Study reveals emotional toll women quietly carry

Almost three-quarters of women take on the stress of their friends and family, according to new research.

From worrying about them to feeling empathy for their struggles and working to provide a solution, a survey of 2,000 women split evenly by generation revealed that 73% shoulder their loved ones anxieties.

In fact, 72% of those women admit that they feel societal and internal pressure to take on this emotional labor.

Only 18% of women are “very open” with friends and family about their own stress levels and another 52% admit they often fake being “fine” when they aren’t.

On top of assuming the stress of others and internalizing their anxieties, the average woman feels stressed five hours per day, or about 21% of her day. The younger generations are feeling even more stressed than the older ones as both Gen Z and millennials average six hours per day.

While 10% of women say that stress starts along with their morning routine, 15% admit they feel it the moment they open their eyes in the morning. For Gen X specifically, that moment lingers and officially strikes around midday (16%).

Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Florastor, results also revealed that generationally, Gen Z is most likely to be stressed by work (37%) and, or relationships with men (19%), whereas 21% millennials are overwhelmed when they need to talk on the phone. Gen X is most stressed when it comes to their physical health (31%) and 30% baby boomers admit it's the news that gets them troubled.

High stress levels impact other aspects of women’s health, including their quality of sleep (44%), their ability to focus (34%) and have a negative effect on their mental health (34%).

Others experience digestive upset (21%) or bloating and constipation (15%). Of those, 43% envision their gut would send them a “Girl, you need to chill” DM during a stress meltdown.

Gut health and stress are like gasoline and fire, as 46% of women say it’s a two-way street and experiencing digestive issues affects their stress levels.

Results also found that it isn’t just their health that takes a hit. Stress levels impact women’s ability to plan ahead for the future, as they’re too focused on just getting through the day (28%).

On top of that, women find that they spend less time with family and friends (26%), aren’t able to pursue their hobbies (26%) or feel less connected to their partner (21%).

Carving out “me time” (36%), taking a walk (35%) or shower (30%), along with trying to get eight hours of sleep (30%) and playing with their pet(s) (27%) are some of the top ways women combat their stress.

And they may be onto something: The average woman believes these approaches decrease their stress levels by nearly two-thirds (63%).

 "Your body is like a vibrant, bustling city — every system, every function working together in perfect harmony," said Bindu Shah, Chief Marketing Officer Biocodex USA. "But when stress and life's challenges hit, it’s like a power outage or gridlock in your inner city. Everything slows down, and balance is disrupted. That's why maintaining your physical and mental health is essential — it helps keep your inner city resilient, thriving, and ready for whatever comes its way."

The survey also found that 63% of women even believe that their stress levels are equal to or higher than those of the men in their lives.

Even beyond those they know, women also compared their stress levels to celebrities that have had a tough go within the past year.

The top five celebrities women believe have had the hardest time are also women, with results showing that they think Britney Spears has had the most stressful past year or so (21%), double the amount who selected Ben Affleck (10%) or Justin Baldoni (8%).

When thinking about what these celebrities have experienced, three in 10 women surveyed      believe their stress levels this year are even higher than Spears.

To give others a glimpse into what their stress feels like, respondents identified some of the songs that best describe their stress levels: “Toxic” by Britney Spears (12%), “Numb” by Linkin Park (20%), “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie (18%) as well as “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift (17%).

At the end of the day, 60% of those polled believe that it’s more stressful to be a woman in 2025 than ever before.

“Results found that stress for women is so intense that 26% of women surveyed would delete social media or sleep on the floor (14%) just to decrease their levels by half,” said Shah. "It speaks volumes about how urgently women are seeking relief. Too often, stress builds up beneath the surface — disrupting everything from sleep to digestion. Finding healthy ways and a wellness-centered daily routine to manage stress isn't just helpful — it’s essential to keeping all facets of the body running smoothly.”

WHAT SONGS BEST DESCRIBE AMERICANS’ STRESS LEVELS?

• “Numb” by Linkin Park - 20%
• “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie - 18%
• “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots - 18%
• “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift - 17%
• “I’m So Tired” by The Beatles - 14%
• “Toxic” by Britney Spears - 12%
• “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer - 12%
• “Breathin” by Ariana Grande - 10%
• “Running Up That Hill”  by Kate Bush - 9%

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 women split evenly by generation (500 Gen Z, 500 millennials, 500 Gen X and 500 baby boomers); the survey was commissioned by Florastor® and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between April 14 and April 21, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.