Oberhelman, Angie. Enough: A Therapist’s Guide to Yoga for Overcoming Anxiety, Building Self-Worth and Breaking Free From People Pleasing and Perfectionism. Stress and Emotional Counseling, 2026.
Reason read: a selection from the Early Review Program for LibraryThing.
Enough: a Therapist’s Guide to Yoga for Overcoming Anxiety, Building Self-Worth and Breaking Free From People-Pleasing and Perfectionism was a super quick read. I appreciated the ten-minute daily exercises geared towards busy adults. The illustrated yoga positions (23 in all, including modifications) were clear and easy to follow. Oberhelman also provided modifications for difficult poses or varying situations. I also liked the warning that some yoga techniques could increase anxious behavior rather than alleviate it. Oberhelman took the time to teach readers how to decipher the signals your body could be sending.
[As an aside, I got the sense Oberhelman was writing this for yoga instructors and therapists with language like, “interventions to keep clients safe.” If that was the case, the title should be a guide for therapists.]
Oberhelman came across as trustworthy because of her bibliography. She draws references from several well-known experts like Jon Kabat-Zinn, Amy Weintraub, Dan Siegel, Richard Schwartz, Bessel van der Kolk, Kristin Neff, Steven Hayes, to name a few.
Now for the cons. I am not a fan of leaving the reading behind. Throwing acronyms around without explanation is a good way to turn a reader off, especially at the very beginning of a book. CBT, DBT, ACT, IFS, MI – these might be familiar to some readers, but not all. Anacronyms are spelled out on page 97. Polyvagal without explanation in the preface sets the tone for didactic lecturing. Oberhelman saves the content by carefully explaining the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems in detail albeit later in the book. These systems are the key to understanding and self-diagnosing anxiety and stress.
Speaking of anxiety and stress, I am not a fan of repetition. The word anxiety was used 145 times in Enough; anxious, a total of 34 times. The word stress was mentioned 104 times, This repetition stands out because the actual text is only 113 pages long if you take out the 24 blank pages between chapters, 12 pages of illustrations, two title pages, dedication, table of contents, preface, bibliography, resources, educational disclaimer, copyright, and author info at the end.
Another drawback was that Oberhelman mentioned an accompanying workbook. There was not one included with this Early Review copy.
