OCD Recovery Podcast

Episode: 🫶🏼 OCD Rumination Progression Cycle
Host: Ali Greymond, OCD Specialist & Author
Date: January 14, 2026

Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delves into the progression cycle of rumination for those struggling with OCD. Drawing on her extensive experience and personal journey, Ali offers practical, compassionate strategies to handle setbacks, transform them into learning opportunities, and cultivate a kinder, more resilient mindset during recovery.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Typical Progression of OCD Rumination

• Initial Rumination: OCD sufferers often begin by obsessing over the content of their intrusive thoughts.
• Secondary Layer of Rumination: This quickly escalates into worries about recovery itself—thoughts like, "What if I can't recover?" or "Oh my God, I fell into it again."
  • [00:00] “A common progression is the person will start to ruminate about the content of their thought…then start ruminating about what if I can't recover? Oh my God, I fell into it again.” — Ali Greymond

2. Reframing Setbacks as Learning Opportunities

• Encouraging a Positive Outlook: Rather than viewing setbacks as failures, Ali recommends seeing them as valuable learning experiences.
  • [00:18] “You have to be positive in terms of the recovery. Okay, I fell down. Fine. Learning experience. What could I have done differently?” — Ali Greymond
• Examining Contributing Factors: She emphasizes the importance of self-inquiry without self-blame. Look for practical reasons, like lack of sleep or increased stress, that may have contributed to a setback.
  • [00:27] “Oh, you know what? I didn’t sleep the day before well, or I didn’t eat the day before well and then, you know, there was a lot of stressors. So then, of course, I didn’t react correctly.” — Ali Greymond

3. Growth-Oriented Mindset for Next Time

• Plan to Do Better: Use each episode as preparation for future challenges. Incremental improvements build resilience.
  • [00:37] “I’m learning from this. I’m gonna do better next time. Turn this into a positive experience that you’ve learned something from that will really help…” — Ali Greymond
• Long-Term Progress: The key is tracking progress week over week rather than day by day. Perspective helps diminish self-criticism.

4. Self-Kindness and Compassionate Recovery

• Avoid Self-Blame: Ali cautions against harsh self-judgment, urging listeners to remain gentle with themselves amid setbacks.
  • [00:49] “Be kind to yourself. This is not easy. Don’t beat yourself up. If you had a bad day, if you fell down, don’t beat yourself up. It happens; it will happen.” — Ali Greymond
• Overall Improvement: Focus on the bigger picture; if there’s general improvement week to week, it’s a clear sign of recovery progress.
  • [01:05] “As long as overall you can say this week I was doing better than last week, that’s good.” — Ali Greymond

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On perspective:
  “Turn this into a positive experience that you’ve learned something from…” — Ali Greymond [00:37]
• On self-compassion:
  “This is not easy. Don’t beat yourself up. If you had a bad day, if you fell down, don’t beat yourself up. It happens; it will happen. But as long as overall you can say this week I was doing better than last week, that’s good.” — Ali Greymond [00:49–01:07]

Important Timestamps

• 00:00: The typical ruminative progression for OCD sufferers
• 00:18: Turning setbacks into learning experiences
• 00:27: Identifying stressors and root causes of setbacks
• 00:37: Planning for better reactions and positive approaches next time
• 00:49: Encouragement for self-compassion and non-judgment
• 01:05: Focusing on week-over-week improvement

Episode Tone

Ali maintains a warm, supportive, and realistic tone throughout, speaking directly to listeners in the midst of OCD struggles and offering both validation and practical steps for progress.

This episode is a concise reminder that recovery from OCD isn’t linear, but every small step, and even each setback, can be transformed into progress through self-kindness, reflection, and a commitment to learning.