Start Refusing OCD Thoughts Now - OCD Recovery

OCD Recovery Podcast Summary

Host: Ali Greymond
Episode: Start Refusing OCD Thoughts Now
Date: November 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this focused and motivating episode, Ali Greymond urges listeners to take immediate and consistent action against their OCD by refusing to perform compulsions. She reframes recovery as a daily, even hourly, commitment and draws from her coaching experience and personal journey to dispel common misconceptions, empower listeners, and emphasize the urgency of starting now, not later.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Choice to Break the Cycle (00:00–04:00)

Central theme: Listeners are at a crossroads as a new week begins.
Choices presented:
- “You can make OCD worse by doing compulsions all week long and doing the same thing…that has never worked.” (00:10)
- Or begin refusing compulsions and take steps toward recovery.
Compulsions may provide temporary relief but ultimately worsen OCD.
Visualization of the cycle: The break between intrusive thoughts shortens as compulsions are performed—what used to be a week between episodes becomes hours or minutes.
Quote:
- “Because you're training your brain that you need to be in fear all the time.” (01:02)

2. How Compulsions Make OCD Worse (01:10–02:00)

Reacting to OCD thoughts amplifies them (“you react…and bring it all the way to a 10”).
The correct response is to refuse to react:
- “If you disregard right away, it goes down and then you don’t have to do the compulsion.” (02:15)
Emphasis: This path is not easy, but it is the only way to break the cycle.

3. The Need for Accountability and Action (02:30–04:00)

Simply wanting to recover is not enough—one must actively change behaviors daily.
Setbacks will happen, but movement forward is essential.
Quote:
- “How long are you going to spend going around and around doing the same thing that clearly is not working?” (03:30)

4. Attitude Shift: Stepping Over Anxiety (04:00–06:00)

Listeners are encouraged to adopt a bold mental stance: So what if there’s anxiety?
“You’re used to the anxiety for so long, right? So what’s more anxiety? This is nothing new to you, but this way you come out of it.” (04:55)
The fear that anxiety will last forever is false; OCD thoughts and their intensity can and do change with time and approach.

5. The "Parachute Analogy" and Commitment (06:15–08:10)

Overcoming OCD requires a leap of faith, likened to “jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, and you’re not sure if the parachute will open. It will. It will open, but you have to jump.” (07:10)
Key insight: Looking back, recovered sufferers regret only the wasted time, not the refusal of compulsions.
In a decade of coaching, Ali has never seen someone harmed by refusing to engage with an OCD thought.

6. Practical Steps for the Week Ahead (08:10–10:00)

Immediate start: “Let’s make this week the week that you really push through. Not in an abstract kind of way…But no, now, starting now, hour by hour.” (08:32)
Break recovery into manageable intervals:
- Commit to refusing (or greatly reducing) compulsions for the next hour, and then reassess and recommit.
Accountability and Awareness:
- Particularly for beginners, closely monitor OCD behaviors and where attention is directed.
- The arrival of intrusive thoughts is not under your control, but you can control how you respond.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the futility of compulsions:
“No matter how many compulsions you do…it gets more and more. Because you’re training your brain that you need to be in fear all the time.” (01:02)
On mindset:
“I’ve had enough. I’ve had too much and now I’m done, you know, having that kind of attitude.” (04:38)
On the permanence illusion:
“Every time people get an OCD thought, there’s almost like this underlying feeling that if you don’t solve it, you will have this until you’re 90 years old…the same feeling of anxiety. At this level 10, it’s always a lie.” (05:13)
The parachute analogy:
“Jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, and you’re not sure if the parachute will open. It will. It will open, but you have to jump.” (07:10)
On missed opportunities:
“You do regret the time that you wasted, you know, especially if it’s been years.” (07:22)

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:00–04:00: Introducing the power of daily choices and describing how compulsions worsen OCD.
04:00–06:00: Shifting attitude—stepping over anxiety and debunking myths about permanence.
06:15–08:10: Parachute analogy and lessons from years of coaching/own recovery.
08:10–10:00: Practical, hour-by-hour strategy and personal accountability for the week ahead.

Episode Tone & Final Message

Ali Greymond’s tone is firm but compassionate; she blends tough love with reassurance, pairing personal experience with practical advice. Listeners are motivated to act boldly—starting immediately—and to hold themselves accountable, regardless of setbacks. The mantra: “Start now, not tomorrow. Even an hour counts.”

