Podcast Summary

Podcast: OCD Recovery
Host: Ali Greymond
Episode: Play This When You Are Having An OCD Attack
Date: November 13, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ali Greymond delivers a direct, compassionate, and motivational message to listeners experiencing an OCD attack. Speaking from both personal experience and professional expertise, she guides listeners through the urge to engage in compulsions or rumination, reminding them that active refusal is the path toward lasting recovery. The episode serves as an in-the-moment support track, offering reassurance and practical advice for those struggling with obsessive thoughts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding the Cycle of OCD

• The Brain's Urge:
  • When you experience an OCD attack, the brain tries to "pull you into rumination or compulsions" ([00:00]).
  • Greymond emphasizes that engaging with these urges does not solve the problem—rather, it reinforces the cycle.
• Quote:
  • "It doesn't work, it just sends you further and further into OCD." (Ali Greymond, [00:06])

2. The Importance of Refusing to React

• Breaking the Cycle:
  • Every time you perform a compulsion or ruminate, "you show to your mind that this is important and relevant. And your mind in turn sends you more of these thoughts." ([00:13])
  • Recovery requires actively demonstrating to your mind that the thoughts are not important, which is achieved through "refusing reaction when the thoughts come in" and also refusing "physical compulsion as well." ([00:21])
• Choice and Agency:
  • Greymond frames recovery as a conscious decision: "You have to do this. It's a decision thing." ([00:27])
  • She acknowledges that it "feels very real," and that not responding may feel risky, but reminds listeners that "there is no other way out of it." ([00:32])

3. Reassurance and Motivation

• Incremental Progress:
  • Recovery is gradual and accumulative: "The more you refuse, the easier this is going to get... next time you are in a similar situation, it will be a little bit easier and then from there a little more easier until this goes away." ([00:43])
• Safety and Reality-Testing:
  • Greymond reassures listeners: "I promise you this. Nothing bad is going to happen. This is just OCD coming again and again. You know this already because of how many times it came before." ([00:47])
• The Cost of Giving In:
  • Doing the compulsion doesn't stop OCD; "it's just going to bring you another one. And now you've taken a step back and you're stuck with a new thought that feels just as real and gives you just as much anxiety. So what is the point?" ([01:07])

4. A Call to Bravery

• Empowering Listeners:
  • With empathy and encouragement, Greymond reminds listeners:
    • "You have to be strong right now. You have to be brave and you have to refuse. I believe in you. You can do this." ([01:19])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It doesn't work, it just sends you further and further into OCD."
  — Ali Greymond, [00:06]
• "Every time you do a compulsion or you ruminate, you show to your mind that this is important and relevant."
  — Ali Greymond, [00:13]
• "You need to show to your mind that this is not relevant. And the only way to show it is by refusing reaction."
  — Ali Greymond, [00:21]
• "You have to do active recovery work, little by little refusing. The more you refuse, the easier this is going to get."
  — Ali Greymond, [00:39]
• "I promise you this. Nothing bad is going to happen. This is just OCD coming again and again."
  — Ali Greymond, [00:47]
• "You have to be strong right now. You have to be brave and you have to refuse. I believe in you. You can do this."
  — Ali Greymond, [01:19]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:13: Introduction to the OCD cycle and the urge to ruminate or do compulsions
• 00:13–00:27: Compulsions reinforce the cycle; need to demonstrate thoughts are not relevant
• 00:27–00:47: The difficulty of refusal, reassurance it’s safe, and the necessity of active recovery
• 00:47–01:07: Encouragement to use the opportunity to refuse; warnings about the consequences of giving in
• 01:07–01:19: Emphasis on bravery, strength, and incremental improvement
• 01:19–End: Closing message of belief and support

Overall Tone

Ali Greymond maintains a steady, reassuring, and empathetic tone throughout the episode. She speaks with the gentle authority of someone who intimately understands the struggle of OCD, using direct encouragement and practical reminders to empower listeners through difficult moments.

For Listeners

If you are experiencing an OCD attack, this episode serves as a supportive message to play in the moment, reminding you that refusing compulsions and rumination—no matter how strong the urge—will, in time, lead to real recovery. Ali’s words reinforce that you are not alone, progress is possible, and you are capable of breaking the cycle.