Meghan Markle steps out solo in California wearing anti-stress patch

Meghan Markle bundled up in a coat and shawl as she stepped out in California without makeup on. She also appeared to be sporting an anti-stress patch on her wrist.

Photos from the Daily Mail showed the Duchess of Sussex in a camel coat and cashmere shawl as she stepped out in Montecito on Thursday with her bodyguard and sans Prince Harry, who was overseas on a work trip. At one point, she lifted her arm to her hair and showed a dark blue NuCalm biosignal processing disc on her wrist.

According to the product's description on its website, the calming device "activates the parasympathetic nervous system by tapping into the body's Pericardium Meridian with particular electromagnetic frequencies of inhibitory neurotransmitters to interrupt the HPA axis and downregulate sympathetic tone." It helps users have a "rapid return to a functional state (motor skills, attention, and full cognition) with no lingering effects or mental lethargy."

This FDA Class III medical device helps "reduce stress, promote recovery and generate calm." The NuCalm biosignal processing discs "provide the neurochemistry to accelerate the onset of the relaxation response, increase the depth of the experience, and prolong the physiological impact of Rescue, PowerNap, and FlowState." A pack of 20 discs costs $123 while a set of 100 discs sells for $615.

It is unknown if Meghan Markle feels she is going through a particularly high-stress time although she does have two kids to look after while her husband is away. The couple shares Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.

Prince Harry flew to Tokyo on Tuesday, where on Wednesday he gave a speech at the Sports Values Summit-Special Edition organised by the International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS). He joined his friend, polo player Nacho Figueras at the event, where they talked about their Sentebale charity.

Then they headed to Singapore on Thursday where on Saturday, they played at the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup to raise funds for Sentebale. The Duke of Sussex was all smiles as he took part in the charity polo event with Figueras and they both received a shared trophy.

The former "Suits' star is set to join her husband in Düsseldorf, Germany for the 2023 Invictus Games which will take place from Sept. 9-16. The Duke of Sussex has spoken in a video message to the athletes about how he is excited and nervous at the same time for the upcoming event.

As for Meghan Markle, it is unclear what she is up to now following news that she and Spotify parted ways just after one podcast. She was only able to produce and host her 12-episode "Archetypes" podcast in August last year and there are rumours that she plans to bring it to another audio streaming platform, possibly Amazon Audible.

She has also signed with talent agency WME earlier this year. The company hinted at the future of her podcast in a statement that says "the team behind 'Archetypes' remain proud of the podcast they created at Spotify" and that the duchess is continuing to develop more content" to bring audience "on another platform."

Aside from Spotify, the Sussexes also signed a deal with Netflix in 2020 to produce original content. They have so far produced the "Live to Lead" and "Harry & Meghan" docuseries in December last year. They have yet to release "Heart of Invictus" this summer.

Recent news revealed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have also acquired the film rights to the romance novel "Meet Me At The Lake" by Carley Fortune. The couple has yet to confirm the partnership but the author and her publisher, Penguin Random House, have already shared their excitement over the project.