“Objection! Overthinking and How to Overrule It” By Rosemary Gattuso

Credit: Rosemary Gattuso | www.rosemarygattuso.com

Assumptions can sometimes feel like they have a mind of their own, growing into a series of actions aimed at avoiding or reducing potential problems. It’s like launching a pre-emptive strike based on a nagging suspicion. In essence, making assumptions is a key component of overthinking, creating a cautious mindset and planting seeds of anxiety and stress. Rosemary Gattuso, a mediator with ten years of experience in family courts, shares a legal approach to help tackle overthinking and negative assumptions.

Turning Overthinking into a Legal Strategy
Rosemary talks about how her habit of expecting the worst — a common form of overthinking rooted in assumptions — would often mess up her plans and mood — until a friend reminded her of her legal training. This gave her the insight to see how her internal dialogue was affecting her, leading her to use legal principles to manage her overthinking. By blending her tendency to predict negative outcomes with her legal knowledge, Rosemary found a great way to fight overthinking. Just like in courtroom dramas, where evidence is closely examined, she shifted her focus from just guessing to following a structured process. In court, admissible evidence has to be something you can verify and is based on what someone actually saw or heard, not just opinions or assumptions.

Legal TV Shows and Real-Life Overthinking
If you’ve ever watched a legal TV show or a courtroom movie, you probably recognize those intense back-and-forth moments where one lawyer tries to present evidence to support their case while the other lawyer tries to get it thrown out. What’s really happening isn’t just about the facts but more about the process. In the legal world, admissibility depends on following established rules of evidence, which typically involve verification through witnesses or documents. But not everything a witness says can be used as evidence. They can only confirm what they directly saw or heard — their own observations. Their personal opinions or interpretations, while interesting in a chat, can’t be used as solid evidence.

Letting Go of Unreliable Evidence
Imagine how much easier life would be if you could ditch the unreliable evidence from your thoughts. That gut feeling that usually makes you jump to negative conclusions and take drastic actions to prevent possible problems would no longer hold you back. By removing unnecessary anxiety and stress using this principle, you can focus on real, valid information and make decisions based on reason instead of just guessing.

Bringing Legal Principles into Everyday Life
If you’re like Rosemary and tend to overthink, recognizing and discarding inadmissible evidence could be your biggest strength. So, the next time your mind starts racing towards conclusions that feel like opinions, assumptions, gossip, or even just a hunch — often mixed with judgment — try using the rules of evidence. These rules can be a perfect tool to help calm the unproven conclusions and assumptions that come with chronic overthinking. By treating your thoughts like a courtroom case, you can assess which pieces of evidence really matter and let go of the rest. This leads to a calmer and more rational mindset. By treating assumptions — a fundamental part of overthinking — like pieces of evidence in a courtroom case, you can assess which thoughts hold true weight and let go of the rest. This methodical approach leads to a calmer and more rational mindset.

Meet Our Contributor — Rosemary Gattuso
Rosemary Gattuso has been in alternative dispute resolution practice in Sydney for more than fifteen years, specialising in family mediation and restorative justice. As a family mediator, she has helped many families to separate in a child-focused way. In addition to her dispute resolution work, Rosemary runs programs for schools, parents, individuals, and businesses about strengths-based living and ways to transform self-criticism and overthinking into empowering personal growth. Her book ‘It’s Not You, It’s Me — A Chronic Overthinker’s Guide to Self-Reflection’ is out now. Learn more about Rosemary Gattuso here.