feeling great. That's different type of brain chemistry. When you wake up in the morning and things don't go right, but then they go right in the afternoon and the brain chemistry also changes. It's just fluctuation of those hormones. Dopamine goes up, dopamine goes down, serotonin higher, serotonin lower, cortisol higher, cortisol lower. It's not something that's set in stone. Yes, people with OCD tend to be anxious people. They lean towards anxiety. Other people lean towards depression, towards aggression. That's true. But it's not a situation where you cannot change your brain chemistry. I can tell you as, as an example, when I had OCD, how I was then and how I am now, 20 years later, it would have came back up if it wasn't permanent. Right? Same thing with my clients. They change their brain chemistry. They're not in, in, not even in a high anxiety state. They're not in an anxiety state. And even with daily life, you can retrain yourself how, how you react to daily life stuff that you don't, you don't react that much anymore. You react factually, like, what am I going to do about this? Nothing. That I'm not reacting something, that I'm going to do something. And then again after that, I'm not reacting. So you start to look at things differently. And when you don't power up the anxiety by overthinking or in OCD situation, doing compulsions, your brain chemistry not only changes what happens in the upcoming few days, but it also changes overall how your brain processes stress, that it doesn't automatically start going to, well, you. We usually ruminate, so let's ruminate. It stops that pattern. So what I'm saying here is when you hear online that, oh, this is just your brain chemistry, there's nothing you can do. The only thing you can do is, you know, take something to fix this. No, you don't have to live with this all your life. This is fixable, but it's not going to be fixable if you do one off exposures, scripting and hierarchy because it's simply not enough. Especially for people who have pure O type of OCD where they're ruminating all day. Because when you're ruminating all day, it means you're in exposure all day. And if you're in exposure all day, you either are going to power up OCD by responding or, or choosing not to respond, which is response prevention. Right. But it's an all day thing. So do the work properly. Do the Grayman method. This is something that you can fix, but it's going to take that drive where it's like, okay, I really need to take this seriously now. If I want to recover, I'm going to take it seriously and do the work. 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 youhave OCD.com. i'll see you tomorrow.
Podcast: OCD Recovery
Episode: OCD And Brain Chemistry
Host: Ali Greymond
Date: June 8, 2025
In this episode, Ali Greymond explores the relationship between brain chemistry and OCD, addressing common misconceptions, the dynamic nature of brain chemicals, and how active recovery work can result in lasting change. Drawing from her personal recovery journey and years of coaching experience, Ali empowers listeners to take control of their OCD symptoms rather than resigning to a lifetime of medication or passivity.
On the Myth of Permanence in OCD:
“‘Oh, this is just your brain chemistry, there’s nothing you can do. The only thing you can do is ... take something to fix this.’ No, you don't have to live with this all your life. This is fixable...”
— Ali Greymond, 03:12
On True Recovery Commitment:
“It's going to take that drive where it's like, okay, I really need to take this seriously now. If I want to recover, I'm going to take it seriously and do the work.”
— Ali Greymond, 04:24
Ali Greymond delivers a passionate, practical message about the reality of brain chemistry in OCD. She insists that change is both possible and achievable through ongoing, diligent work—specifically advocating for her evidence-based method. Ali’s personal experience and her clients’ successes underscore her encouraging stance that no one is doomed by their brain chemistry, and that full recovery is attainable through commitment and self-directed effort.