Outcomes are not the only thing

This is really complicated and hard to express.

It's not just prognosis of social disability, i.e. it's not just the
worse outcomes in life, that make up the entire definition of mental
illness.

The continua model of mental illness which came into being through the
20th century, partly through the work of the National Associaton for
Mental Hygiene (one of the major organisations that formed together to
become the National Association for Mental Health), draws 2 axes. One if
for mental disorder, i.e. how mentally ill an indiviudal is (whatever
that definition is to different people), and the other is for emotional
state or, perhaps, well being and distress.

I never understood the other scale. "disorder" - separated from well
being or distress. Is it social deviance? Or difference from the norm?
Or social ugliness? Undesireability to society? Malfunction?

I still can't get my head round this.