Clinical Psychologist launches groundbreaking workbook with 85+ body-based practices for everyday anxiety and stress relief
As a society, we’ve never really been taught what to do with our emotions, how to discharge them, how to let them move through us. Instead, we bottle them up or try to outthink them.”
ADELAIDE, SA, AUSTRALIA, October 14, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Anxiety rates are at record highs, with more than 300 million people globally experiencing clinical levels of distress. But what if the solution to our stress isn’t just in our heads, but in our bodies?— Dr Kaitlin Harkess
That’s the argument Clinical Psychologist, researcher, and yoga teacher Dr Kaitlin Harkess makes in her brand-new book, The Somatic Workbook for Nervous System Regulation and Anxiety Management (PESI Publishing, 14 October).
This isn’t another “just think positive” or “reframe your thoughts” guide. In The Somatic Workbook, Dr Harkess helps readers understand how stress, anxiety, trauma, and overwhelm are stored in the body and offers more than 85 practical, evidence-based ways to process and release them.
“If our go-to approaches to anxiety relief— whether it’s cognitive reframing, meditation, or talk therapy— were enough on their own, we’d all be sleeping soundly by now,” Dr Harkess says. “The truth, as neuroscience increasingly shows, is that our nervous systems and our bodies need as much attention as our minds.”
“Most of us are living in our heads… and on our phones. We think the answers are in the next thought or swipe. But our bodies have been left out of the conversation for too long.”
“What if the key to healing wasn’t about thinking harder, but about finally listening to the body that’s been speaking to us all along, the very thing designed to help us release stress in the first place?”
Dr Harkess explains that emotional pain is never “just in the mind".
“Your mind literally extends throughout your body. As the saying goes, your issues are in your tissues. But that’s not the end of the story, because your body also holds your wisdom. Real anxiety relief means tuning into that wisdom, getting out of your head, and back into your body.”
“As a society, we’ve never really been taught what to do with our emotions, how to discharge them, how to let them move through us. Instead, we bottle them up or try to outthink them. But emotions carry energy, and that energy needs somewhere to go. Sometimes the kindest thing we can do is let go of our analysing and find a gentle release. Through movement, breath, music, or anything safe that helps the nervous system reset. Until we start teaching these skills as part of everyday life, we’ll keep seeing the cost of holding it all in.”
The book draws on transformative frameworks such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), Polyvagal Theory, and mindfulness-based somatic practices. Readers learn how to ground and centre themselves during moments of overwhelm, release trapped emotional energy, build resilience to life’s ups and downs, and create sustainable self-care routines that honour the body’s natural intelligence.
Accessible and science-backed, The Somatic Workbook is designed for the challenges of everyday life, whether it’s the mum lying awake at 3am, the burnt-out dad doomscrolling at night, the anxious teenager, or the worker whose heart races before every meeting.
Timed to coincide with Mental Health Month in Australia, this release offers a fresh perspective on one of the biggest wellbeing challenges of our time and is a powerful reminder that lasting change might start not with our thoughts, but with our bodies.
Amy Springhall
The Visibility Project
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