And yet many would benefit from a shrink. Hell, if we wanna be proactive about growing as an individual even when 'healthy' a shrink is a good idea coz they make for excellent sound boards. The cataloging of illness in psychology is rather fuzzy due to the grayscale they have to work with. Some clear disease often involve a biological component where the brain is wired differently or damaged, which causes a pattern of behaviors that is recognizable in most of the people with that kind of different brain, for instance. But then there is so much we dont know yet about the brain, it isnt like we have the inclusive manual on it.
So some pathologies are recognised by the behavioral pattern displayed by the patient. And thats where normal and abnormal become fuzzy - we just dont know yet.
And for the most part, the labels dont matter - what does is the patients ability to funtion in society and his ability to be happy. Life is tough and leaves scars on everyone. Some selfmedicate with alcohol, others with pills (clear coping mechanisms), others using projection to protect their ego under attack, or self mutulation, either physically or mentally/emotionally in an attempt to fit in and control the pain. These are just examples (eating disorders, OCD,control issues, adrenaline junkies, smoking, ... are some others) of how people try to cope with the pain in life. While some of them certainly have merit in moderation, others are perhaps good enough to get by but at a high cost . R
And those that are useful become often hazardous if overused which usually happens when people try to escape or avoid life in general as they associate it with pain. Instead of having a drink to relax, they stay drunk all the time, for instance.
This is where a shrink can help you uproot the cause of the behavior, make you aware of the stressors or trauma that causes it and guide you to address it and channel that pain in a more beneficial and efficient way. It tends to be a lot of work but the mental peace of mind and extra energy you free up with that efficiency is often worth it ( think 50s heating system compared to state of the art geothermal heating).