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.

Loved the distinction the author made between anxiety that is normal to the human condition and anxiety that becomes disruptive and dysfunctional. Also, the techniques given to use to become unstuck from anxiety were varied and helpful! The anecdotes provided were relatable and brought the book to life. A must-read if you or a loved one deals with frequent anxiety.

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and voluntarily reviewed it.

When I saw this one on Netgalley the title caught my eye and I admit to being pretty skeptical. I definitely do not see anxiety as a gift, but that skepticism was also what made me curious. I had to know why the author thought anxiety was a gift and figured if nothing else it would have some new information about anxiety and ideas on how to handle it.

Knowing I am neurodivergent meant I couldn't relate to all of it, but I figured I could make adjustments myself for the bits that didn't work. And that turned to be the case indeed, but it did help me identify which types of anxiety this book was talking about and what came more from me being neurodivergent or sensory dread.

I ended up being really glad I picked this one up. It was a great read with lots of information about anxiety. And most important for me, it got me thinking about anxiety and dealing with it in a different way. I really like the way the author advocates for feeling our emotions and how emotions have a role. The way she talked about anxiety having a goal, namely to keep you safe and how anxiety could stem from different sources gave me a new way of thinking about my anxiety. I was able to identify where some of my anxiety came from as well as understand it better and what it was trying to make me hear.

I can definitely recommend this book for those who struggle with anxiety. It is a different approach than what I've read and heard of before, although there are also parts that overlap with things I already knew like the mindfulness techniques like the body scan for example. This book really resonated with me and fit into my current state of mind where I am trying to be more accepting of my emotions and gave me more tools and information on how to do this. This is definitely a book I plan to re-read.

To summarize: I picked this book up with some skepticism and curious why the author thinks anxiety is a gift and ended up being really happy I picked this one up. This book helped me think about anxiety in a different way and it was very helpful and informative. I like the way the author talks about emotions. There is some great information about anxiety and how to accept it and listen to it. All in all I can definitely recommend this one. It might not resonate with everyone, but it certainly resonated with me and I am glad I read it.

Thank you net galley for the advanced read copy! The gift of anxiety is a book that everyone should read if they have anxiety. It redirects your thought process and allows you to look at anxiety in a whole new direction. There are so many resources, and things you will need to write down. Be prepared with a journal, because you will do some self reflection. The book allows you to take control of your anxiety instead of it controlling you. It so mind blowing, how much I missed when dealing with my anxiety. It totally worth the investment.

As an anxious gal this book caught my eye. I took my time reading it as I wanted to digest the information. It was very insightful and changed the way I look at the anxiety I get. Overall, I feel the book was very helpful and I learned a lot.

eARC Review
3.5 🌟
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The Gift of Anxiety by Diante Fuchs was a good book. I think it was just too wordy for what the author needed to say.
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Thank you, NetGalley, for the eBook in exchange for my honest review.

The biggest, most positive takeaway I received from this book was a simple reframing of my relationship with anxiety, and for that I am forever grateful.

I am someone who has "struggled" with anxiety since my teens. It has waxed and waned throughout the years, sometimes giving me a break for a string of months on end. But recently, I've dealt with two forms of "stuck" anxiety as the author likes to call it: anxiety ABOUT anxiety and medical/ health anxiety. Super fun, totally recommend.

Most recently, my anxiety about anxiety has revolved around my inability to sleep. So this book really couldn't have come at a better time. Anxiety is a really tricky thing to deal with, something no one genuinely enjoys feeling, and it's hard to know what to do, think, or how to act when it knocks on the door of your brain.

Which is why I really appreciated the reframing of anxiety by the authors as an emotion whose job it is to get you to <b>pay attention</b> and to warn you of <i>potential</i> threats. This alone has helped me to be much more compassionate towards not only anxiety whenever it materializes, but also with <i>myself</i> and how I greet anxiety at the proverbial doorway. It is no longer an enemy I feel the need to vanquish, but a crying toddler who is desperately seeking validation that a monster might be lurking under the bed, and wouldn't I please check?

I also really appreciated the E.A.S.E Approach, although, I couldn't for the life of me remember what each letter stood for, except A which I believe is Acceptance (but don't quote me on that). What I <i>do</i> remember are the smattering of steps one can take when anxiety appears. I started using them even before I finished the book, and have continued to build on them after putting the book away. I think of all the steps I've tried, my favorite has been simply breathing, but not in the normal, prescriptive way of bringing your thoughts to your breath (which definitely helps). The author instead recommends breathing deeply and imaging that your breath is opening up space for you and your anxiety to co-exist without crushing one another. For some reason, this really resonated with me, and I have found it the <i>most</i> helpful piece of advice.

