Phantom Stress: Brain Training to Master Relationship Stress

Phillip Romero is a practicing child and family psychiatrist and developer of Logosoma Brain Training. Logosoma Brain Training combines Buddhist mindfulness with cognitive evolution and developmental sociobiology to deal with what Romero terms “phantom stress” or a stress response caused by a benign stimulus from a negative emotional memory. Often times, overreactions to what might seem as minor events are caused by these old stresses that are triggered by a current event, yet are almost completely unconscious in their origin. His book, Phantom Stress is a concise introduction to phantom stress, how old emotional damage can increase your current stress levels and how to overcome it to be more fully balanced and emotionally connected to yourself and those around you.

The first third of Phantom Stress is an introduction to how stress works in one’s life and some tests and checklists for analyzing the types and amounts of stress one faces. The second two-thirds of the book is an introduction to the four steps of Logosoma Brain Training – Refuse the Stress Conversation, Refocus Your Attention, Reflect to Connect and Reconnect with the Power of We. There are both practical examples, worksheets and sample discussions on facing one’s own phantom stress and the relationships that bring it out.

While there are plenty of guides to making one’s life better or reducing the stress one feels, Phantom Stress is very practical, easy to read, and easy to use, so should be of use to many people dealing with chronic stress.