I enjoyed this book. It helps the reader examine anxiety in a different way. I read a lot of mental health books and would recommend it to those who treat patients and/or struggle with anxiety themselves.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This book makes us look at anxiety in a whole new light. It was good to have the disclaimer at the beginning. I liked how the book starts off explaining anxiety and when we may feel it before jumping into changing how we respond to it so I had a good foundation on what types of anxiety the author is talking about. The chapters start with anecdotes then go into facts which is great as it helps show the author has experience of what they’re talking about. I also liked how each step of E.A.S.E has its own chapter and enough detail can be provided.

Very informative book that has helped changed my perspective on anxiety. A lot of what the author discussed about anxiety resonated with me and the journals really helped me reflect on how anxiety appears in my life. This book will stick with me forever.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing the ARC!

3.5 ⭐️ l learn more from this book rather than from years of therapy and dealing with anxiety myself.

The author shares great knowledge and examples to help you understand the potential in anxiety.
A concept that is being reinforced throughout all the book is that anxiety is not the enemy, it’s actually there to help you by pointing out a need that needs to be met.

What a revolutionary way of thinking about anxiety!

Reading this book helped me so much to better understand anxiety and how to use its potential. I wished I read this book sooner.

I also really appreciated the summary at the end of every chapters and the exercises/journal prompts.

However, I found it hard to read sometimes due to the density of information shared. It was also a bit too repetitive in my opinion. I understand the author was trying to reinforce certain concepts, but the repetitions slowed down the reading flow.

Moreover, I believe the E.A.S.E method should be a main topic in the book (it’s mentioned several times), but it’s only finally explained halfway through the book, for only 36 pages in total. Considering the importance of the Method, I wish there were more pages dedicated to it.

Finally, I had the feeling the author was trying to promote her website a bit too much. She shared the link multiple times where she provides with material to further help the journaling process, which is nice, but I found it a bit too much.

Overall, it was an interesting read, which I am sure it will help a lot of other people to better understand their anxiety and how to make the most out of it.

While I found the premise of 'stuck emotions' interesting and worth exploring, I had several issues with the text. First, as a licensed medical professional, she ought to have more ethical considerations for what she is spouting here. Her sweeping statement that most of the conditions in the DSM could be solved by her 'stuck emotions' theory borders on unethical and comes close to magical thinking MLM-essential oil nonsense. The DSM covers a wide wide wide variety of different mental health conditions, and anxiety is not the same as BPD or schizophrenia, and I'm honestly afraid for her clients if that is how she approaches her practice. She ought to have said something akin to this, even just a paragraph.

This book may find some resonance with people who are new to therapy and whom have mild anxiety. Her idea of 'stuck emotion' isn't particularly novel, and her claims that it is says a lot about her sphere of research. Further, she doesn't at all address the very real social systems that can cause mental health conditions - like gender, race, disability, etc and instead speaks as if everyone is mostly fine with just some anxiety that can be fixed if you just think hard enough about it.

I did enjoy the phrasing of 'stuck emotions' and I do think there are some helpful tips and steps in here for certain folk. For those who are actively engaged in therapy, this title will likely not aide them as much. Also please note, I am in therapy and have been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and OCD so.

Excellent read, speaking right to the minds and the souls of those suffering from anxiety. Her writing and her storytelling is so effortless, her explaining of what is happening so intrusive and coherent that makes it so easily understandable. Her view /perspective that anxiety is not your enemy but a friend that tries to warn you for inner issues is r.efreshing and also relieving to people that try to push back their anxieties (like me).
The tips and the exercises in this book are very helpful.
I dont know if anxiety is a gift, but this book certainly is...

I thank the author and Netgalley for the ARC.

I am very glad that there are also this kind of books here.
They can be helpful to many people, even before they are published. As it was for me. I am really thankful that I was able to read this book, as a person who suffers from anxiety. I found the book very easy to read and very understandable. It was used a simple language, but it doesn't sound trival.
The book makes the concepts easy to understand, an ease that I haven't found in many other books of this kind that I've read
The only thing I don't really like is the calling anxiety a gift; it is an evil monster that attacks both the physical and mental sanity of those who carry anxiety with them.
All in all, though, I appreciated what the book was trying to communicate, just to people like me. Anxiety is not something to fight, it's instead something that protect us and we need to understand it in order to overcome it.
It was a formative and useful read.
It's also well written. I found no typos; you can tell that the book has been edited and revised nicely.
I also noticed that there was a lot of time behind the book where the person who wrote it did research, very appreciable, though expected given the type of book.
Novels and self-help books are always useful, maybe they don't solve problems, but they can help explain or understand a lot of things and then lead the reader toward the right path to follow.
Thanks again for the preview.

