High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy

Are you going through a period in your life when things feel “off”? Do you struggle to find joy in happy moments? Are you walking around feeling numb? Do you feel restless when you aren’t busy or empty when you are sitting still? We all know what can’t-get-out-of-bed depression looks like. But there’s another, lesser-known side of depression that is hidden.

Those of us with High-Functioning Depression (HFD) usually don’t act the way we think a depressed person might. On the surface, we seem fine: We are succeeding at work, pulling our weight at home, and carrying on with our typical social life. Yet behind that mask of productivity we are barely surviving, and certainly not thriving. And we may have no idea why, or what to do about it.

In High Functioning, Dr. Judith Joseph draws on original research, client cases, and her own personal struggles with HFD to demystify this poorly understood condition. Her five simple tools—the Five V’s—will help you understand the science of your happiness and empower you to reclaim your life and joy.

•Validation: Acknowledge and accept your emotions about past traumas and present pain

•Venting: Let out the frustrations and anxious energy bottled up inside

•Values: Identify the purpose and priorities that matter most

•Vitals: Slow down to listen to your brain and body and monitor the six vital signs of emotional functioning

•Vision: Plan for and celebrate successes, milestones, and everyday joy

By following the Five V’s, we can put an end to self-sacrificing and self-sabotaging, calm our inner turmoil, and go from merely functioning to truly living.

Judith Joseph MD, MBA, is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist and researcher who specializes in mental health and trauma. She is the founder of and chief investigator at Manhattan Behavioral Medicine, New York City’s premier clinical research site, a clinical assistant professor in child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan, and chairwoman of the Women in Medicine Board at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.

As one of social media’s favorite psychiatrists, Dr. Judith gets over 15 million views a month. Her Instagram, full of funny, role-playing videos and revealing insights, got more than 10 million impressions and her TikToks were viewed more than 5 million times just last month alone. She has also been named to the TIME magazine’s TIME100 list of the world’s most influential digital voices. She holds an undergraduate degree from Duke as well as a medical doctorate and master’s in business administration from Columbia.