For more information and daily support, Ali invites listeners to visit youhubocd.com and subscribe to her channel for ongoing OCD recovery content.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Hi, everyone. I'm Alec Raymond. For the upcoming week, since this is a Sunday and we're going into a Monday, for some people already a Monday, you can make two choices. You can make OCD worse by doing compulsions all week long and doing the same thing, basically you've always been doing. That has never worked. You know yourself that whenever you do any compulsion, any reassurance, it doesn't lead to anywhere good. It might temporarily relieve ocd, but it's very temporary. And I can tell you from just talking to people for a long time that it doesn't really solve the issue. It makes the issue worse because those breaks between the thoughts, between the compulsions, they become smaller and smaller. So at first it seems like a way out, because you can do a compulsion and then you might not have a thought for, you know, maybe a week or two, but then that circle around you starts to get smaller, and it might be a day, and then it might be an hour, and then it just goes every few minutes. You know, no matter how many compulsions you do, it just. It gets more and more. Because you're training your brain that you need to be in fear all the time. That. Because every time it sends you fear, you're reacting the same way. You're upping it. So the mind sends you a thought and it sends it to you, I'd say 8 out of 10, but then you react to it and bring it all the way to a 10. You know, instead of getting the thought at 8 out of 10, refusing reaction, it will stay maybe at 8 out of 10, maybe go up to a 9 and then will fall up to maybe or down to a six, rather, because you're not reacting. You know, it will try to. To bring it up a little bit, but it won't work. And because you're not reacting, and then it will fall, you know. So basically, you have a choice, right? Every time you get a thought, do you want to bring it up and make yourself feel worse to the point of you have to do a compulsion, whether mental or physical, or you disregard right away, it goes down, and then you don't have to do the compulsion. I'm not saying it's easy, but I'm saying this is the right choice that will lead you out of this. And you have to see it that the time is now. It's not tomorrow. Well, it is. It's starting now, but it is tomorrow. It is the next day. It's every single day. You know, there can't be any excuses. You need to have accountability with it. And I'm not saying that every day is going to be perfect. It won't be. You will have setbacks. But if you have this in mind that I need to move forward, and I'm going to move forward. You know, there's so many people. Everybody obviously wants to recover from ocd, but just simply saying, well, I really want to recover, you know, but I'm not actually going to do anything because I'm, you know, used to doing the reassurance behaviors. It's just not going to work. So how long are you going to spend going around and around doing the same thing? That clearly is not working. So let's make this start of the week the start of a new you, where you're doing new things, where you are trying to step over the anxiety. And when you step over the anxiety, the anxiety will still be there. And so what? And who cares? And I'm done with it. And I've had enough. I. I've had too much and now I'm done, you know, having that kind of attitude. And you're look at it like you're used to the anxiety for so long, right? So what's more anxiety, this is nothing new to you, but this way you come out of it. When you step over the anxiety and it stays this way, you'll come out of it and it won't stay there forever. Every time people get an OCD thought, there's almost like this underlying feeling that if you don't solve it, you will have this until you're 90 years old. The same same thought, the same feeling of anxiety. At this level. 10, it's always a lie. And you know that it's a lie because it switches. If not the thought itself, then the details of the thought that you get attached to. Then when you get so attached to one detail or one thought, then the other one don't matter as much. You know, you're. It's. It's just. It doesn't matter because you're focused on this one. And then when something else comes up, then this one's not going to be important. So it's selling you a lie that it. You know this will stay forever if you don't solve it. It won't. And you need to make that choice. I always say this. Jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, and you're not sure if the parachute will open. It will. It will open, but you have to jump. And you have to see it this way. You know that this is an OCD thought. I'm done. I've gone through this so many times before. You know, I can tell you from personal experience that when I was going through the process of recovering myself, you know, after you recover, you know, all the thoughts were false. But you do regret the time that you wasted, you know, especially if it's been years, you know, so. So that's. That's kind of the biggest thing here, you know, don't waste any more time. It's not worth it. You know, in 10 years of doing this, I've never seen anybody be wrong, you know, you know, where, oh, I really should have paid attention to that thought. Doesn't happen, you know, so you have to look at it that this is ocd. I'm doing the work. And again, let's make this week the week that you really push through. Not in an abstract kind of way, that I'll just do the work this week. But no, now, starting now, hour by hour for the next hour, starting right now, when I'm hearing this video, starting right now, I'm not gonna do any of my behaviors or I'm gonna do much less of my behaviors for the next hour. And then after, after that. Now after that, you know, you have to really keep a close, especially if you're really struggling. If you're really in the beginning of this, you know, keeping close watch and being really accountable, you know, to where your thoughts are and what you are focusing on, the thoughts will continue to come in. That's not you. Has nothing to do with you. This is old programming. We can't do anything about that. But what are you choosing to focus on? You know, what are you bringing up? You know what I mean? And what are you bringing down? That should be the priority. I hope you find my videos helpful. If you haven't subscribed to this channel, please subscribe. I do daily videos discussing all things related to OCD recovery. If you'd like to do the recovery program with me, all the Information is on youhubocd.com thank you so much for watching. I'll sit you on.