This book is very easy to read and understand! It’s not full of scientific language that makes it boring and inaccessible! There are many great parts to this book, that help you to understand why we are fighting anxiety instead of working with it, I do it myself! I’d recommend this book for anyone that needs reassurance that you don’t need to find a ‘cure’ but learn to live and enjoy life alongside it!

I appreciate that Netgalley and publisher made this arc copy available! As someone who have anxiety, I love this book. I’m excited to read more of this book, and re read it also when my anxiety gets out of hand.

Thank you and full review to follow.

As someone with severe anxiety, among other issues, I'm always looking for more information, options, and ways to understand the problems I, and many others, deal with. I'm not sure I found that here. While well meaning, and certainly there are positives to be taken away for the right people, I too often felt like the very issue of anxiety itself was being simplified overmuch (though this may have been simply to make it more relatable and simply a failure to communicate), or more to the point, could conflate issues potentially more than anxiety down to simply that.

There is good to be had here, but it depends a bit much on confirmation bias.

*ARC provided by Netgalley & TCK Publishing*

I chose this title to review because I suffer from Generalized Anxiety, and I am always eager to learn more ways to cope. I found this very helpful and wish it had been available years ago when I started having panic attacks. 

The author is a clinical psychologist but has also dealt with her own anxiety and that of her husband's. I think we all have anxiety on some level depending on the situation, but we need to make sure it doesn't stop us from living our lives. 

I found many of the tips and exercises in this book to be very helpful. I also like the author's way of viewing anxiety as a gift instead of a curse. Most people, myself included want to find aa way to push it away instead of looking into the root causes of it. It is our body's way of telling us something is not right, so we need to acknowledge it. Plus, when you try not to think of something, it makes you want to think of it more.  I highly recommend this for anyone who has ever had to deal with anxiety, especially to the point it makes you avoid things.

There are many books on anxiety since mental health awareness has become an important part of today's culture. 'The Gift of Anxiety' is a refreshing take on this topic, as the author offers readers a transformative perspective that reframes anxiety not as an enemy, but as a guide toward personal growth and self-awareness.
I loved how this book feels less like a self-help manual and more like a conversation with a friend who understands your struggles.

As a pretty much life long person with anxiety I was interested to give this book a read. Have read various books on anxiety. Intrigued by the normal anxiety and the stuck anxiety. Definitely able to tell the difference and this made sense to me.

Overall an interesting read

Title: The Gift of Anxiety: Harnessing the EASE Method to Turn Stuck Anxiety into Your Greatest Ally
By: Diante Fuchs
Pub. Date: September 2, 2024

Genre:
Nonfiction

Favorite Quotes:
“Anxiety is an emotional response to get us to pay attention to a need for our safety. This means that anxiety only pops up when something is happening that leaves us feeling unsafe. Remember that it is an emotional response and it cannot harm you.”

“Avoidance can only provide temporary relief! And this temporary relief can become an addiction.”

“The experience of being validated and given permission to feel our feelings in all their complexity is a huge portion of mental health and healing.”

Summary/Review:
I picked up this book because I was intrigued by the preface.

Wait, Anxiety isn’t a problem... is it an emotion?

The title of the book made me take a second look. Since when has anxiety ever been described as a gift. This book opened my eyes to the power we, as humans, hold on our internal emotions and anxiety. Though I was skeptical, I did find the writing to be informative, and thought provoking. The author describes the difference between ‘stuck anxiety’ vs ‘original anxiety’. The author uses her knowledge to form a unique method called E.A.S.E to assist others and help them gain control over their anxiety. This recognition is critical! The author’s method doesn’t cure people of their anxiety, but rather I consider it a coping method of supporting those with anxiety. I love that Fuchs wants humanity to embrace the emotion behind anxiety! This novel is a wonderful resource for those who struggle with anxiety.

Thank you Diante Fuchs, TCK Publishing, and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
#TheGiftofAnxiety
#Diante Fuchs
#TCLPublishing
#reluctantreaderreads
#advancedreadercopies
#netgalley

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I have high functioning anxiety and I struggle with it daily. The concept of this book was good and explaining how we can choose to see anxiety as a gift instead of a burden, I liked the methods described and it definitely has changed my relationship with anxiety.

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

I have high functioning anxiety and thought that this book would be interesting. It was an utter load of nonsense. It was very much based on the authors experience and not based on scientific trials and facts as much.
I also found that the book was a bit of a muddle, not very clear in the themes and a bit repetitive. I think that the whole book could do with a bit of clarity and reorganising to make it easier to read.
Not sure that I would recommend it unfortunately.

