Wakefield asked “what do we mean when we say that a problematic mental condition […] is indicative of psychiatric disorder?” Can an explanatory framework be produced that distinguishes between a mental disorder and other problematic mental conditions? Ereshefky’s response to the issue of distinguishing a dysfunction from a function is simply not to use a function-dysfunction demarcation; instead, ‘dysfunctional’ components be replaced by ‘state descriptions’. Although Wakefield’s account that mental disorders are harmful has a genuine foundational basis, there are issues with his approach, and we show that the hybrid approach of Ereshefsky improves upon that of Wakefield.