Everyday Stress Toolkit

The Problem

When someone says “I'm stressed and need to calm down” or asks for a 3-minute breathing exercise, a broad assistant response can easily drift into diagnosis, crisis monitoring, or long psychological advice. stress-toolkit keeps the scope narrow: everyday, non-clinical stress support with short exercises, grounding, and a small next-step plan.

How It Works

The skill follows a simple workflow: acknowledge the feeling briefly, ask whether the user wants a quick exercise, a short plan, or grounding, and then offer one exercise at a time with clear steps and a stop point. After the exercise, ask what changed: calmer, same, worse, or not sure. If the user mentions immediate self-harm, harm to others, or danger, stop coaching and provide emergency-oriented support. Core capabilities include:
- Box breathing: inhale, hold, exhale, and hold for 4 counts, repeated 3-5 rounds if comfortable.
- 5-4-3-2-1 grounding: notice things you can see, feel, hear, smell, and taste, or take one slow breath.
- Tiny next-step plan: name the stressor, choose one controllable action under 10 minutes, one support option, and one recovery action.

Boundaries

It is not therapy, medical care, diagnosis, crisis detection, or emergency response. It does not store mental health data or run automated risk scoring. It should not diagnose anxiety, depression, PTSD, or panic disorder, promise safety monitoring, or ask for sensitive trauma details. If immediate danger or self-harm intent is described, keep the response short, encourage contacting local emergency services or a trusted person, and do not continue relaxation coaching.