OCD Recovery Podcast: "OCD Recovery: You Have To Lock In On Recovery Work"

Host: Ali Greymond
Date: November 5, 2025

Episode Overview

Ali Greymond shares a focused message about the necessity of "locking in" on consistent recovery work in order to overcome OCD. Drawing on her 19 years of experience as an OCD recovery coach, Ali explains the importance of commitment, intent, and addressing blind spots. She also highlights how the principles learned in OCD recovery have positive effects on all areas of life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Critical Need to "Lock In" on Recovery

• Ali explains the #1 factor in successful recovery is absolute commitment to the process.
  • “The biggest thing is to lock in on actually doing recovery work.” (00:16)
• Clients who show up ready to do the work, asking exactly what steps to take and where they're going wrong, tend to recover much faster.
• The willingness to face discomfort and stay engaged is crucial:
  • “There is the desire to recover, the intent to recover, right? That you're going to do anything, everything to recover.” (00:30)

Recognizing and Addressing Blind Spots

• Ali outlines how even highly motivated clients can have blind spots—areas they don’t see where they're subtly engaging with OCD through compulsions or avoidance.
  • “You have blind spots where you're not seeing things and you're not understanding. Okay, this is where I'm feeding it. This is also where I'm feeding it. This is a compulsive behavior. This is an avoidance.” (00:36)
• Part of her coaching process is to identify and clean up these blind spots to accelerate progress.

Structured Progress & The Power of Incremental Improvement

• Ali aims for measurable weekly improvement with her clients:
  • “My job is to clean all of that up and to get you 25% better each week. That's usually my goal, because that in a month, that's 100% better. So, constantly stepping down the behavior.” (00:46)
• Emphasis is on ongoing commitment, not quick or half-hearted effort.

Why This Commitment Matters: The Ripple Effect of OCD

• OCD doesn't exist in a vacuum; it seeps into every aspect of life:
  • “Look at it like this, that the rest of your life is affected by this one thing. So it affects your home life, your productivity, how you, how healthy you are, how physically healthy you are...” (01:16)
• When people become consumed by OCD thoughts, basic self-care and connections suffer:
  • “If you're so focused on an OCD thought, then you're not exercising, then you're not taking vitamins, you're not eating well, you're not going for walks, you're not spending time with people... you're not doing any of that because [you're] caught up in your thoughts.” (01:48)

Final Motivational Push: Recovery as a Life Upgrade

• Ali encourages listeners to view recovery as the single action that can improve everything else:
  • “You can upgrade your life by just doing this.” (02:00)
• Additionally, the skills learned during OCD recovery (like disregarding and not overthinking) translate into broader life benefits:
  • “The same principles of disregarding, not overthinking and all of that can help you in every other aspect of life as well, not just in OCD. So it makes actually your life post-recovery much, much easier as well.” (02:28)

Notable Quotes

• On recovery commitment:

  "Those people recover so quickly because they’re all about it. They're locked in. They're like, just tell me what to do. Where am I going wrong?" — Ali Greymond (00:28)

• On the impact of OCD:

  “It affects every single aspect of your life, so lock in on the recovery because that's the key... to get better with everything.” — Ali Greymond (02:00)

• On lifestyle transformation:

  "You can upgrade your life by just doing this." — Ali Greymond (02:00)

Memorable Moments & Timestamps

• 00:16 — Ali introduces the concept of “locking in” on recovery work as essential for progress.
• 00:46 — She details her approach to measurable weekly improvement (25% better each week).
• 01:16 - 01:48 — Discussion of how OCD impacts quality of life—including health, productivity, and relationships.
• 02:28 — Ali highlights how OCD recovery skills benefit all areas of life, beyond just OCD itself.

Conclusion

This episode delivers a direct, motivational message: True OCD recovery requires complete, sustained commitment. Ali Greymond’s emphasis on identifying blind spots, making steady measurable progress, and appreciating the far-reaching benefits of recovery work offers inspiration and actionable guidance for anyone on the path to OCD recovery.