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I ran a bunch of errands today that involved dealing with people who don't know what they are talking about, and when I got home there were six letters from the US government sitting in my mailbox, some contradicting information sent just four days earlier...

I felt overwhelmed, and a little stressed out.

I wanted to say to my wife that I needed some time to ______________ before starting on the rest of my daily chores...

Is there a multi-word verb that would indicate de-stress out?

I suppose that a single word might be 'decompress'...

My research was not fruitful...

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    'Calm down' is often used in the UK, but I'd say is a ELL-level answer.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jul 1, 2021 at 18:10
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    take a breather or unwind.
    – fev
    Commented Jul 1, 2021 at 18:11
  • If you can accept a single word, then I'd suggest "relax."
    – GArthurBrown
    Commented Jul 1, 2021 at 18:32
  • @EdwinAshworth I can confirm "calm down" is also a common phrase in the US.
    – GArthurBrown
    Commented Jul 1, 2021 at 18:33
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    "Calm down" is common in the US but not super idiomatic in this scenario. "Unwind" is probably the #1 candidate, but if you really need more than 1 word, "chill out," as suggested below, is your man.
    – cruthers
    Commented Jul 1, 2021 at 19:33

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You could say 'I needed time to chill out'. According to Collins English Dictionary:

To chill out means to relax after you have done something tiring or stressful.

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    I should have thought of that...it seems that recently kids say "Take a chill pill'
    – Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_
    Commented Jul 1, 2021 at 19:21
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I suggest wind down

If you wind down, you relax after doing something that has made you feel tired or tense. (Collins)

WordHippo will give you some synonyms for the meaning

to relax after a period of work or tension

(including the verb contained in your OP, de-stress):

loosen up, ease off, cool off

I would personnally go for the one word verb, unwind in this situtation.

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