What occurs during Exhaustion in GAS?

• A. Energy is depleted, cannot adapt, and dies
• B. Hormone levels remain elevated
• C. Immune function improves
• D. The body returns to normal

Answer: (A)

During Exhaustion, the body's resources have been depleted by prolonged stress, and its ability to continue adapting is lost. The energy stores, hormonal regulation, and immune defenses that were mobilized in earlier stages become exhausted, making the organism highly vulnerable to illness and organ failure. If the stress persists, the body's compensatory mechanisms shut down, leading toward collapse and, in severe cases, death. That’s why the description of energy being depleted, the capacity to adapt being lost, and death resulting best captures what happens in this stage.

In contrast, staying in a state of prolonged high hormones isn’t sustainable and isn’t the defining feature of exhaustion; immune function generally becomes suppressed rather than improved; and the body does not spontaneously return to normal during exhaustion without recovery.