Final answer:
Prolonged exposure to stress leads to the stage of exhaustion, where the body's adaptive capacity is overwhelmed, causing health issues such as illnesses and diseases due to the impairment of immune functions.
Step-by-step explanation:
If exposure to the stressor is prolonged, your body loses its ability to adapt, resulting in the stage of exhaustion. This stage marks a period when the body's capacity to resist is depleted due to continued physical wear. Sustained stress can lead to a range of adverse health outcomes, including illness, disease, and potentially fatal conditions.
When stress persists, the body's initial adaptive mechanisms, engaged in the stage of resistance, become overtaxed. For example, the continuous production of stress hormones like cortisol can impair immune system function, raising susceptibility to infections and chronic diseases. This phenomenon is examined in the discipline of psychoneuroimmunology, which explores the link between stress and immune responses.
Thus, while the stress response is essential for immediate survival, its long-term activation is detrimental and maladaptive, culminating in physical and mental health decline.