What Do We Mean by Abnormality? It may come as a surprise to you that there is still no universal agreement about what is meant by abnormality or disorder. This is not to say we do not have definitions; we do. However, a truly satisfactory definition will probably always remain elusive even though there is a great deal of general agreement about which conditions are disorders and which are not. Why does the definition of a mental disorder present so many challenges? A major problem is that there is no one behavior that makes someone abnormal. However, there are some clear elements or indicators of abnormality. No single indicator is sufficient in and of itself to define or determine abnormality. Nonetheless, the more that someone has difficulties in the following areas, the more likely he or she is to have some form of mental disorder.