Podcast Summary: OCD Recovery

Episode: How To Reduce Physical OCD Compulsions
Host: Ali Greymond
Date: October 9, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delves into a practical technique for reducing physical compulsions associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Drawing from her extensive personal and professional experience, Ali focuses on the power of delaying compulsions as a stepping stone to long-term OCD recovery. She illustrates how this simple yet effective tactic can gradually decrease the number and intensity of compulsions over time.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Principle of Delaying Physical Compulsions

• Main Strategy:
  Ali introduces "delay" as the best trick for reducing physical compulsions. By intentionally putting off the act, sufferers can curb the frequency of compulsions within any given period.

  • "With physical compulsions, because you're physically doing something, it takes time. So what we need to do is we need to buy ourselves more time. So how do we do that? We delay." (00:14)

• Practical Application:

  • If a person performs 20 compulsions per hour, by delaying each one by several minutes, the overall number will naturally decrease.
  • Ali acknowledges that complete abstinence may be too difficult at first, especially for beginners, and encourages incremental progress.

• Building on Progress:

  • Start with a small delay (e.g., 5 minutes), then increase over time (e.g., 10 minutes tomorrow).
  • After the delay, the anxiety—which usually spikes—will reach a peak and then decline.
  • People often discover that the urge to perform the compulsion subsides after waiting out the anxiety’s peak.

The Anxiety Curve and its Role

• Understanding the Anxiety Curve:

  • Anxiety intensifies, reaches a high point, and then drops if the compulsion is not immediately performed.
    • "There's also the anxiety curve where it goes up, goes up, goes up, hits a peak... And then it will suddenly drop. So you just have to wait for the drop because the brain cannot sustain extreme anxiety without power up for a..." (01:31)

• Outcome:

  • With enough delays, either the perceived need to perform the compulsion fades, or attention shifts to something else.

The "Round" Metaphor

• Every Compulsion as a Battle:
  • Ali likens each urge to perform a compulsion as a round against OCD.
    • "Think of every compulsion that you're not doing or that you're doing as its own separate round. You either win the round or you lose the round." (02:08)
  • Winning the round (resisting/delaying/not performing) weakens OCD; losing strengthens it.
  • The difficulty of the next round depends on the prior outcome.

Importance of Accountability and Tracking

• Tracking Progress:

  • Being accountable by tracking the number of compulsions daily is crucial for recovery.
    • "The reason why I tell you about tracking every single day is because you need the accountability. Do you see how every round is important?" (02:36)

• Making Progress Measurable:

  • Even small reductions are meaningful, even if they're not immediately noticeable.
  • Example: If yesterday was 100 compulsions and today is 90, that’s progress—even if it doesn’t feel that way.
    • "Even if you reduce by one, you might not feel it, but it is there. You did reduce by one, and tomorrow you'll reduce one more." (03:13)

• Avoiding Chronic OCD:

  • If not tracked, the reduction likely won’t happen, leading to a chronic, unchanging cycle.

The Path to Recovery

• Step-by-step approach:

  • Gradual reduction (one less compulsion per day) can eventually lead to freedom from compulsions.
    • "So we go from 100 to zero. How many days is it going to take? 100 days. But if you're not accountable, it will not take 100 days. It will just never happen." (03:20)

• Final Message:

  • Recovery is a daily process—every round counts.
  • Always aim to reduce the number of compulsions compared to the previous day for the same time period.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• [00:14] Ali Greymond:
  "With physical compulsions, because you're physically doing something, it takes time. So what we need to do is we need to buy ourselves more time. So how do we do that? We delay."
• [01:31] Ali Greymond:
  "There's also the anxiety curve where it goes up, goes up, goes up, hits a peak... And then it will suddenly drop. So you just have to wait for the drop because the brain cannot sustain extreme anxiety without power up for a..."
• [02:08] Ali Greymond:
  "Think of every compulsion that you're not doing or that you're doing as its own separate round. You either win the round or you lose the round."
• [02:36] Ali Greymond:
  "The reason why I tell you about tracking every single day is because you need the accountability. Do you see how every round is important?"
• [03:20] Ali Greymond:
  "So we go from 100 to zero. How many days is it going to take? 100 days. But if you're not accountable, it will not take 100 days. It will just never happen."

Summary Table of Action Steps

| Step | Description | |---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Delay compulsions | Wait as long as possible before performing a physical compulsion | | Increase delay | Gradually extend your delay time each day | | Track rounds | Monitor and record every compulsion daily | | Compare progress | Review yesterday’s vs. today’s numbers to ensure you are trending downward | | Celebrate small wins| Recognize even the smallest reduction as genuine progress | | Stay accountable | Keep honest daily records to build motivation and measure recovery objectively |

Takeaway

Ali’s episode provides a manageable, compassionate method for tackling the entrenched habit of physical compulsions in OCD. By focusing on delaying urges, tracking progress, and embracing incremental improvement, listeners are empowered to see recovery as a series of small, winnable rounds—ultimately leading to lasting freedom.