Once a body has had a chance to recognize what type of danger or stress its under it settles down into the resistance stage. It might seem that the body has returned to normal except that it is still performing at a higher level struggling to fight the effects of the stressors.
The resistance stage can last for a very, very brief period of time or for extended periods of time depending on the type of stressor whether it overwhelms the body's resistance or whether it takes a longer time but eventually if the stressor is not removed you eventually come to the exhaustion stage. During the exhaustion stage the body's resistance to stress becomes less and less. Just like you can become physically exhausted after a long period of exercising you can also become mentally exhausted after trying to deal with stress for a long period of time. Although stress does not cause illness the body being in a weakened state can lead to reduced resistance to diseases. Again if there is no release from stress the exhaustion can lead to burnout or sometimes refered to as a nervous breakdown.
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