I am not a therapist or licensed professional, and the information below is not a treatment, merely information gathered from several online sources to provide some help. If you or someone you love is experiencing depression, talk with a school counselor, licensed therapist, or other professional to seek treatment and help.

Depression Self-Help Tips

Finding help and taking care of yourself are crucial steps, but it can be hard to motivate yourself to do either. So think of everything you love in the world, everyone you care about. That's your reason for healing yourself. Here are some basic tips.

• Stay connected to the people who support you and reach out if need be- it is natural to withdraw and become closed off from friends and family while dealing with feelings of depression, but their support is critical to your recovery.
• Ways to reach out and keep contact:
  • Find the people in your life that make you feel safe and listen without judgement
  • Talk to people face to face instead of just through electronic devices
  • Keep up with social activities even if you feel that you don't want to
  • Support others through acts of kindness or volunteer work
  • Hang out & take care of a pet for joy, companionship, & feeling of being needed
• Do things that make you feel good- sometimes depression sucks the joy out of things you used to enjoy, but pushing yourself to do them can make you feel better. Hanging out with friends, expressing yourself through passions, engaging in a hobby, or going someplace fun can improve your energy and mood over time. Keep your body feeling good with good sleep, fresh air or sunlight, and practicing relaxation techniques as well.
  • Spend time in nature
  • Read a good book
  • Listen to music
  • Make a list of the things you like about yourself
  • Watch an uplifting or funny movie
  • Take a nice bath
  • Take care of a few small tasks around the house
  • Play with a pet
  • Talk to friends or family
  • Do something spontaneous (as long as it's safe and healthy!)
• Keep moving through the day- when depressed, motivating yourself to exercise can be extremely difficult, but it's incredibly worth it! Studies have shown regular exercise that gets your heart rate up can be just as effective at battling depression as medication. Plus, it makes you feel good about your body.
  • Exercise for more than 30 minutes every day- it's okay to start small and work your way toward that goal
  • Don't give up- your fatigue will decline and your energy levels will rise if you continue to exercise routinely, so don't let that be the reason you stop
  • Engage in continuous, rhythmic exercises- exercise that involves both your arms and your legs is the most beneficial
  • Add a mindful element- focus on your body and your breathing to keep yourself rooted in the moment while exercising to block out negative thoughts
• Eat healthy to stabilize yourself- diet has a direct impact on thoughts and feelings.
  • Reduce foods that negatively impact your brain- decreasing caffeine, alcohol, trans fats, and foods with lots of chemical preservatives/hormones in your diet will make you healthier AND happier
  • Don't skip meals- try to eat something every 3-4 hours to avoid becoming tired and irritable
  • Reduce sugar and refined carbs- sugary comfort foods lead to crashes in mood and energy
  • Boost your vitamin B- deficiencies in folic acid and B-12 can trigger depression. Taking B supplements or eating citrus fruit, leafy greens, beans, chicken, and eggs can boost your vitamin B.
  • Eat omega-3 fatty acids- get these through eating salmon, herring, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, tuna, and some cold-water fish oil supplements
• Get sunlight- sunlight boosts serotonin levels, so gardening, walking outside, opening curtains/blinds in your home, or getting a light therapy box if you live in a darker place will increase your mood.
• Challenge negative thinking- depression creates lots of negative or irrational thoughts that can really bog down your life.
  • Here are some common cognitive distortions, so you can learn to recognize them when they happen and counteract them
    • All-or-nothing thinking – Looking at things in black-or-white categories, with no middle ground ("If I fall short of perfection, I'm a total failure.")
    • Overgeneralization – Generalizing from a single negative experience, expecting it to hold true forever ("I can't do anything right.")
    • The mental filter – Ignoring positive events and focusing on the negative. Noticing the one thing that went wrong, not all the things that went right.
    • Diminishing the positive – Coming up with reasons why positive events don't count ("She said she had a good time on our date, but I think she was just being nice.")
    • Jumping to conclusions – Making negative interpretations without actual evidence. You act like a mind reader ("He must think I'm pathetic") or a fortune teller ("I'll be stuck in this dead end job forever.")
    • Emotional reasoning – Believing that the way you feel reflects reality ("I feel like such a loser. I really am no good!")
    • 'Shoulds' and 'should-nots' – Holding yourself to a strict list of what you should and shouldn't do, and beating self up if you don't meet those rules.
    • Labeling – Labeling yourself based on mistakes and perceived shortcomings ("I'm a failure; an idiot; a loser.")
  • Once you've found your cognitive distortions, challenge them by asking:
    • "What's the evidence that this thought is true? Not true?"
    • "What would I tell a friend who had this thought?"
    • "Is there another way of looking at the situation/an alternate explanation?"
    • "How might I look at this situation if I didn't have depression?"
• Seek professional help through healthcare provider, school counselor, or research

http://www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/dealing-with-depression.htm