stress-relief

# Stress Relief

Reclaim calm in minutes, not hours. Quick techniques, stress insights, and recovery tools built right into your workflow.

## What it does

- **Quick relief**: Breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, immediate grounding techniques
- **Stress logging**: Automatic tracking of stress events with context and intensity
- **Pattern recognition**: Identify triggers, peak stress times, and recurring stressors
- **Recovery tools**: Guided decompression, breaks, and boundary-setting prompts
- **Trend analysis**: Weekly summaries of stress levels and improvement areas

## Usage

### Quick Relief
Trigger immediate stress-busting techniques when you need it fast.
- 60-second breathing exercise (4-7-8 technique)
- 2-minute progressive muscle relaxation
- 5-minute grounding (5 senses method)

### Log Stress
Record stress events as they happen or reflect at the end of your day.
- Intensity level (1-10)
- What triggered it
- Physical symptoms
- Context (work, personal, health, etc)

### Identify Triggers
Find patterns in what's causing stress without judgment.
- Most common triggers this week
- Time-of-day patterns
- Situations that escalate stress most
- Recurring vs. one-time stressors

### Decompress
Guided recovery after high-stress periods.
- Progressive wind-down sequences
- Boundary-setting reminders
- Post-stress reflection prompts
- Recovery mode activation

### Review Patterns
Weekly insights on your stress landscape.
- Stress trend (up/down/stable)
- Top 3 triggers this week
- Improvement areas to focus on
- Recovery success rate

## Techniques

**Breathing** - 4-7-8 technique: Inhale for 4 counts, hold for 7, exhale for 8. Signals your nervous system to calm down.

**Progressive Muscle Relaxation** - Tense and release muscle groups from toes to head. Takes 2 minutes, breaks the stress cycle physically.

**Quick Walks** - 5 minutes outside or around your space. Movement + fresh air reset cortisol levels fast.

**Brain Dump** - Write everything on your mind without filtering. Gets it out of your head and onto a page where you can process it.

**Boundaries** - Say no to non-essential tasks during high-stress periods. Protect your capacity before it's gone.

## Tips

- **Start small** - One technique is better than none. Master breathing first, add others later.
- **Log consistently** - Even 30 seconds of note-taking reveals patterns you can't see in real time.
- **Use triggers as alerts** - If you notice escalating stress, shift to quick relief before it compounds.
- **Recovery is active** - Don't wait to feel better; use decompression tools to actively lower stress.
- **All data stays local on your machine** - No cloud syncing, no external servers. Your stress patterns are yours alone.

## If You're in Crisis

This skill is not a substitute for professional help.

- **988** (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
- **Text HOME to 741741** (Crisis Text Line)

If you're in immediate danger, call emergency services (911 in the US).