Podcast Summary: OCD Symptoms, Feeling Guilt

Podcast: OCD Recovery
Host: Ali Greymond
Episode Date: November 19, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delves into the pervasive sense of guilt experienced by many people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She explains why guilt arises as part of the OCD cycle, how it manifests in different subtypes (such as harm, religious, or relationship OCD), and most importantly, shares practical, compassionate ways to view and manage these feelings as just another symptom of the disorder. Ali, drawing from her own experience and extensive coaching, encourages listeners not to "buy into" the guilt, but to treat it like any other OCD-generated feeling—disregarding it rather than giving it meaning or performing compulsions in response.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Prevalence and Nature of Guilt in OCD

Guilt as a Symptom:
- Greymond emphasizes that feeling guilt is extremely common among those with OCD, especially in certain subtypes:
  
  “Guilt is a very, very common part of OCD. You know, if your mind can bring up guilt, if it fits into the scenario, most likely it will, you know.” (01:08)
Not Unique or Significant:
- She cautions against viewing the presence of guilt as something uniquely meaningful or alarming, but simply as a “package” element that comes with specific obsessions.

How Guilt Fuels Compulsions

Cycle of Confession & Reassurance:
- Ali describes how guilt often leads to compulsive acts like confessing, praying “just right,” or seeking reassurance—a cycle that never brings true relief:
  
  “I feel guilty, I need to confess. Then you confess, ‘Oh, I didn’t confess good enough. I have to reconfess.’” (01:50)
- Other examples: avoiding social events from fear of guilt-invoking thoughts, or feeling “different” or unworthy compared to others.

The Brain’s Role in Perpetuating Guilt

Autopilot Guilt:
- She explains that the brain doesn’t evaluate the actual content of intrusive thoughts, but instead learns patterns of response—so reacting with guilt once “teaches” the brain to automatically bring up guilt every time:
  
  “If you react with guilt the first time you get this thought... then it will start to bring up this guilt on autopilot all the time.” (03:25)
Pattern Recognition:
- The brain is seeking cues from your reaction, not from the substance of the thought itself.

Challenging and Disregarding Guilt

Disregard as a Strategy:
- Greymond urges listeners to actively disengage from feelings of guilt just as they would from intrusive thoughts:
  
  “You’re disregarding the thought itself as well as the feelings that go along with it, and you’re not trying to alleviate the danger or the feelings that go along with it.” (04:10)
Bring on the Guilt!
- She suggests an almost playful, sarcastic acceptance:
  
  “Okay, yeah, bring on more guilt. Yeah, yeah, I feel I’m a super, super bad person. I’m super, super guilty. Yep, that’s it. I’m gonna have to spend my whole life confessing now...” (05:10)
Shifting Response:
- Changing your reaction, rather than the feeling, is key—over time, this breaks the pattern and diminishes the feeling of guilt.

Viewing Guilt as a Standard Symptom

Normalizing the Feeling:
- Greymond recommends normalizing guilt as just another OCD symptom, akin to other forms of anxiety or doubt:
  
  “Don’t view it as something very special that you are having feelings of guilt. They mean nothing. They’re just part of OCD. It’s like a package.” (06:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“Guilt is a very, very common part of OCD. ...So you have to view these feelings of guilt just like any other feeling that’s related to your OCD.” (01:08)
“If you react with guilt the first time you get this thought... then it will start to bring up this guilt on autopilot all the time, you know.” (03:25)
“Okay, yeah, bring on more guilt. ...I’m gonna have to spend my whole life confessing now or I’m gonna have to spend my whole life repray now. ...Don’t take it to mean anything.” (05:10)
“They mean nothing. They’re just part of OCD. It’s like a package, right? ...That’s all it is. So just try to view it like any other symptom.” (06:15)

Key Timestamps

[00:00] – Introduction & Episode Theme:
Introduction to the topic of guilt as an OCD symptom and its commonality.
[01:08] – Guilt as a Common Part of OCD:
Explanation of how and why guilt commonly accompanies certain OCD subtypes.
[01:50] – Confession and Compulsion Cycle:
How guilt fuels compulsions and avoidance.
[03:25] – The Brain and Autopilot Guilt:
Insights into the brain’s pattern-recognition and perpetuation of guilt.
[04:10] – Disregarding Thoughts and Feelings:
The approach of disregarding both thoughts and guilt feelings together.
[05:10] – Challenging Guilt and Playful Acceptance:
Techniques for responding to guilt with acceptance and sarcasm.
[06:15] – Viewing Guilt as Just Another Symptom:
Final encouragement to normalize and treat guilt as a standard OCD symptom.

