Dr. Judith Joseph says joy isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a part of who we are.

“We are built with that DNA for joy. It’s our birthright as human beings,” she told me recently.

Joseph is a board-certified psychiatrist and researcher who has made it her mission to study joy — and what prevents people from feeling it.

Her work, including her new book, “High Functioning: Overcome Your Hidden Depression and Reclaim Your Joy,” has drawn widespread attention, in part due to her pioneering research into the condition of high-functioning depression, which is finally being taken seriously.

“I wanted people to learn that, listen, depression looks different,” Joseph said.