Recently, I’ve started to suspect that I have depression, even though I was able to look after myself, for the most part, although not to a high enough level to avoid my health issues. So I started to explore the idea of having high-functioning depression, and this was where that led me.
What Is Depression
The type of depression that we’re more likely to be aware of is the type of depression that goes beyond just feeling sad. Instead, someone will feel significantly down for weeks or months at a time (NHS, n.d.). Such a person would struggle to do anything, even get out of bed.
The most common symptoms of depression are a depressed mood, loss of pleasure, difficulty concentrating, loss of energy, problems with sleeping, change in appetite, feeling of worthlessness, a feeling of hopelessness, and suicidal ideation (Duman, 2010).
Depression’s impact goes beyond the core symptoms and can greatly affect a person’s quality of life, such as struggling to function, enjoy things, work, and manage their finances (Hirschfeld et al., 2000). For example, a loss of enjoyment causes the person with depression to lose interest in doing things and hanging out with people.
What Is High-Functioning Depression
For some, depression might look like an inability to get out of bed, rubbish everywhere at home, and not washing, but that’s not always the case (Cleveland Clinic, 2025). These are just the external symptoms of depression that work as a red flag for outsiders. But depression can just be the internal turmoil eating away at us from the inside.
High-functioning depression is everything that comes with depression, but somehow a person is still able to function, such as going to work and looking after their finances. So, someone with high-functioning depression will still experience fatigue, a lack of enjoyment, sleep disturbances, appetite changes, etc. (Joseph et al., 2025).
At this time, high-functioning depression isn’t an officially recognised term, so it won’t be found in the DSM-V or earlier editions. However, it has become a useful term to denote when someone can experience depression while, at the same time, outwardly, no one else notices that this person is depressed (Gupta, 2024). This can make it very hard for the person with high-functioning depression to know that they would benefit from seeking help, and for any potential help to recognise that the person needs support.
Although the term high-functioning isn’t medically recognised, yet, it is still a diagnosis of depression. Case in point Joseph et al. (2025) study into high-functioning depression. They outline how other diagnoses of depression, such as major depressive disorder, can exhibit long-term symptoms that gradually become more debilitating. Those with this form of depression are difficult to assess and treat because they don’t identify with being depressed.
A while back, I wrote about smiling depression, which was a form of depression where people mask their depression so that other people don’t notice. This form of depression can be riskier than that, because a person is unaware they’re struggling, often until they burn out (Joseph et al., 2025). Then this is likely to be confused for stress, not depression, and thus, still not getting the right support.
There are some that are concerned about the term high-functioning depression. Jameca Woody Cooper (Program Director – Applied Educational Psychology and School Psychology), talking to Allyson Chiu for the Washington Post, is one such person. They’re worried that some people might interpret high-functioning to mean that this form of depression isn’t serious, when it very much is (Chiu, 2022), September). Depression is still depression.
Nevertheless, the acceptance of high-functioning depression in society and its increasing use by mental health professionals highlights the importance of individual differences, even in health and mental health. Depression isn’t a one-size-fits-all mental health condition (Joseph et al., 2025). People will be affected by it in different ways, and one of those ways is high-functioning depression. It also goes to show just how invisible some conditions can be (Gupta, 2024).
Managing High-Functioning Depression
Understanding
The first step to managing high-functioning depression is knowing that we have it and then accepting that we have it (Calm, 2024).
Professionals
Seeking the support of a professional is always a good idea, whether that involves therapy or taking antidepressants.
Self-care
Making changes to our lifestyle can help manage high-functioning depression, as this has likely been neglected. Establishing a consistent morning and nighttime sleep routine can help improve sleep quality. Reviewing our diet to see if we’d benefit from using things like a meal schedule.
Incorporating hobbies into our free time, engaging in more physical activity, mindfulness, meditation, yoga, deep breathing, etc., are also good things to try.
Social support network
Although we might find ourselves pulling away from our social support network, as depression tricks us into isolating ourselves. It’s important not to let depression do that to us. Talk and hang out with the people in our lives, or go to support groups, so we don’t end up isolated.
Practice self-compassion
Challenge any negative self-talk, or at least don’t try to suppress them, and accept them as thoughts that don’t reflect who we are. Plus, these thoughts can be untrue. Remember to be kind to ourselves.
Avoid self-medicating
A common response to depression is to self-medicate. While this might help in the very short term, the long-term effects of such unhealthy coping strategies will make things much harder and potentially lead to dependency. This can be alcohol and drugs, but also food, shopping, sex, and gambling.
Summary
The term high-functioning depression isn’t a recognised mental health condition, but has become a widely used term even within the field of mental health. That’s because depression is still depression, and the term can help distinguish between the individual differences in the expression of depression that exist within depression. Not everyone will struggle to get out of bed just because they have depression, and that’s important to remember.
As always, leave your feedback in the comments section below. Also, please share your experiences with high-functioning depression in the comments section below as well. Don’t forget, if you want to stay up-to-date with my blog, you can sign up for my newsletter below. Alternatively, click the red bell icon in the bottom right corner to get push notifications for new articles.
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References
Calm. (2024, February). High-functioning depression: what it is and how to manage it. Calm. Retrieved from https://www.calm.com/blog/high-functioning-depression.
Chiu, A. (2022, September). What does ‘high-functioning depression’ mean? We asked experts. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/02/17/high-functioning-depression-meaning-symptoms.
Cleveland Clinic. (2025, April). What is High-Functioning Depression? Signs and Symptoms. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/high-functioning-depression.
Duman, C. H. (2010). Models of depression. Vitamins & Hormones, 82, 1-21. Retrieved from https://www.unifr.ch/med/en/assets/public/professoren/rainerg/Reading%20list/models.of.depression.bookchapter.pdf.
Gupta, S. (2024, June). Can you have ‘High-Functioning’ depression?. Verywell Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/high-functioning-depression-causes-symptoms-and-treatment-5324550.
Hirschfeld, R. M., Montgomery, S. A., Keller, M. B., Kasper, S., Schatzberg, A. F., Hans-Jurgen, M., Healy, D., Baldwin., D., Humble, M., Montenegro, R., Bourgeois, M., & Versiani, M. (2000). Social functioning in depression: a review. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 61(4), 268-275. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Healy-5/publication/12488280_Social_Functioning_in_Depression/links/656de8553fa26f66f450fece/Social-Functioning-in-Depression.pdf.
Joseph, J. F., Tural, U., D. Joseph, N. D., Mendoza, T. E., Patel, E., Reifer, R., Deregnaucourt, M., and Mendoza, T. (2025). “Understanding High-Functioning Depression in Adults”. Cureus, 17(2): e78891. Retrieved from https://assets.cureus.com/uploads/original_article/pdf/322152/20250217-412609-2xh0eo.pdf.
NHS. (n.d.). Depression in adults. NHS. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/depression-in-adults/overview.
