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Adaptive Exhaustion

Meaning

Adaptive Exhaustion is a theoretical stage following the Alarm and Resistance phases of the General Adaptation Syndrome, signifying the body’s ultimate failure to maintain adaptation to chronic, unremitting stress. This state is characterized by systemic dysfunction, reflecting the cumulative allostatic load on the endocrine and immune systems rather than simply a return to baseline. Clinically, it manifests as persistent, debilitating fatigue, profound hormonal dysregulation, and a severely diminished capacity to cope with any further stressors.