Style and Tone

Ali Greymond’s style is empathetic, conversational, and practical, peppered with relatable examples and empowering suggestions. Her tone remains reassuring throughout, encouraging listeners not to pathologize or personalize their guilt, but to notice it, accept it, and move on without ritualizing or avoidance.

This episode equips listeners with a new perspective on guilt in OCD—viewing it as a routine symptom, not a personal failing, and providing actionable steps to weaken its grip.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Hi, everyone. I'm Ali Grayman. Today I wanted to talk about another symptom that I hear a lot. And this is a feeling that people get, you know, when they have ocd. Not every type of OCD kind of has this present, but with the feeling I'm talking about is guilt. Depending on the thoughts, if the thought has to do with harm OCD or religious OCD or relationship ocd, a lot of the times the person feels guilt or for having these thoughts come in, the person may feel like somehow they are the cause of the thought, that they're somehow creating it. And you have to understand that, first of all, guilt is a very, very common part of ocd. You know, if your mind can bring up guilt, if it fits into the scenario, most likely it will, you know. So you have to view these feelings of guilt just like any other feeling that's related to your ocd. So, you know, and again, you know, not falling into it, like, I feel guilty, I need to confess. Then you confess, oh, I didn't confess good enough. I have to reconfess, you know, and I have to add this detail or say, you were praying and you didn't pray exactly right. Oh, I have to repay, because if I don't, I feel guilty. You know, don't do these kinds of things. Or avoiding events. Like, for example, let's say people with harm ocd, they will have. They will be like, well, I can't go to this event because what if I get thoughts or I feel like, you know, I am different than everybody else, so I can't participate in this or that. You know, these are all very common things, and you absolutely cannot buy into the guilt. Yes, the guilt is there, but this is just a symptom of ocd. The brain doesn't understand the thought, but it understands what you would do if the thought was. It knows it as a pattern. It doesn't understand it consciously in a way of validating, like, is this important or not? You know, by itself. So it's looking for you to see how you react. So if you react with guilt the first time you get this thought right, then it will start to bring up this guilt on autopilot all the time, you know, so you have to look at guilt as just like, this is. This is normal. This is common. This is just ocd. I. I'm disregarding, you know, so you're disregarding the thought itself as well as the feelings that go along with it, and you're not trying to alleviate the danger or the feelings that Go along with it. Well, I can't live with myself. I'm just going to feel guilty like this for the rest of my life, you know, or I'm going to be 90 years old still feeling guilty, still worrying about this thought. All of those are OCD patterns. OCD way of thinking. So the way you want to challenge it is like, okay, yeah, bring on more guilt. Yeah, yeah, I feel I'm a super, super bad person. I'm super, super guilty. Yep, that's it. I'm gonna have to spend my whole life confessing now or I'm gonna have to spend my whole life repray now. You know, really take it to the next level. Don't take it to mean anything. That part of the brain doesn't understand the content of the thought by itself. It doesn't know should it bring you guilt, should it not? It just knows to bring you guilt because this is how you're reacting. So you have to change your reaction and after a while you will stop feeling it. But having like, don't view it as something very special that you are having feelings of guilt. They mean nothing. They're just part of ocd. It's like a package, right? Like depending on the type of thought, OCD comes in a package with other things in your specific package, it comes with guilt. That's all it is. So just try to view it like any other symptom. I hope you find these videos helpful. If you would like to do the recovery program, all the information is on youhaveocd.com thank you so much for watching. Please subscribe. I'll see you in the next video.