Dr. Judith Joseph explores one of the most under researched mental health crises of our time, revealing how to break from from High Functioning Depression (HFD) and reclaim the joy in our lives.
HIGH FUNCTIONING
The New Face of Depression–and How to Reclaim Our Joy
by Dr. Judith Joseph
Little, Brown Spark, Spring 2025
(via Kaplan/DeFiore)
Many of us have experienced periods in our lives when something felt “off”: when we struggled to find joy in happy moments, felt pessimistic about the future, and took little pleasure in things we used to enjoy. On the surface, everything might have seemed fine – we were motivated and productive at work, pulling our weight at home, and conducting a normal social life – but behind that façade we were barely surviving, and certainly not thriving.
High-Functioning Depression impacts the lives of millions, yet has been under-researched, overlooked, and completely misunderstood. Because it doesn’t conform to the image that comes to mind when we think of depression – someone who is deeply sad and listless and finds it hard to get out of bed in the morning – people with HFD often have no idea why they are suffering, or what to do about it. Until now.
As the founder and chief investigator at Manhattan Behavioral Medicine, New York City’s premier clinical research site, a clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Medical Center, chairwoman of the Women in Medicine Board at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and “social media’s favorite psychiatrist,” Dr. Judith Joseph is poised to become THE expert voice on this urgent and unexplored topic. In GOLDEN, she draws on original research, client stories, and personal experience with HFD to transform the way we see this condition, and provide the awareness, validation, and accessible, research-backed advice (in the form of her “Five V’s Framework) we need to break the cycle.
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. Passionate about teaching and creating an impact, Dr. Judith serves as a clinical assistant professor in child and adolescent psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. She is also chairwoman of the Women in Medicine Board at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. She holds an undergraduate degree from Duke as well as a medical doctorate and master’s in business administration from Columbia.
Book 1: DUCK MOVES IN!
Book 2: MOOSE BLASTS OFF!
Molly Dade has big problems. She’s got an important violin audition coming up, she’s been paired with her nemesis for a group project, and she’s struggling to hide a life-or-death secret from…well, from everyone. It wasn’t long ago that the Dades were just a regular Maine family living in their reportedly haunted house in the local cemetery. But then Molly’s mom and twin brother Marty were killed in a freak accident. And Molly, her older brother Timothy, and her father became the town’s newest bereaved family.
For most of her life, Izzy has been looking forward to fulfilling her mother’s dream of studying abroad in Italy. Going into her senior year, Izzy is counting down the days until she can leave her humdrum life behind, until Alberto, a handsome and mysterious Italian exchange student shows up for his stay with her family. Now life in her hometown doesn’t seem so drab, as Izzy, and everyone else, is immediately charmed by Alberto and his irresistible accent.
Amanda Pruitt needs redemption. She is the one, after all, who turned her sister in for murder and anonymously broadcasted her trial to millions on TikTok. And she was wrong. Her sister is innocent, making Amanda the villain—not the hero—all along.