Oh! And there was an entire section dedicated to Core Beliefs that I thoroughly enjoyed. It actually took me about a week after finishing the book and inviting my anxiety in with curiosity <i>instead of</i> fear for me to realize that a false core belief I held (along with some medical news) combined to trigger my latest bout of insomnia followed by anxiety ABOUT anxiety ABOUT falling asleep every night. Again, super fun stuff. <b>BUT</b>, what I learned from reading this book helped me to work through that stuck anxiety, and now I'm on restful-night's-sleeping streak. So, silver lining.

Overall, I felt like this was an informative read and even if not everything struck a chord with me, enough did that I would absolutely recommend this to a fellow anxiety-sufferer.

I have an anxious personality although I didn’t recognise it until middle age.. I was drawn by the title as I have recently been attending a class which told us anxiety is our brains way of keeping us safe. This book is easy to follow but I think would have been better with some editing. It is unnecessarily wordy . It is good to see a common sense approach to anxiety.

The Gift of Anxiety by Diante Fuchs is about harnessing the E.A.S.E. method to turn stuck anxiety into your greatest ally.

I have been experiencing anxiety for several months due to several unexpected life events. I picked up this book to help me determine if I was stuck in my anxiety, how I could understand what I was feeling, and how I could walk through the feelings.

As the author states, it's best to work through the steps of this method in chronological order, as each step creates a foundation for the next step to take place.

The author discusses some root causes of anxiety as either a past trauma has been triggered, trying to avoid something, a person's system is stressed, or a core belief has been triggered.

Each chapter ends with a summary and has a Time To Take Action section with further prompts and links. The author discusses the four phases of stuck anxiety, which include fear and overwhelm, rejecting anxiety, hypervigilance, and avoidance and recommends the E.A.S.E. approach (empower, accept, shift, engage). 

I thought some of the information was interesting and reaffirming, but I did have a difficult time actually putting some of the concepts into place. Plus, I don't journal that much, and that was hard. I did like getting more information about anxiety in general and how it affects our minds and bodies.

Overall, The Gift of Anxiety is a good read and one that may help other people understand the message of anxiety and how to un-stuck yourself. I would rate this a 3.75 out of 5 stars (rounded to 4).

#TheGiftofAnxiety #NetGalley @ibpa

An incredibly helpful resource for learning to think about and manage anxiety in a completely new way. Recommended!

I really appreciate how the author discusses anxiety in a way that readers can truly connect with. Each chapter ends with a summary, prompts, or reflections, which are very useful for practicing the concepts explained in the book. However, I found some points are repeated multiple times, and some titles don't match the content. It's common for me to expect some answers based on what is written in the title but find more questions or repeated explanations instead.

I don’t normally choose this type of book for reviews, but this book was personal for me since I’ve suffered from anxiety for as long as I can remember. I was drawn in by the title wondering how anxiety can be a gift???
The author details some of her clients’ struggles with anxiety as well as her husband’s journey which explains why she is so passionate about the topic. She gives us the E.A.S.E. method for dealing with (not curing because it is a normal, natural emotion) our anxiety.
I found a lot of great information and advice in this book. One of my biggest takeaways was the reminder that everything has a beginning, a middle and an end and nothing is unchanging. I did, however, find her writing to be a little wordy and I think this book could have probably been edited to a shorter, faster read. For these reasons, I give this book 3.5 stars and would recommend it to others looking for help with their anxiety since the info is there.
Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

The older I get, the worse my anxiety becomes. I can’t decide if it’s because the more I know- the more I fear, or if it is spiraling into something I no longer have a good grasp on controlling. This book really helped me focus on shifting view point on my anxiety- anxiety is real, and common, and sometimes has an important place in our lives! But the mind is a very strong thing, and anxiety/other emotions can absolutely manifest and affect our physical health as well.

The author opines that some of the conditions labeled mental illness would be better referred to as stuck emotions, affecting “anyone who has not been able to fully feel their feelings or process their emotional experiences.” Fuchs discusses the four phases of stuck anxiety: fear and overwhelm, rejecting anxiety, hypervigilance, and avoidance. She recommends the E.A.S.E. approach to anxiety (empower, accept, shift, engage). Maybe this has helped her clients in person, but unfortunately I found the writing style disappointingly dull and wordy and the examples difficult to relate to. I received an advance copy for Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

An excellent book, which gave me new insights into anxiety. I especially liked the E.A.S.E method for dealing with anxiety and it changed my view radically reading this book. Highly recommended.