Wait! Before you read any further, take a second to unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders and take a long, deep breath…

In January, Stylist asked hundreds of women across the UK how they were feeling, and the results were stark: 70% say stress keeps them up at night and 55% say their stress levels have risen over the past year. With many of us juggling work alongside family responsibilities, social commitments and tsunami of life admin, it’s no wonder we’re overwhelmed.

This month’s issue of Stylist unpicks exactly how we got here – and why, as much as people mean well when they tell us that taking a ‘nice, hot bath’ will soothe our problems, the answer is far more large-scale. From correcting our lean towards ‘toxic resilience’ to rethinking hustle culture, tackling the gender stress gap (YouGov data shows that women in the UK have been reporting higher levels of stress than men year-on-year since 2019) is about pushing workplaces, brands and the government to put women’s stress front and centre – something Stylist is determined to campaign for in 2024.

In the meantime, we want to shine a light on what we really do to feel less stressed – because it can’t all be about replicating stock photos of women meditating with cucumbers over their eyes. We asked 22 people – including scientists, a cybersecurity officer, an astrologer and a stand-up comedian – to tell us what helps them switch off from their daily stressors. Here are their tried-and-tested hacks (that have absolutely nothing to do with bubble baths)…

How to feel less stressed: 22 people – from a surgeon to a stand-up comedian – share their unexpected stress hacks