Latest news with #HighFunctioning:OvercomeYourHiddenDepressionandReclaimYourJoy
IOL News
23-07-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Lost your spark? Here's how to find joy in the chaos of modern life
Make space to imagine what brings you joy in the future, not just replaying regrets from the past. 'We are built with that DNA for joy. It's our birthright as human beings,' Joseph recently told CNN. Joy isn't just a luxury. According to Dr Judith Joseph, a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher, it's actually a part of who we are. Yet for many of us, that natural spark feels buried under work deadlines, family obligations and what Joseph calls high-functioning depression, the silent kind of struggle where, from the outside, everything seems fine. Inside, though, something feels empty. Joseph's book, 'High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy', explores why some people appear successful and put-together, yet quietly feel numb. It's a growing topic in mental health circles: research published in "Frontiers in Psychology" (2022) shows that anhedonia, the inability to feel joy, is common, even among high achievers. So, why should we make space for joy? And how can we do it in the middle of messy, modern family life? Here's what Joseph and other experts say and why it matters now more than ever. Joy vs. happiness: know the difference. Many of us chase happiness, the boost we get from buying something new, getting likes on a photo, or ticking off career goals. But joy, Joseph explains, is different. 'Happiness is external and a short-term fix … Joy is internal. You don't have to teach a child joy,' she says. It's a natural state that can still exist alongside hard days, grief or stress. That idea alone can be comforting: we don't have to wait for everything to be perfect to feel moments of joy. What stops us from feeling joy? It turns out that 'functioning' too well can actually be part of the problem. Joseph points to anhedonia (loss of pleasure) and alexithymia (difficulty identifying and expressing emotions). These aren't always obvious, especially if you're still hitting deadlines, making school runs and hosting family dinners. 'Many of us are pathologically productive,' Joseph admits. And modern family life often rewards that: we praise the parent who never rests or the adult child who always 'has it together'.
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Having trouble experiencing joy? This may be why
Dr. Judith Joseph says joy isn't just a nice-to-have — it's a part of who we are. 'We are built with that DNA for joy. It's our birthright as human beings,' she told me recently. Joseph is a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher who has made it her mission to study joy — and what prevents people from feeling it. Her work, including her new book, 'High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy,' has drawn widespread attention, in part due to her pioneering research into the condition of high-functioning depression, which is finally being taken seriously. 'I wanted people to learn that, listen, depression looks different,' Joseph said. 'There are some people who struggle with anhedonia, (which means) a lack of joy,' Joseph told me. 'They don't seem depressed (but) you don't have to have sadness to meet criteria for depression.' Joseph includes herself among those individuals who have had high-functioning depression, and she noted that 'many of us are pathologically productive.' One of the biggest challenges in self-identifying high-functioning depression, she said, is that some people experience psychological barriers such as anhedonia and alexithymia, which is a difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions. Both can kill joy and are often overlooked in conversations about mental health because you can still function at work and at home, at least according to everyone else. Joseph unlocked more joy in her life through strong connections with family and community. Her joy, she said, also comes from helping others access their own. But that took time to discover. She not only did clinical studies on high-functioning depression but she herself experienced it, even as she racked up accolades professionally. 'That was me in 2020,' Joseph said. 'I wore this mask. On the outside it looked like everything was great — I was running my lab, I had a small child, a perfect family, I was on TV. But I was struggling with anhedonia,' or the inability to feel pleasure. So how do you combat it? Practicing the five V's Validation: Name how you feel. Acknowledge it. Accept it. 'If we don't know how we feel, if we can't name it, we're confused, it's uncertain. We feel anxious, so naming how you feel and accepting it is so important,' Joseph explained. Venting: Find someone you trust to express what you are going through, with a caveat. If you are not talking to a mental health professional, Joseph said to beware of 'trauma dumping' on friends and family. 'You want to check in. You want to ask for emotional consent and say, 'Is this a good time?'' Values: What gives you meaning and purpose in life? 'Think about things that are priceless. … I used to chase the accolades, the achievements, those are things that, you know, at the end of the day I'm not gonna talk about on my deathbed,' she said. Vitals: These are the things that keep you alive and well: healthy food, consistent exercise and good sleep. They're easy to say but hard for many of us to do. Vision: This is difficult to have when you are blinded by your own discomfort. But the joy doctor recommends you plan for more joy and stop revisiting the past. Do not try to do all of these at once or in rapid succession, Joseph warned me. 'Don't be high functioning,' she said, when it comes to this process. It's not another problem at work. It's your life. And remember: Happiness is external and a short-term fix like the rush you get when you buy something new or win an award. Joy is internal. 'It's harnessed within,' Joseph said. 'You don't have to teach a child joy. We are built with it.' Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
5 Ways 'Hidden Depression' Is Sabotaging You From Living Your Best Life
