Angie Towse
Clinical Hypnotherapist, NLP Practitioner
& Coach
Founder of States of Mind
Even before I’d first become ill, I’d found myself crashing at weekends, never feeling restored after a full night’s sleep. I had various food intolerances and had found myself withdrawing more and more from social situations. I ran negative thought patterns about worst-case scenarios and definitely didn’t have the most positive internal dialogue going on inside myself.
Now I have so much energy, regardless of what I’ve been doing. My sleep is amazing (even my dreams are better) and my thinking is clear, simple and positive. Decision-making is easy. I get excited about all the incredible things I have coming up and socially I feel easy, calm and relaxed. Life is fun again, really fun. I not only love myself but feel like I’ve got to know and understand the true me, in a whole new way. It’s like gaining a new friend in myself, but one that’s always there and always on my side.
This personal experience, along with my subsequent clinical training (at Advanced and now Masters level), has given me incredible expertise and knowledge, which I now use to help others overcome their own issues. I love this work and am so passionate about it. I’m fascinated by what hypnotherapy can do and, in my eyes, the opportunities to make positive change with it are limitless.
Having run my own business (The Rest Is Noise) for over 10 years and from my time working at Google PLC before that, I really get those worlds and the stresses and strains that come with them. My experience working in the corporate sphere has helped me to recognise that ambition can quickly lead to anxiety and burnout. Similarly, I know that the responsibility and worry that can come from running your own thing is very real. Maybe you’re starting to think about a career change, even though you don’t know what that is yet and worried it might be too late (it’s not).
If any of these are you, then I’ve got you, because this was me. With hypnotherapy, I turned it all around and now my purpose in life is to enable others to do the same.
I first became fascinated by hypnotherapy, having discovered it through my own struggle with a debilitating chronic illness that left me totally powerless and frustrated.
I had pain, brain fog, and constant fatigue. I often struggled to talk and interact with others, all of this leaving me with a very low mood and the onset of anxiety. I’d tried everything out there - supplements, diets, holistic therapies as well as continuous trips to the doctors. I cut out almost everything that had ever made my life fun. If I’m honest I’d pretty much given up any hope of finding a ‘cure’ to being well again.
I’d been running my own award-winning Music and culture PR agency with offices in London and Berlin, yet I was getting to a stage where I was going to have to withdraw from the business. Working was becoming impossible. I was at a critical point. I spoke to a friend of mine who’d used hypnotherapy and NLP a few years earlier for her ME / CFS. As a last attempt, I gave it a go.
Until that point hypnotherapy, to me, was what people used if they had a phobia or wanted to stop smoking. I had no idea of the other immense capabilities and capacity it had for healing and recovering from illness, especially when my symptoms had felt so physical. But after taking that step, I fully transformed. Not only was I rid of all my symptoms, but everything in my life was enhanced as if a lid had been lifted.
what to expect in a session with me
The first session is very much about gathering all the information around the issue, what it is, really understanding it and how it’s showing up in the lives. Then we move onto what it is that they really want - what is this change, what does it look like to them, how would it feel. This process in itself can be quite intriguing to start thinking about what this new and positive future is. From here, once we have all of this information we can start to move onto some of the really incredible and transformative processes to start to make this change right away.
Hypnotherapy as a process is incredibly kind, can be very intriguing, deeply relaxing and transformative. You’ll start by easily becoming comfortable and relaxed, a bit like a deep mediation if that’s something you’re familiar with, or maybe think of your favourite thing you do to relax - preparing a meal, watching your favourite TV programme, walking the dog, reading a book, taking a bath - whatever, but think of how easily you just ease into that, without having to think, so that it’s almost automatic. You can have your eyes open or closed and I’ll be guiding you through, asking questions, offering up questions you may want to ask yourself to help get to the root of any issues and messages the mind and body really wants you to know, before they can be resolved and you can full move on with your life.
All of sessions are conducted over Zoom so you can fully relax and within the comfort of your own space.
Hypnotherapy works with the unconscious mind, which is the part of us that really knows how to take care of us.
ABOUT hypnotherapy
hyp·no·ther·a·py
/ˌhipnōˈTHerəpē/
the use of hypnosis as a therapeutic technique.
Hypnotherapy works with the unconscious mind, which is the part of us that really knows how to take care of us. It’s where all of our automated systems - how to think, move, talk, breath, respond and recover - are all stored.
We can think about the mind as separate two systems, the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. The conscious mind holds all our awareness. It’s very active, very alert and tends to be a bit more more cautious, more sceptical, asks more questions. Because of this it might also procrastinate or get distracted. The unconscious mind is much more open, direct and takes things more literally. It quite likes change and can adapt easily and quickly. So the unconscious mind holds the key to the transformations we want to make.
By getting really really, deeply relaxed, we’re able to quiet the conscious mind just enough, so that we can bypass it and speak directly to the unconscious mind to deliver a more clear and updated instruction. We also listen to it as sometimes it has messages and we need to hear also. This might sounds a little unfamiliar at first, but just think about those times you’ve had a nagging feeling or voice at the back of your head, then you go on holiday or have a new experience and suddenly that voice or feeling makes sense and comes crystal clear and you know what you need to do.
This is the part of the unconscious mind we will reach in the session, allowing you to resolve any outstanding issues and install new and much more useful responses. This new behaviour and way of being then feels much more aligned with our true selves, creating much better states of mind.
ABOUT NLP
neuro·linguistic·programming
/nLp/
a set of methods for improving mindset by connecting thoughts, language, and behaviour.
NLP is the connections made between the brain and the rest of the body. The brain sends messages to all areas of the body telling it how to respond and behave in each situation. These behaviours then start to show up automatically, which in time form patterns and pathways, ‘neural pathways’. For example when we think about brushing our teeth, locking the door, tying our shoelaces; for most people these will be pretty automatic functions that we don’t need to think about. This not only makes our lives easier but frees up conscious neurology (think of it as brain space) for new learning and experiences.
Occasionally though, this can start to work the other way. During our lives, the brain and body also create markers and flags in response to experiences that have for some reason caused concern, danger, uncertainty etc. Whilst these can certainly be useful, sometimes easy mistakes are made and flags are put in place in the wrong areas. These can then get stuck in a bit of an echo forming a more negative loop, leaving us feeling powerless to be able to move on from this and change it. This can show up in anxiety, recurrent illness, old habits, negative thought patterns etc.
ABOUT coaching
coach·ing
/kəʊ.tʃɪŋ/
Coaching is a form of development in which a coach, supports a client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal.
For me this is the crucial element that underpins these valuable practices and functions. This is what makes it a personalised journey. As a certified coach my role is to help you change in the way that you want, helping you find the clarity you need to choose the direction you take next. I support you at every level in becoming who you want to be. I help you connect with your awareness allowing you to make empowering choices that lead to change. Having this coaching element can be different to how other hypnotherapists work, as it’s a much more supportive experience that stays with you every step of the way.