Podcast Summary: OCD Recovery — Waking Up With OCD Thoughts (What To Do)

Host: Ali Greymond
Date: November 1, 2025

Main Theme

In this episode, Ali Greymond addresses the common struggle of waking up with intense OCD thoughts and anxiety. Drawing from her own experiences and years as an OCD recovery coach, she provides actionable advice for breaking the morning cycle of rumination, emphasizing how a shift in this daily behavior can significantly improve overall recovery.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Hell of Morning OCD Thoughts

• Ali empathizes deeply with listeners, recounting her personal history:

  "I remember that specific hell where you wake up, you didn’t even open your eyes yet and you already have a thought and you, you need to figure it out and you’re spinning and it’s so bad..." (00:24)

• She explains the toll—how these thoughts can drain energy before the day begins.

2. The Silver Lining: Immediate Change is Possible

• There’s hope: by targeting this one behavior, you can shift the outcome of your entire day.

• "The silver lining... is that if you switch this one behavior, it can make the biggest impact on the rest of your day." (00:46)

3. Ali’s Action Plan: Get Up Immediately

• Upon waking, get out of bed instantly, as if you're a firefighter responding to a call.

  • "Pretend you’re a firefighter. You got the call, you gotta get up like it should be eyes open, right away, up, like seconds." (01:09)

• Don’t linger, check your phone, or begin obsessing; physically leave the rumination space.

4. Avoid Solitary, Passive Activities

• Move straight into interactive and active tasks—avoid environments like the shower where you’re isolated and can fall into thought loops.

  • "Going from the bed where you’re isolated into the shower where you’re also isolated is not the best idea because then it will get you there as well." (01:48)

5. Engage Your Mind—But Not with OCD

• Redirect attention to productive activities not related to mental health, OCD, or seeking reassurance.

  • "Get your mind busy and focused at least to some extent on something else... You’ll switch it enough to pull some of the power out away from OCD." (02:07)

6. Understand Your Brain and Body Chemistry

• Ali highlights that cortisol (stress hormone) is naturally high in the morning, intensifying OCD symptoms.

  • "In the morning your cortisol is at an all time high from the entire day... your body in that sense is kind of working against you." (02:27)

• Reminds listeners that once the hormonal state passes, anxiety often lessens:

  • "Half the time, by the time afternoon comes, I don’t care about this nearly as much. So this is just the morning OCD high." (02:45)

7. Self-reassurance, Not Rituals

• Talk to yourself: recognize that the morning is a tough biological moment, not a true emergency.

8. Prohibited Behaviors

• No online research, no ChatGPT, no asking for reassurance.
• Don’t binge OCD videos; if watching something for motivation, limit it to brief consumption.

  • "...no online research in the morning, no chat GPT, no asking for reassurance. Get busy with stuff that’s not about mental health, not about OCD..." (03:07)

  • "You can watch a video just for motivation but then that’s it. It can’t be hours of just sitting there." (03:28)

9. Send a New Message to Your Brain

• Model to your brain that OCD themes are not urgent or worthy of time.

  • "Show your brain that this is not important. We have other things that are important to that we need to take care of." (03:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Pretend you’re a firefighter. You got the call, you gotta get up... eyes open, right away, up, like seconds." — Ali Greymond (01:09)
• "Half the time, by the time afternoon comes, I don’t care about this nearly as much. So this is just the morning OCD high." — Ali Greymond (02:45)
• "No online research in the morning, no chat GPT, no asking for reassurance. Get busy with stuff that’s not about mental health, not about OCD..." — Ali Greymond (03:07)
• "Show your brain that this is not important. We have other things that are important to that we need to take care of." — Ali Greymond (03:36)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–00:30 — Introduction and Ali’s experience with waking up to OCD thoughts
• 00:46–01:30 — The “silver lining” and urgent advice to get up immediately
• 01:48–02:07 — Warning about passive/isolating activities
• 02:27–02:45 — Explanation of cortisol’s role in morning OCD
• 03:07–03:28 — Rules about Internet use and seeking reassurance
• 03:36–03:48 — Conclusion: Modeling new priorities for the brain

Takeaways

Ali’s method for mornings with OCD thoughts is clear:
Actively get up, avoid rituals and rumination, steer clear of OCD-related content, and reframe the morning struggle as temporary and hormonally-driven. By practicing this, you send a powerful message to your brain, making genuine progress in OCD recovery.