stress-management
Stress Management
Generic advice ("try meditation, exercise more") fails because it is not matched to the person's actual triggers and is never rehearsed before the moment it is needed. This skill produces a one-page personal toolkit built from a week of real trigger data, so the user has three practiced interventions ready when stress spikes instead of a vague intention to relax.
Operating procedure
Steps run in order because the toolkit must be built on observed triggers, not guessed ones - interventions chosen before the trigger log exists are the ones that get abandoned.
Step 1: Gather inputs
Collect: main life domains in play (work, relationships, finances, health, uncertainty), current stress level (1-10) and how long it has been elevated, what has already been tried and what happened, sleep hours per night, caffeine intake and timing, and any existing diagnosis or therapy (if present, position this toolkit as a complement, never a replacement). If the user can only guess at their triggers, label those guesses as guesses and confirm them against the Step 2 log.
Screen for red flags before proceeding - see Escalation.
Step 2: Run a one-week trigger log
Track every noticeable stress spike for 7 days. For each: situation and time of day, physical signs (tight chest, shallow breath, clenched jaw), and the exact thought running at the moment. After the week, group entries - patterns reveal whether the load is workload, relationships, finances, uncertainty, or self-talk. Three or more spikes from one source marks it a primary trigger. If the user cannot wait a week, build a provisional toolkit from their best guesses, labeled provisional, and revise after the log.