The main mechanic that will act as Stress is going to be "Study" (or Scholarship, something like that). This is a game about trying to make it through Psychic school alive. This game will be a lot more forgiving than Dead Belt, first you cannot die in it (though you can "wash out" of school), second running out of gas (or study in this case) results in a failed semester, but doesn't fail you altogether. You start at an "A" and if you get to "D" average overall, then you wash out (untested...just the first idea). Your GPA will be one of the trackers on your character sheet.
Unrelated side note: Stardew or Sun Haven as a BotB style game might be awesome. I wonder if you could keep some cards in the same area (like your home plot) but let others change each game. Not going to work on that, but just thinking on that idea. I like the idea of some cards being persistent in the world.