MATT CONNARTON, CERTIFIED HYPNOTHERAPIST

You replay the conversation.

You analyze what you said.

You wonder what the other person meant.

You imagine what might happen tomorrow.

Then you imagine what might happen if that happens.

Before long, your mind has turned one situation into twenty different problems — most of which haven’t actually happened.

Welcome to overthinking.

Thinking is obviously useful. The ability to analyze, anticipate, plan, and solve problems is enormously valuable.

But there’s a point where thinking stops producing solutions and simply becomes repetition.

Why Do We Overthink?

There isn’t one universal reason.

Sometimes we’re trying to prevent a mistake.

Sometimes we want certainty before making a decision.

Sometimes we’re mentally rehearsing a difficult conversation.

Sometimes we’re trying to predict how another person will respond.

And sometimes a thought simply becomes a habit: something happens, the analysis begins, and the mind automatically follows the familiar path.

The intention behind all that thinking may actually be helpful.

Your mind is trying to solve something.

The problem is that not every problem can be solved by thinking about it longer.

The Search for 100% Certainty

One of the biggest traps in overthinking is the belief that if we analyze something thoroughly enough, we can eliminate uncertainty.

Sometimes we can gather more information and make a better decision.

But eventually we reach the limits of what we can know.

You can prepare for an interview, but you cannot know every question you’ll be asked.

You can plan a difficult conversation, but you cannot completely control the other person’s response.

You can evaluate a decision carefully, but you cannot see every consequence before making it.

At some point, thinking has done its job.

Then comes action.

Overthinking the Past

Not all overthinking is about the future.

Sometimes we repeatedly revisit something that has already happened.

“Why did I say that?”

“What did they think of me?”

“I should have handled that differently.”

There can certainly be value in reflecting on past experiences.

If you made a mistake, you can learn from it.

If something went badly, you can decide what you would do differently next time.

But once you have extracted the useful lesson, replaying the event another fifty times may not teach you anything else.

At that point, reflection can become rehearsal.

And if you’re going to rehearse something mentally, why not rehearse what you want to do differently next time?

Change the Mental Movie

Imagine you recently had a conversation that didn’t go well.

You’ve replayed it repeatedly.

Instead of running the same mental recording again, try something different.

Imagine a similar situation happening in the future.

Now see yourself responding the way you wish you had responded before.

Perhaps you remain calmer.

Perhaps you take a moment before answering.

Perhaps you communicate more clearly.

Perhaps you simply decide that the situation isn’t worth giving hours of your attention.

Now your imagination is doing something useful: preparing you for a different response.

Where Hypnosis Can Fit In

Hypnosis involves focused attention, which makes it an interesting tool for someone whose attention frequently gets pulled into repetitive thought patterns.

The goal isn’t to make you stop thinking.

That would neither be realistic nor desirable.

Instead, hypnosis can be used to practice shifting attention, mentally rehearsing alternative responses, challenging unhelpful assumptions, and becoming more deliberate about what receives your mental energy.

Depending on the individual and the goal, a hypnosis session might include relaxation, imagery, suggestion, reframing, or mental rehearsal.

Your Attention Is Valuable

One of the most useful ways to think about overthinking is as an issue of attention.

You only have so much of it.

If your mind spends an hour replaying something you cannot change, that is an hour of attention unavailable for something else.

The question becomes:

“Does this deserve this much of my attention?”

That question can be surprisingly powerful.

Not every thought deserves an argument.

Not every possibility deserves investigation.

Not every uncomfortable feeling requires immediate analysis.

Sometimes you can notice a thought without following it wherever it wants to go.

Try the “One Useful Thought” Exercise

The next time you catch yourself repeatedly analyzing something, try this simple exercise.

1. Name the issue. What exactly are you thinking about?
2. Identify what you know. Separate facts from assumptions and predictions.
3. Ask whether action is possible. Is there something constructive you can do now?
4. Choose one useful thought. What would help you move forward?
5. Redirect your attention. Deliberately engage with something else.

You may discover that the thought returns.

That’s okay.

You can redirect again.

The objective isn’t to win a wrestling match with your own mind.

It’s to practice deciding where your attention goes.

What If Your Mind Keeps Going Back?

It probably will sometimes.

That doesn’t mean you failed.

Remember that you may be dealing with a pattern you’ve practiced for years.

The moment you notice yourself overthinking is actually important because now you have a choice.

You can continue following the thought automatically.

Or you can practice redirecting.

Every time you do that, you’re practicing a different response.

You Don't Have to Solve Everything Right Now

There’s a strange pressure that can come with overthinking.

Your mind treats the problem as though it must be resolved immediately.

But many things don’t require an immediate answer.

You can gather information tomorrow.

You can have the conversation when the time is appropriate.

You can make the decision after you’ve considered your options.

You can even decide that something isn’t important enough to solve at all.

Giving yourself permission to stop thinking about something temporarily is not the same as ignoring it.

Sometimes it simply means recognizing that your brain has reached the point of diminishing returns.

Thinking Should Work for You

Your ability to think deeply is an asset.

The objective isn’t to get rid of it.

The objective is to use it intentionally.

Think when thinking is useful.

Plan when planning is useful.

Reflect when reflection teaches you something.

And when your mind starts running the same lap for the twentieth time, recognize that you’re allowed to leave the track.

— Matt Connarton
Certified Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner & Life Coach
mattconnarton.com