Anxiety & overthinking
Hypnotherapy for Anxiety & Overthinking
Sometimes you know you're overthinking. You can even tell yourself that the thoughts aren't helping. But that doesn't necessarily make them stop.
You may replay conversations, worry about things that haven't happened yet, question decisions you've already made, or try to work out every possible outcome before you can relax.
And sometimes the frustrating part is that you already understand all of this logically.
You know you can't control everything. You know worrying won't change tomorrow. You may know that you're probably imagining the worst.
But knowing something consciously and feeling it are not always the same thing.
This is where working at a deeper, subconscious level can be helpful.
When your mind keeps going back to the same thing
Overthinking can take many forms.
You might analyse what somebody said and wonder what they really meant. You may replay something you said yourself and wish you'd said it differently.
You might spend a lot of time thinking ahead:
What if this happens?
What if I make the wrong decision?
What if they judge me?
What if I can't cope?
Or perhaps your mind becomes busiest when everything else becomes quiet. You get into bed wanting to sleep, and suddenly you're reviewing the day, thinking about tomorrow or trying to solve problems that don't need solving at midnight.
Sometimes people describe it as simply having a very busy mind.
But I think there can be more to explore underneath it.
Overthinking isn't always really about thinking
Sometimes all that thinking is an attempt to reach a feeling of certainty.
If I think about this for long enough, maybe I'll know what to do.
If I replay that conversation enough times, perhaps I'll understand what went wrong.
If I imagine every possible outcome, perhaps I'll be prepared.
So underneath the thinking there may be something else: fear of making a mistake, being rejected, being judged, losing control, disappointing someone, or not knowing what is going to happen.
That doesn't mean there must always be a deep hidden reason behind every anxious thought. Sometimes life is stressful and we worry because there is genuinely something difficult happening.
But when the same pattern keeps appearing in different situations, it can be useful to become curious about what sits underneath it.
“How do I stop thinking about this?”
“What is my mind trying to solve, prevent or protect me from?”
Why can our reaction feel bigger than the situation?
Often, it isn't only what happens that affects us, but the meaning we attach to what happens.
Someone doesn't reply for a few hours. The event is simply that they haven't replied yet. The meaning we attach to it might become “They're rejecting me,” “I've done something wrong,” or “I'm not important.”
We make a small mistake at work. The event is the mistake itself. The meaning we attach to it might become “People will think I'm not good enough” or “I've failed.”
Sometimes the emotional intensity comes less from the event itself and more from what that event seems to mean to us. That meaning doesn't come from nowhere — it's often shaped by earlier experiences, beliefs and associations we're not consciously thinking about.
One idea that has influenced the way I think about emotional patterns comes from psychiatrist and author David Viscott.
In his book Emotionally Free, Viscott wrote about what he called emotional debt — the idea that feelings from earlier experiences that haven't been fully processed or resolved can continue to influence the way we experience situations in the present.
I find this an interesting way of looking at some automatic reactions.
Sometimes the intensity of what we're feeling seems bigger than the situation in front of us.
You might know logically that you're safe, that one mistake isn't a disaster, that somebody taking longer to reply doesn't automatically mean rejection, or that you don't need everyone to approve of you.
And still, something inside reacts.
The present situation may be touching an older belief, association or emotional response.
This doesn't mean every anxiety has its roots in childhood, or that we need to search for a hidden memory behind every worry. It simply gives us another question to explore:
“What does this situation mean to me underneath the worry?”
That question can sometimes take us somewhere very different from simply trying to make the thought disappear.
How hypnotherapy can help
Hypnotherapy gives us an opportunity to work with more than the thoughts you're consciously aware of.
Hypnosis is a state of deep relaxation and focused attention. As the body settles and the nervous system relaxes, it can become easier to turn your attention inward and work with the subconscious mind — including the beliefs, associations and automatic responses that can sit underneath everyday thoughts and behaviours.
You're still aware of what's happening. You're still in control.
The purpose isn't to switch off your conscious mind or have somebody else take control of it.
Instead, the relaxed state gives us space to become curious about what may be happening underneath a pattern you've consciously been trying to change.
So rather than only working with:
“I need to stop worrying.”
we may explore:
What am I actually worried will happen?
What would that mean to me?
What does my mind believe it needs to prepare for?
What would I need to believe or feel differently for this response to change?
The answers will be different for every person.
Working with the belief underneath the thought
Imagine someone repeatedly worries about making mistakes at work.
On the surface, the problem appears to be overthinking:
Did I do that correctly?
Should I check it again?
What if I've missed something?
But underneath that may be a belief such as:
“If I make a mistake, people will think I'm not good enough.”
For somebody else, the belief might be:
“If I don't stay in control, something bad could happen.”
Or:
“I need other people to approve of me to feel okay.”
The thought is what we notice first. The belief underneath it isn't always as obvious.
This is why simply telling yourself to “stop worrying” can sometimes feel like you're having the same argument with yourself again and again.
In hypnotherapy, we can explore those deeper associations and work towards creating different, more helpful responses.
What about anxiety?
Anxiety and overthinking often overlap, but they're not exactly the same thing.
For some people, anxiety is mainly experienced through thoughts — worry, anticipation, analysing and imagining what could happen.
For others, it's very physical. You may notice tension, restlessness, butterflies, a racing heart or a feeling that your body simply won't settle.
Sometimes you know exactly what you're anxious about. Other times you don't.
My approach isn't about telling you that you shouldn't feel what you're feeling or that you simply need to “think positively”.
I'm interested in understanding why your particular response makes sense to your mind, even when consciously it doesn't seem to make sense to you anymore.
From there, we can work towards changing the beliefs and associations that may be keeping the pattern going.
This is not an emergency or crisis service. If you need urgent help, please contact your GP, call NHS 111, or in an emergency call 999. Samaritans are available any time on 116 123.
What happens in an online session?
Before the hypnotherapy itself, we'll talk about what's happening for you, what you would like to change and, importantly, how you would like to feel instead.
You don't need to arrive knowing why you overthink or where your anxiety comes from.
That's something we can explore together.
The hypnotherapy part of the session takes place while you're comfortably relaxed. Sessions are online, so you can be in your own home or another quiet, private place where you feel comfortable.
The work is personalised. I'm not simply giving everyone with anxiety the same script.
Your experiences, beliefs and the changes you want to make are individual to you, so the session is built around you.
You can also read more about how hypnotherapy and RTT work and what a session involves before deciding whether you'd like to work with me.
You don't need to have it all figured out
You might already know exactly what you want to change.
Or you might simply know:
“I'm tired of my mind doing this.”
That's enough of a starting point.
You don't need to diagnose yourself. You don't need to know whether the problem is anxiety, overthinking, stress, an old pattern or something else.
And you don't need to decide on your own whether hypnotherapy is definitely the right approach.
We can start with a conversation.
Read the frequently asked questions Read: How to Stop OverthinkingBook a free discovery call
If anxiety or overthinking is taking up more space in your life than you would like, you're welcome to book a free 15-minute discovery call.
You can briefly tell me what's happening and what you'd like to change, ask any questions you have, and we can see whether working together feels right.
Take the next step
Ready to create your next chapter?
You don't need to have everything figured out before you begin. Your first step is a free 15-minute discovery call — simply a conversation about what you would like to change.