Through using Net Galley, I chose and received this book for free in return for an honest review.
I’ve been suffering quite badly with my anxiety recently so when I saw this it was something I wanted to read.
The idea of anxiety being a gift rather than something we think bad of interested me too.
The author talks to us about the EASE method, which included things I’d not heard before as well as things I had ie Mindfulness.
I think anyone struggling with their minds can learn something from this book, if you’re trying to read more into what it is and how we can help ourselves then I would recommend.

Diante Fuchs' *The Gift of Anxiety* challenges the common perception that anxiety is an enemy to be eliminated. Rather than treating anxiety as a problem, Fuchs reframes it as a natural and necessary response that holds profound wisdom if we are willing to listen. With a compassionate and informed voice, she offers readers an empowering alternative to the traditional approach of resisting and suppressing anxiety.

One of the key takeaways from the book is the distinction between "ordinary anxiety" and "stuck anxiety." Fuchs explores why some people get trapped in chronic anxiety while others do not. This understanding is essential because it helps us recognize that anxiety, when it becomes overwhelming or persistent, is not something to be feared, but rather a sign that there are deeper issues in need of attention. It’s a novel perspective that pushes back against the cultural narrative that anxiety must be eradicated.

The heart of Fuchs' message lies in her *EASE Method*, a practical approach to managing anxiety. This method doesn't promise to eliminate anxiety but teaches how to work with it, reduce its intensity, and transform one’s relationship with it. By following this step-by-step process, Fuchs suggests that readers can learn to stop fighting anxiety and instead embrace it as a guide that reveals unmet needs and unresolved issues. Through this lens, anxiety becomes a messenger, not a threat.

The strength of *The Gift of Anxiety* is its accessibility. Fuchs’ writing is clear and direct, making complex psychological ideas easy to grasp. Her tone is empathetic, which makes the book especially appealing for those who feel misunderstood or trapped in their own anxious thoughts. The reader is not only educated about the science behind anxiety but is also guided through actionable strategies to manage it. This balance of theory and practice makes the book both insightful and useful.

In particular, the book shines when it discusses how resisting anxiety only amplifies it. Fuchs explains that trying to get rid of anxiety can lead to a vicious cycle where we become anxious about feeling anxious, which only worsens the experience. Her approach, in contrast, is calming and encourages mindfulness—teaching readers how to listen to anxiety’s messages without panic.

This book is a valuable resource for anyone who struggles with anxiety and feels stuck in their efforts to control or diminish it. The idea that anxiety can actually be a gift, one that helps lead to greater emotional awareness and a more peaceful life, is not only refreshing but transformative. Fuchs' approach gives hope to those who have tried various methods—such as meditation, therapy, or medication—without success, by shifting the focus from elimination to understanding and growth.

In conclusion, *The Gift of Anxiety* is more than just a self-help book; it’s a guide to self-acceptance and a deeper understanding of one’s emotional landscape. Fuchs offers a unique perspective that turns a seemingly negative emotion into an opportunity for healing and self-discovery. By learning to work with anxiety rather than against it, readers may find the peace they’ve been seeking all along.

I picked up this book partly to see if my skepticism was justified and partly with a small glimmer of reckless hope that it might contain the magic formula to better manage my anxiety (now my constant companion). The result was somewhat disappointing, especially since at one point, I found myself feeling genuinely hopeful about the content of these pages.

The book presents psychological concepts related to anxiety and attempts to explain them just enough to offer advice on how to avoid behaviors that exacerbate this feeling rather than help control it. Every piece of advice, particularly the EASE method, tries to provide helpful insights for certain types of people but completely lacks the scientific grounding that many of us seek in order to consider the steps it outlines reliable and truly useful. Although the author seems to have tried the method on certain groups of people who reported benefits, in my case, it was a complete disaster, which I'm sure was influenced by a certain superficiality in the explanations and the scientific evidence presented.

While I believe the intentions were good and that the text itself is fairly interesting—although, at times, excessively wordy, unable to avoid seeming boring and slow—the lack of proven and well-documented case studies from which to draw a more complete scientific analysis is frustrating for a book that presents itself as a source of help for its readers. The idea of harnessing anxiety as a source of energy and strength is a good one, though rather overused at this point, but still appealing if accompanied by rhetoric and evidence that can truly provide a comprehensive picture of the benefits. In this case, I think it’s a mediocre read in some respects but could serve as a springboard for a more serious and scientifically proven exploration of the topic.

Soon on my blog (medium.com/@inabookhole) a complete review will be published.