Podcast Summary: OCD Recovery with Ali Greymond

Episode: OCD Recovery: Get Angry At Your OCD
Date: November 16, 2025
Host: Ali Greymond

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond explores the concept of getting angry at OCD—transforming the frustration and sense of loss that OCD brings into a powerful motivator for recovery. Drawing from her two decades of experience, Ali describes how harnessing anger can catalyze a decisive shift away from feeding the OCD cycle, and she provides practical guidance on using this emotional energy strategically rather than destructively.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Using Anger as a Catalyst—Not Fuel for Rumination

• Ali introduces the idea of channeling anger at what OCD has taken away, emphasizing the importance of using this anger correctly.
• Distinction made: Do not let anger spiral into self-pity or depressive rumination, as this only “feeds the disorder.”
• Quote ([00:33]):

  "You don't want to ruminate in a meta OCD way, right, about, 'Oh, my God, my life sucks, I've lost so much, blah, blah.' That's not good. That feeds the disorder."
  —Ali Greymond

2. The “Final Decision” Attitude

• Ali shares a cinematic metaphor: Like a movie character having a final, determined moment of action.
• She encourages listeners to symbolically 'slam their fist on the table'—making a resolute commitment to stop reacting to OCD.
• Quote ([00:55]):

  "I want you to treat OCD... eventually you get angry. Angry enough to say, no more. I don't care what it sends me. I don't care what it says. I don't care how it feels. I am done."
  —Ali Greymond

3. The OCD Equation: What Feeds the Disorder

• Ali simplifies the OCD maintenance cycle:
  • Rumination + Compulsions + Avoidances = Your current level of anxiety.
• Key Insight: If you don’t feed OCD with any of these, OCD withers away.
• Quote ([01:22]):

  "I'm telling you, I've done this for 20 years. The formula is always the same. Rumination plus compulsions plus avoidances equals your current level of anxiety. You don't like your current level of anxiety? Stop feeding it the fuel that it needs."
  —Ali Greymond

4. You Are the Source of OCD’s Power

• Ali stresses personal agency, reminding listeners that OCD requires their participation to continue.

• Broader point: If you eliminate participation in any of the OCD sustenance behaviors, OCD no longer has a footing.

• Quote ([01:43]):

  "It needs you. You are the source of the fuel that feeds the OCD. If you take away the fuel, you will have no OCD."
  —Ali Greymond

• Clinical Reminder:

  • Diagnostically, OCD cannot sustain itself without at least one of rumination, compulsions, or avoidance.
  • This includes “meta OCD”—obsessing about recovery itself.

• Quote ([01:53]):

  "There's no doctor in the world that will diagnose you with OCD if you don't have rumination, compulsions, and avoidances. You need to have at least one of those. If you have none, you're not feeding it."
  —Ali Greymond

5. Final Message: Draw a Line in the Sand

• Ali concludes by encouraging listeners to reach the “no more” point, asserting their power over the disorder.
• Quote ([02:08]):

  "If you get angry and say, no more, I'm done. I'm not doing this anymore. It's got no other game. It needs you, and you need to see this very clearly."
  —Ali Greymond

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On misdirected anger:

  "You don't want to ruminate in a meta OCD way, right, about, 'Oh, my God, my life sucks, I've lost so much, blah, blah.' That's not good. That feeds the disorder." ([00:33])

• On decisive change:

  "This is what we're gonna do. And it's a final decision. It's like you feel the finality." ([00:48])

• On the OCD formula:

  "Rumination plus compulsions plus avoidances equals your current level of anxiety." ([01:22])

• On personal control:

  "You are the source of the fuel that feeds the OCD." ([01:43])

• On recovery:

  "If you have none, you're not feeding it. And that could be rumination about recovery as well—meta OCD." ([01:53])

Episode Flow & Key Timestamps

• 00:00–00:33: Introduction; positioning anger as a useful emotion if used constructively
• 00:34–01:21: Movie metaphor and advice to avoid negative rumination
• 01:22–01:52: Explanation of the OCD maintenance cycle and the importance of ceasing all fueling behaviors
• 01:53–02:14: Clarifying diagnostic criteria and connection to “meta OCD”
• 02:15–End: Final encouragement to take decisive, angry action to starve OCD

Summary

Ali Greymond’s concise episode drives home a practical and emotionally honest method for those struggling with OCD: get genuinely angry at the disorder—not at yourself or your circumstances—and channel that anger into decisive, consistent refusals to feed OCD through rumination, compulsions, or avoidance. By stripping OCD of its fuel, she asserts, recovery is not just possible, but achievable.

Listeners seeking a reset or boost in their recovery journey will find Ali’s empowered, clear-cut approach both validating and actionable.