Is It Burnout Or Something Deeper? The High-Functioning Trap | Dr. Judith Joseph

The Dr. Hyman Show

Dr. Mark Hyman

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Medicine

4.5 • 9.1K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2026

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If we're wired for joy, why do so many successful people feel exhausted, disconnected, or emotionally flat? On this episode of The Dr. Hyman Show, I sit down with psychiatrist, researcher, and author Dr. Judith Joseph, whose team conducted the first peer-reviewed clinical study on high-functioning depression. We talk about why feeling "fine" on the outside doesn't always reflect what's happening beneath the surface—and why so many people struggle to feel fully alive. You’ll learn: Why achievement and productivity don't always lead to fulfillment How to tell whether you're burned out—or struggling with high-functioning depression The surprising connection between unresolved trauma, people-pleasing, and chronic stress What your phone, social media habits, and screen time may be doing to your mood How to start reclaiming joy when life feels flat, exhausting, or unfulfilling Like many people, I've spent periods of my life focused on achievement and productivity, believing fulfillment would follow. I've learned that the most important work isn't always doing more—it's understanding what's keeping us from fully experiencing joy in the first place. Want to explore this further? Dr. Judith Joseph offers several self-assessments under the "Quiz" tab on her website, including tools for anhedonia, high-functioning depression, and trauma. View Show Notes From This Episode Sign up for Dr. Hyman’s Brainshaping Academy to learn how to nourish the biological systems that support your mental, emotional, and cognitive health https://drhyman.com/products/brainshaping?utm_source=dr_hyman_show&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=may_27&utm_content=link Get Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hyman https://drhyman.com/pages/picks?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Sign Up for Dr. Hyman’s Weekly Longevity Journal https://drhyman.com/pages/longevity?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Join the 10-Day Detox to Reset Your Healthhttps://drhyman.com/pages/10-day-detox Join the Hyman Hive for Expert Support and Real Resultshttps://drhyman.com/pages/hyman-hive This episode is brought to you by Big Bold Health, BIOptimizers, Rho, Sunlighten, Paleovalley, and Pique. Go to bigboldhealth.com/drhyman and use code HYMAN15 to save 15% on your first order. Head to bioptimizers.com/hyman and use promo code HYMAN at checkout to save 15%. Head over to rhonutrition.com and use code HYMAN to get 20% off their entire product line. Visit sunlighten.com and use code HYMAN to save up to $2100 today. Head to paleovalley.com/hyman to save 15% off your first order today. Secure 20% off your order plus a free starter kit at piquelife.com/hyman. (0:00) High functioning depression, burnout, and Dr. Hyman's personal experience (2:37) Introduction Dr. Judith Joseph (5:13) Depression among medical professionals and defining anhedonia (7:04) Joy as part of our DNA and identifying high functioning depression (13:23) Biological causes, biomarkers, and differences between burnout and high functioning depression (18:18) Avoiding trauma processing by staying busy; hedonism and anhedonia (22:14) Identifying roots of trauma, childhood patterns, and using transitional objects (25:51) Finding points of joy amidst depression and people pleasing in high-functioning individuals (30:39) Neurological shifts, lack of joy, and the biopsychosocial model of depression (36:56) Digital depression, reducing screen time, and healthy tech relationships (49:09) Women's hormones, midlife shifts, and distinguishing hormonal from psychiatric conditions (58:30) Reclaiming joy, the five v's, and processing emotions (1:01:21) The significance of venting, emotional boundaries, and healthy outlets (1:05:28) Defining values, mind-body connection, and social relationships (1:09:05) Planning and scheduling future joy and connection (1:13:22) The evolution of psychiatry, spirituality, and Gen Z's spiritual study (1:18:03) Finding meaning, purpose, and learning more about high functioning depression

Transcript

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0:00.0	What if brain fog, anxiety, and mood swings aren't simply all in your head?
0:04.7	What if the health of your mind actually starts deeper in your body, in your gut,
0:09.7	and your hormones, metabolism, and your immune system?
0:12.3	Well, let me tell you, the connection is real, and it affects how you think and you feel
0:16.4	every single day.
0:17.3	And that's why I created Brain Shaping Academy, a six-week program that shows you how
0:22.1	healing your body can help you heal your mind. Brain Shaping Academy relies on the same targeted
0:27.6	nutrition and lifestyle strategies that I've used for 30 years to help my patients improve their
0:31.9	mental, emotional, and cognitive health. So if you want to feel calmer, clear, and more in control,
0:37.4	and stay sharp and
0:38.3	protect your brain as you age, check out Brain Shaping Academy at Dr.hyman.com for slash brain shaping.
0:45.0	That's Dr.hyman.com or slash brain shaping. You know, you talk about this idea of high
0:49.8	functioning depression. How is that different from just burnout? Well, burnout is a workplace phenomenon.
0:55.0	High functioning depression is different.
0:57.0	This is the high functioning brain in the workplace.
0:59.0	You still have the stress, the pressures from the outside.
1:01.0	You remove that brain from the workplace, and they don't get better.
1:05.0	This is someone who, when they sit still, they cannot relax.
1:08.0	They're humans doing, not human beings, right?
1:10.0	What we found was that there was a high correlation between unprocessed trauma and pain
1:14.6	and HFD, high-functioning depression.
1:17.3	So the theory is that they're in the workplace, they have the symptoms,
	...

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