What exactly is a psychological disorder? How is a psychological disorder diagnosed? Defining exactly what constitutes a mental disorder can be tricky and, definitions have changed over time. The
first problem is that psychologists must first decide exactly how to
define disorder. How do you determine if there is something
psychologically wrong or unhealthy about a person? How do you decide
what's normal and what's abnormal? If you were to define disorder
as something that lies outside of the statistical norm, then people who
are considered exceptionally talented or gifted in a particular area
would be regarded as abnormal. So rather than focus on actions that are
considered outside of the normal statistically speaking, psychologists
tend to concentrate on the results of those behaviors. Behaviors that
are considered maladaptive and cause significant personal distress and
interrupt daily functioning are more likely to be labeled as abnormal.
Today
many psychologists agree that psychological disorders are characterized
by both personal distress and impairment in multiple areas of life.