Is Maithree meditation a recommended practice? I use Maithree meditation for many moments of stress instead of Anapanasati. Is it a recommended practice? I find out this works for me and helps me move away from the stress at hand and find present moment peace in my mind. All ideas are welcome!
Metta meditation will help you to reduce stress caused by hatred. But it won't be much effective against stress caused by craving or clinging. Anapanasati meditation can be used to get away from all kinds of stress and calm the mind. But it may require Metta meditation at the start as it is hard to concentrate, if you get irritated a lot. Ultimately, it is Vipassana meditation that will give a lasting solution for stress. There is no end to other meditation types. You will have to keep practicing them to maintain whatever peaceful state you may attain.

You can use all these meditations in combination.
ex: 


Start with Metta and then do Anapanasati.
Start with Metta and then do Vipassana.
Start with Metta and then Anapanasati to attain Samadhi and then turn it to Vipassana.
Or just do one of those meditations from the start.


If you don't have a teacher, you can experiment and see what works best for you.