Signs you may have high-functioning depression – and 5 ways to fix it | Dr. Judith Joseph and Dr. Sarah Berry

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Health & Fitness, Education, Science

4.6 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 May 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We often associate depression with withdrawal and low energy - but what if it hides behind a packed schedule and staying busy? Board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Judith Joseph joins Professor Sarah Berry to explore high-functioning depression. Dr. Joseph explains how depression gets missed by medical professionals, explaining what’s really happening in the brain. She shares how traditional definitions of depression often overlook people who appear to be coping, leading many to go undiagnosed and unsupported. We discuss how a busy, high-achieving lifestyle can actually mask the symptoms of depression - and even perpetuate it. Dr. Joseph, the first psychiatrist to run a lab focused on high-functioning depression, shares her latest findings on its causes, signs, and long-term impact. ZOE’s Chief Scientist Prof. Sarah Berry explains how food and the gut microbiome may hold the key to reducing these symptoms. If this sounds familiar, Dr. Joseph introduces a quick self-test to help identify high-functioning depression - and outlines five practical strategies to begin healing, and Sarah gives you the foods that could help. 🥑 Make smarter food choices. Become a member at zoe.com - 10% off with code PODCAST 🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily 30+ Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes 01:55 Quickfire questions 03:55 How depression has changed 05:34 Do you have Anhedonia? 10:05 What is high functioning depression? 12:22 3 categories you should understand 14:48 The risk of being busy all the time 17:55 How to cultivate joy and purpose 18:28 Why men are at increased risk 21:38 What is trauma? 24:14 Is depression influenced by what we eat? 26:23 Gut microbiome and brain health 27:43 You need these brain foods 30:55 How to beat stress eating 33:50 Try this trick when you eat 36:49 The power of slowing down Get Dr Judith’s new book: UK | US 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector Free resources from ZOE Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here. Episode transcripts are available here.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zoe, Science and Nutrition, where world-leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
0:07.0	Do you feel burnt out? Like you want to take a day off, but you just feel like you can't?
0:19.0	Maybe things appear to be going well from the
0:21.5	outside, but on the inside you're unhappy. And you're thinking, I can't be depressed. I'm way too
0:28.2	busy. It turns out depression can hide in a busy schedule. In fact, that busy schedule can make
0:35.4	your depression worse. It fuels a thing that today's guest calls a thief of joy.
0:40.7	And it keeps you stuck in a cycle where you're burnt out, unhappy, and you have no idea why.
0:46.4	I'm talking about a new form of depression that will keep you up.
0:49.2	High-functioning depression.
0:51.2	And today, we're going to learn how we might break this sinister cycle.
0:56.8	Dr. Judith Joseph runs the world's first study on high-functioning depression. Her breakthroughs
1:02.6	will publish in her 2025 book, High Functioning, but she'll also share them with us today.
1:07.6	She's a board-certified psychiatrist, and her lab works around the clock to find causes,
1:12.4	symptoms and cures of this new form of depression. You'll finish today's episode, ready to break
1:18.6	the cycle of burnout and begin to feel happier. Judith, thank you for joining us today.
1:26.5	Thank you for having me. I'm really excited. This is a new topic, but we always start in the same way, Zoe, which
1:32.3	is we have a quick, fire round of questions from our listeners. We have these very strict rules.
1:37.3	You can say yes or no, or if you absolutely have to, you can give us a one-sentence answer.
1:43.3	And it's designed to be really
1:45.1	difficult for doctors and academics. Are you willing to give it a go? Of course. All right.
1:51.7	If you can't get out of bed in the morning, could you be depressed? Absolutely. If you're out of bed
1:58.5	every morning at 6 a.m. for a busy day, could you be depressed?
	...

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