Definition

Progressive reduction of internal resources: emotional, cognitive, and structural.

Not immediate loss—
gradual exhaustion.

Core Function

• weakens resistance over time

• reduces capacity for:

  • boundary enforcement

  • critical evaluation

• increases reliance on external regulation

Structural Behavior

• cumulative, not discrete

• often misinterpreted as:

  • devotion

  • effort

  • commitment

System Role

• begins in Loop I – Devotion

• escalates in Loop II – Aggression

• reduces resistance across loop transitions

Associated Themes

• exhaustion

• surrender through fatigue

• diminished agency

• slow collapse

Key Insight

Depletion does not force surrender.

It removes the ability to resist it.