However, when one's behaviour interrupts their ability to do so, they can be categorized as abnormal. For example, people who are unable to leave their homes due to obsessions are branded as abnormal.
The trouble with this definition is that some dysfunctional behaviour might be adaptive and functional for the individual, therefore making it difficult to class that person as abnormal.
An overall criticism that breech's the reliability of the definitions is that of cultural relativism.
This is the view that one cannot judge behaviour justly unless it is viewed in the context of culture in which it originates.
This is distinct in statistical infrequency as depression and anxiety disorders may be more frequent in some cultures, yet not present in others. This may be due to a reflection of cultural differences in seeking help for disorders rather than variations in their occurrences.
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