Depression does not only feel like a heavy sadness. In many cases, high-functioning people with depression appear just like everyone else. They are still productive workers, helpful friends, caring parents, but inside of them is a brewing maelstrom of discontent. Judith Joseph, a New York University psychiatrist and author of the upcoming book 'High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy,' said there are many high-functioning patients she treats, particularly women and minorities, who 'can't afford to slow down' even when they are depressed. Before these symptoms develop into a major depressive disorder, people might be exhibiting concerning 'hidden signs' of depression that could get overlooked, Joseph said. 'In health care, in order to code for something, and in order to treat someone or even to prescribe therapy or medication, you have to lose functioning. You have to check that box or else you don't meet diagnostic criteria,' she said. 'So there are all these people out there who have these symptoms who are pushing through pain.' The first step to changing how you feel is to name what you are going through. 'If you want to continue doing the things that you love and being with the people that you love, it's important to recognize when you're struggling silently,' Joseph said. Here are some of the biggest, less-visible signs of depression that you need to be paying attention to: For people with high-functioning depression, a job is not just a calling, it is their only purpose that is keeping them going. Tanisha Ranger, a Nevada-based clinical psychologist, said she has experienced this type of functioning depression firsthand. During this time of her life, 'I would get up and I would go to work, and I would be really good at my job, and I would get home and I would get immediately in bed,' she recalled. 'There was nothing that I was doing outside of going to work. The only people that I was interacting with were co-workers and clients.' 'Usually you're... over-committing in one part of your life, like your role, whatever your role is,' Joseph said. She gave the examples of a working mom who doesn't have time to take care of her basic needs, an athlete who pushes himself to the brink for his team and an entrepreneur who overworks because they do not want to fail. Feeling anhedonia, or a lack of feeling and a lack of pleasure in things that once excited you, is a sign that you are at high risk of depression. There are a plethora of sensations that could be an indicator of anhedonia. Here are questions Joseph posed to prompt reflection: After you took a nap, did you feel rested? When you ate, did you enjoy your food? Did you savor it, or did you shovel it down? When you hung out with a loved one, did you enjoy the interaction? Or were you busy and distracted? When you have intimacy with your partner, is it pleasurable for you or do you seek to get it over with? When you're drinking your coffee in the morning, are you just chugging it to get caffeine, or are you enjoying the flavor? If you find that you are losing enjoyment in many of your everyday activities, that is concerning. 'I think it's a sneaky symptom,' Joseph said. 'People feel like, 'That's just me feeling blah,' but it is an early sign of depression, and it's one of the symptoms that is correlated with high-function depression.' People often mislabel this symptom as 'laziness,' but Ranger said 'a lot of people with depression have a lot of haphazardly started and never completed projects, and it's not because [they are] too lazy to do it. It's because [they] can't sustain the motivation.' You may have the will to complete tasks that keep you employed, for example, but you keep losing the energy and will to take care of yourself. 'I always describe depression as a disease of inertia. You just aren't moving,' Ranger said. When she experienced functioning depression, Ranger said she lacked self-directed motivation: 'I couldn't be motivated to do something just for me at first, like I'll let me down in a second.' People-pleasing behavior is a more subtle sign of hidden depression, but this kind of 'masochistic trait' is something that Joseph said clinicians like herself keep track of. People pleasers 'don't want to let people down,' Joseph said. 'They don't want to lose that role as the person who does it all because that's where they derive their self-worth from.' Ranger said people with depression can fall into a concerning pattern of thought that boils down to 'I'm bad, the world is bad and nothing's ever going to change.' So even if you outwardly appear fine, if you are feeling increasingly hopeless, this is a sign to pay attention to. Ranger said women, and women of color in particular, feel this symptom. 'We don't necessarily feel like 'I'm depressed.' We just feel like 'I'm not good enough, I'm not doing enough, I'm not taking care of myself enough. It's just not enough,'' Ranger explained. 'Instead of feeling like, 'Oh, I'm depressed,' we feel like, 'Oh, I'm a failure.'' It may not feel like it when you're in the thick of these hard emotions, but it is possible to change how you feel and think, for the better. 'You deserve more than just functionality. You deserve joy. You deserve to have a life that you enjoy,' Ranger said. Here is how to get started on your journey to feeling better: Too often, people feel numbness in this type of functioning depression. To combat this, pay attention to what you are feeling inside. 'Acknowledge and accept your emotions rather than pushing down the pain,' Joseph said. Talking to a loved one, a therapist, or journaling, singing or crying ― a 'natural stress reliever,' Joseph said ― can help you learn how to express your emotions better. When was the last time you had a pleasant conversation with another human being? Talk to your barista, call up your mom, text a friend. Beyond moving your body every day, Ranger suggests 'micro-dosing friendship.' 'It only takes a little bit of social connection to improve your mood,' she advised. 'Many people with high-function depression are chasing goals that are mostly materialistic, like getting an accolade or getting a job or accumulating things,' Joseph said. 'But at the end of the day, when you're on your deathbed, you're not going to want more things.' So write down what is important to you so you can find moments in your day to tap into your values. Joseph, as an example, makes a point to learn something new about Black history because it helps her feel good about her community. To help lessen anhedonia, Joseph said she will help patients identify 'as many points of joy in a day as possible.' This can look like finding time to savor your lunch away from your desk or calling a loved one instead of doom-scrolling on TikTok, for example. Of course, depending on the severity of your symptoms, more help may be needed. Just because you're able to keep up with your life and your obligations doesn't mean you don't deserve care. Consider working with a therapist to explore other options. Whatever you do, do not ignore these symptoms, because these feelings will not go away. 'Eventually something will happen. Stress will eat at your body,' Joseph warned. You will either have a physical breakdown that manifests as some form of physical condition, like an autoimmune disease, or you will eventually mentally break down.' 5 Work Habits That Are Secretly Depression In Disguise How I Learned To Deal With Panic Attacks At Work — And You Can Too New Study Reveals This Type Of Therapy May Help Postpartum Depression
