According to the study “Radiografía del bienestar emocional y el deporte en España,” promoted by Nara Seguros, almost six out of ten Spaniards (58.7%) have experienced anxiety or stress in the last year. Alarming figures that confirm that this has become one of the greatest problems of the modern world, profoundly affecting daily life, work and relationships of millions of people due to the high demands of the current environment and the lack of emotional resources.
And indeed, stress has already become that common denominator that conditions our day-to-day life and does not always disappear during vacations. When summer arrives after months of work pressure, family responsibilities and a sustained pace with hardly any breaks, the mind may take several days to slow down. Even if the setting changes, pending tasks, hyperconnectivity and mental load do not automatically disappear. And this is where the importance of disconnection comes into play.
This is confirmed by Juan Antonio García, CEO of ZEM Wellness Clinic Altea, a reference in high-end wellness tourism, who proposes a different perspective on stress management. «Not all stress is bad», the expert asserts. “It is a necessary biological response that helps us react, concentrate, make decisions and adapt to demanding situations. In specific moments and at an appropriate intensity, it can improve our performance and help us overcome challenges«.
Juan Antonio compares it to physical exercise, where we subject the body to a stimulus in order to later allow it to recover and strengthen. «Determined levels of stress can be beneficial as long as there is an adequate recovery process», he notes.
The ZEM pool.
Yes to Stress Peaks, No to Living Stressed
However, despite pointing out its positive side, he warns of the negative health consequences. «The truly harmful thing is not facing moments of stress, but staying constantly in it without time or tools to recover. The body can coexist with the demand, what it cannot do indefinitely is live without recovery», he details.
We live in a hyperconnected society, with a huge overload of stimuli and the permanent sense of having something pending, so many people have learned to stay active, but not to return to calm.
The ZEM spa.
And for that, the essence is to understand that managing stress does not mean eliminating it completely, which would be unrealistic, but developing the ability to adapt to it and recover our calm state. «Our organism is not designed to remain permanently in alert mode», confirms García.
«We need to alternate moments of activation with others of rest and recovery. When we lose that ability to switch, sleeps, mood, concentration, hormonal regulation, metabolism and, in general, our ability to care for ourselves and make good decisions suffer,» he details about the most common consequences.
Learning to Disconnect
«At ZEM we talk a lot about training recovery, because disconnecting does not simply mean stopping work or lying on a sofa.» You must generate the necessary conditions for the body and mind to reduce their activation level and regain energy. «Sleeping well, moving, breathing consciously, staying in touch with nature, eating properly or setting limits to digital hyperconnection are not small luxuries. They are essential health tools,» adds García.
ZEM is a space where preventive medicine and longevity coexist with well-being, nutrition, movement, recovery and the Mediterranean environment to offer a comprehensive, person-centered experience. A wellness complex where learning to integrate that disconnection with healthy habits.
And the challenge is not to build a life without demands, but to ensure that those demands do not become a permanent wear. «A healthy person is not necessarily the one who endures the most stress, but the one who knows when to stop and has the resources necessary to recover», concludes Juan Antonio.
