Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Great workbook for working through somatic symptoms using a mindfulness/ ACT perspective. Would recommend to clients and therapists alike.

I like r4eading self help books and as a sufferer of Anxiety this one really interested me.
It was very interesting to read and i think it has something for everyone. I would def recommend reading it and if someone is struggling it is a good gift idea

Very helpful for folks like me with a sensory processing disorder. I wish I had learned these skills decades ago!! I love how well this explains in kind and direct language what is happening physiologically during sensory overload.

Mindful Somatic Awareness for Anxiety Relief is a deep dive into anxiety and its effects on people. As well as ways to deal with and prevent anxiety. It was full of helpful, in depth exercises and strategies for handling your anxieties. The writing was able to explain what the author was presenting without becoming too clinical. This would be a great book for anybody suffering from anxiety and stress.

I like self help books and often Implement what they teach into my life. However this one didn’t float my boat so to speak. It failed to get me involved in this type of mindfulness activity. It’s a thumbs down from me I’m afraid!

Mindful Somatic Awareness for Anxiety Relief by Michele L. Blume presents a body-based approach to dealing with anxiety. It’s based on Somatic Experiencing, which is a type of trauma therapy. While the book talks about fear, worry, and anxiety, there’s no explicit mention of anxiety disorders.

The book describes anxiety this way:

“Anxiety is a clamp that inhibits your impulses to live freely and authentically. It constricts your emotional, physical, and mental mobility, hindering your natural instincts to expand, reach out, connect, and create. Living in fear and worry blocks access to the abundant resources that dwell within you.”

The book uses a somatic approach to anxiety that focuses on the connection between mind and body. The author explains that our nervous system holds implicit memories of our past experiences, and while these memories aren’t recalled in a narrative fashion, they can be accessed through the body. In terms of anxiety, the idea is that mindful somatic awareness can help with accessing the memories that are producing fear and hypervigilance in the present and predicting negative outcomes in the future.

There’s information on neurobiology, including the autonomic nervous system, the limbic system, and the differences in function between the left and right brain. I thought it was explained in an accessible way.

The author explains the SOAR process: sense, observe, articulate, and reflect, with the reflection being key to integrate left and right brain responses. She acknowledges that it will be difficult at first to try to resist fear responses, and encourages a nonjudgmental acceptance of whatever is felt.

The book describes a process of over-coupling different aspects of implicit memories so that triggering in the present produces a sense of threat even when there is none. Another concept that’s described is dual awareness, which involves consciousness of implicit memory activation in your body (“then-and-when” experience) while also being aware of the “here-and-now” experience in the present moment.

Other topics discussed include core beliefs, boundary-setting, and using play to balance the nervous system. The process of coregulation in social relationships is explained in the context of how our nervous systems respond in interactions with others.

Throughout the book, the author provided examples from her own work with clients, and how the approach helped with issues that they had. The examples were will chosen to illustrate the concepts.

A very minor thing that bugged me was the Mindful Somatic Awareness was always capitalized throughout the book. I’m not a huge fan of arbitrary capitalization, and while Somatic Experiencing is capitalized because it’s trademarked, I didn’t find a trademark for Mindful Somatic Awareness.

This book offers an interesting alternative to cognitive methods for treating anxiety. While I suspect it wouldn’t be effective for everyone, I think it could be really helpful for making connections between the past and the present, particularly for people who’ve had traumatic experiences without having a full-blown trauma disorder.



I received a reviewer copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

This book is really interesting, not only does it talk about ways to cope with anxiety, it gives in depth exercises that are different than other books I have read. Now i have to admit, that I only tried a few of them , but I can see myself doing more. One of the exercises talks about having a best friend. it gives instructions on what to do on that exercise. After I did it, I felt better and lighter.

I think people with anxiety and depression should read this. It has alot of information in it, and the exercises are worth doing. I am grateful that netgalley let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an incredibly well written book that clearly outline the symptoms of anxiety, why it occurs and offers ways to overcome it. Through detailed and concise explanations the author takes us step by step on the SOAR— sense, observe, articulate, and reflect process by identifying childhood impactful moments that could explain present feelings of fear and worry. Very useful information that I will utilize in my day to day.

So happy to have found this book. It was an easy read with great tips on relaxing. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a holistic approach.

This is something I wanted to learn more about for a long time. I found the book easy to read and loads of great info

I'm probably not the true target audience for this book, as I haven't read many self-help books before. I do suffer from anxiety, though, so I am in the central demographic in some ways. That being said, I was rather disappointed by this book, as it adheres to a left-brain/right-brain explanation that I thought had been at least somewhat debunked. Some of the focus on childhood triggers seemed reminiscent of antiquated psychoanalysis, just in a modern re-skinned way, which I didn't really enjoy. I could be misinterpreting, though. I did appreciate the focus on the embodied quality of anxiety and the fairly concrete advice about how to stay grounded, etc., though.