Stress is no longer a passing symptom but the pulse that sets the rhythm of modern life. According to Spain’s General Council of Psychology, nine out of ten Spaniards (96%) have felt stressed in the past year. The figure reveals a problem that goes far beyond the mind: a way of living built on haste.
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers stress one of the main public health issues of the 21st century. Prolonged stress doesn’t just affect mood – it impacts the immune system, accelerates inflammatory processes and is linked to numerous cardiovascular and digestive diseases. We live, in the words of pharmacist and nutritionist Marta Hernández, “with our nervous system in a state of constant alert, reacting to an email from the boss as if it were a real threat.”
The body, however, was never designed for such sustained tension. Cortisol – the stress hormone – should switch on and off in short cycles. Today, most people maintain high levels for days or even weeks. The result is a tiredness that no amount of sleep can fix, and a mind that no longer knows how to disconnect.
It’s not about demonising stress – it’s our evolutionary ally: the hormone that triggers the fight-or-flight response, the mechanism that has kept us alive since the threat was a predator. But in this era, where the lion has been replaced by the inbox and multitasking, that same alert system has turned into chronic self-sabotage.
A culture of exhaustion
Stress has become a hallmark of our time. It’s not just a physiological reaction; it’s a cultural system. Productivity has turned into a moral value, and rest into a source of guilt. “We live in a model that glorifies acceleration and despises pause,” says organisational psychologist Joan Laporta.
The data back it up. According to Spain’s National Statistics Institute, work-related stress causes more than 80 million hours of lost labour each year. But the real cost can’t be measured in numbers – it’s felt in wellbeing: strained relationships, chronic fatigue, insomnia and a growing sense of emotional disconnection.
For the WHO, this is a silent threat. It’s no coincidence that cases of anxiety, depression and sleep disorders have soared across Europe in the last decade. What used to be a temporary episode has become a collective condition.
When science looks at the nervous system
In response, research has begun to shift its focus. It’s no longer just about treating symptoms, but about understanding how the physiological stress response works – and how it can be regulated sustainably. The most innovative lines of research explore the gut–brain connection, the role of the microbiome in emotional regulation, and the effects of so-called adaptogens – natural substances that help the body adapt to stress and restore balance.
These advances have given rise to a new generation of projects that combine science, nutrition and nature. Among them, Spanish brand Superlativa, founded in 2021, has centred its work on the natural management of stress, creating botanical formulas backed by scientific evidence. Its Superlativa Forte line, designed for acute stress peaks, includes ingredients such as Magtein®, Ashwagandha Shoden® and Rhodiolife®, to provide calm without causing drowsiness.
Recently recognised at the Pharmacy Awards 2025, the brand is part of a broader movement: the search for natural, effective and safe solutions that help balance the mind without slowing life down.
Calm as a new paradigm
Stress has become the backdrop of contemporary life – a constant pulse that runs through our routines and shapes our emotions. It’s not merely an individual issue but a structural one: a society that rewards productivity, immediacy and constant connection. Within this new paradigm, the real challenge isn’t to escape the pace but to learn how to move within it without losing ourselves.
Recovering the pause — that quiet form of resistance — means redrawing our priorities, making peace with slowness, and realising that balance doesn’t come from total disconnection, but from a new way of living with tension.
Available at superlativabotanicals.com and selected pharmacies.
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