“Keep calm and carry on” is a mantra woven into British culture. As a society, we’ve become remarkably skilled at keeping up appearances. Many of us look perfectly fine on the outside, yet inside, we feel anything but.
You might be a high achiever, hitting deadlines, showing up for loved ones, and ticking off your to-do list with apparent ease, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re thriving. Behind the productivity, your mental health could be silently suffering.
You might look composed but if you feel consistently overwhelmed, empty, anxious, or disconnected — despite functioning well in day-to-day life, you could be experiencing high-functioning depression.
“High-functioning depression clinically often classified as Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD) describes people who experience the core symptoms of depression (persistent low mood, loss of interest or pleasure, fatigue, negative self-talk) yet manage to carry on with work, family and social obligations,,” explains Dr. Isabel Kloiber, an integrative psychotherapist and co-founder of auxylia.ai. Sufferers typically push through symptoms but often experience low mood, poor sleep and stress yet they have perfected the coping mechanisms required to help them keep going on the outside.
“Unfortunately today’s landscape creates ideal conditions for high-functioning depression to flourish. Social media, remote working, and blurred boundaries between personal time and professional demands all play a part,” adds Dr. Kloiber.
Though there is an often-overlooked factor that could play a significant role in helping you to manage symptoms — your diet. What you eat profoundly affects your brain chemistry, energy levels, and emotional resilience. When your body and brain aren't getting the nourishment they need, your mood will reflect it.
Here are the key areas to work on to help alleviate symptoms.
Nurture your gut microbiome
There are hundreds of thousands of different microorganisms in your gut and they can all affect both physical and mental health. Our gut is often referred to as our second brain, because the gut and brain communicate constantly via the gut-brain axis, a complex network that is influenced by the microbes living in the gut.
An imbalanced gut microbiome can lead to chronic inflammation, which is linked to depression, and certain “bad” bacteria can release endotoxins that affect brain function and mood regulation.
Looking after your gut is one of the most effective ways to support your overall health and supporting the lining across your nine-metre-long digestive tract will ensure that you can digest and absorb nutrients more effectively.
Focus your diet to include traditionally fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, yoghurt, and kefir as these promote the growth of good bacteria, aiming for one or two servings daily.
A probiotic supplement could also help to positively impact the growth of gut microbes — especially if you have a history of antibiotic use because antibiotics actually kill off good bacteria.
One study which split participants into two groups showed that the group who took a daily multi-strain probiotic intake for eight weeks resulted in greater improvements in depressive symptoms compared with the group that took a placebo.
Dopamine dress your plate
Food has the power to calm the mind, and you can actually eat yourself happier — because your food choices impact your brain’s ‘reward’ or feel-good neurotransmitter called dopamine.
You might be au fait with the trend of ‘dopamine dressing’ (choosing clothes that make you feel happy though their colours, patterns or styles) and you can actually apply the same concept to your plate.
Throwing together healthy ingredients to make your meals visually appealing actually helps to stimulate dopamine which makes you feel good. Take the time to arrange food aesthetically.
Try layering colour and texture to dishes — think a summery salad made with beautiful green leaves, vibrant beetroot, crunchy cucumber and a trio of roasted peppers topped with salmon and seeds and drizzled in a simple olive oil and lemon dressing.
Along with greater visual pleasure, eating a rainbow of colours helps to boost nutrient diversity to help support a happier mind.
Feed your brain
One of the best ways to shake off the blues is to maximise the nutrients that help to support mood, and a good place to start is with one of the most important yet misunderstood macronutrients — fat.
There are different types of fat, unhealthy trans fats are the ones you want to avoid as the evidence shows they create oxidative stress which is related to low mood and anxiety symptoms prevalent with high-functioning depression - these bad fats are found in ready meals, processed meats and pastries.
The fats that you need in your diet are healthy omega-3 fatty acids which are an important component of brain cells. Omega-3 fats are a staple of the Mediterranean diet which is renowned for its health benefits, and whilst trans fats are inflammatory, omega-3 fats have the opposite effect. They naturally help to reduce brain inflammation and support communication between brain cells.
Eating a palm-sized portion of oily fish like salmon, sardines or mackerel twice a week (fresh, tinned or frozen is fine) and nibbling on 30g of nuts and seeds daily is a good way to make sure you are getting adequate amounts to support cognitive health.
Eat for sleep
Sleep is one of the first things to go out the window when you’re suffering from high-functioning depression. Difficulty falling asleep or an interrupted slumber along with waking up feeling unrested are common symptoms that chip away at mood and anxiety — even if you are good at masking symptoms.
The fact is that poor sleep reduces serotonin and depression sensitivity, whilst increasing levels of the stress hormone cortisol. When you sleep badly, levels of your appetite and satiety hormones are thrown out of whack and you’re more likely to make poor food choices, which then create a vicious cycle on energy levels and cravings with the reward centres in your brain are crying out for a quick sugary fix.
If you want to keep a handle on poor sleep, food can help. Magnesium is the gold standard mineral with growing evidence on its efficacy in relaxing muscles and calming the nervous system — and there’s science to prove it.
One study showed that participants who supplemented with 500mg of magnesium oxide experienced improvements in depressive symptoms whilst a separate study published in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, which was carried out on older individuals with insomnia found that taking magnesium helped them to fall asleep approximately 17 minutes faster than usual.
Magnesium is also readily available in food - dark green leafy greens, nuts and seeds, wholegrains and even dark chocolate are the best sources.
Three ways to cope better with high-functioning depression symptoms, according to Dr. Kloiber
1. Establish a consistent daily structure
Structure reduces decision fatigue and provides stability when emotions feel unpredictable. Start small, make your bed each morning or eat meals at consistent times. These manageable tasks foster a sense of accomplishment and purpose, even on difficult days.
2. Schedule meaningful activities
Deliberately plan both pleasurable and achievement-oriented activities to counteract the urge to withdraw. It breaks the cycle where inactivity deepens low mood. Choose things that bring enjoyment (reading, listening to music) or mastery (finishing a small project). Even 10 to 15 minutes of purposeful activity can help reverse the downward spiral of depression.
3. Practice mindfulness and present-moment awareness
Regular mindfulness practice interrupts rumination and worry, core features of high-functioning depression. Simple techniques like deep breathing, meditation or mindful walking help you stay grounded in the present.
For more information about looking after your mental health and details of where to seek help visit mind.org
