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No.1 – Go for a 30-minute stroll outside to blow the cobwebs away.

No.2 – Read books that you’re curious about, you won’t feel depressed when you follow your curiosities, trust me.

No.3 – Workout, there’s no better feeling than getting those endorphins flowing.

No.4 – Journal, write down how you feel so you can get to the root of your problems and solve them.

No.5 – Go to talking therapy; a good therapist can help you untangle your mental knots and help you solve deep-seated issues.

No.6 – Go to church, I always feel like a new person after I’ve been to church MASS. It helps keep me grounded as well as following Catholicism as a whole.

No.7 – Spend time with family and friends. There’s no better feeling than having a belly laugh with family and friends.

No.8 – Start a creative project. I’m a believer that expression is the opposite of depression, and spending time on a creative pursuit can help you get out of your head and become present.

No.9 – Pray, I personally pray 3 times per day, and it helps me get out of my mind and focus on something outside myself, and that something is God.

No.10 – Stop doing things that make you feel like crap, like doom-scrolling social media, watching adult content, and losing your temper. Feel better by subtracting your bad habits from your life (you don’t always need to add habits to your life).

No.11 – Take a holiday because you might be burnt out. Just like the body gets physically tired and run down, so can the mind, so be sure to rest it and give it some downtime to recover.

No.12 – Start being grateful for all the good things in your life. For example, I’m grateful for a roof over my head, money in the bank, supportive friends and family, and the ability to help people all over the world by writing on Quora. When you stop and pay attention, life is pretty wonderful.

No.13 – Get a hold on your addictions. Being addicted to anything can cause us to be left in heavy chains. For example, the person who is morbidly obese is addicted to food and is destroying their health. They can’t switch the addiction button off; they’re trapped. I’m a firm believer that we can all beat our addictions. Reach out to a therapist if you need to, just make sure you break away from the heavy chains of addiction before the addictions break you.

No.14 – Don’t spend time with people who drag you down. I remember reading Montaigne, and he talks about a time when a Doctor got him to spend time with a sick old man when Montaigne was in his youth. Doing so made the sick old man feel better (being surrounded by youth), but it didn’t make Montaigne feel better. The point is: yes, help people if you can; love thy neighbour as thyself; but it’s good to be aware of when people drain the life out of you.

No.15 – Stop focusing on things outside your control. You can’t do anything about them, so stop focusing on them; you’ll only suffer.

I hope these tips help. Life is not good when you’re depressed. I’ve been there, and I guarantee everyone has felt melancholy at times its part of the human experience. Just get better at dealing with it. I feel I certainly have got better at dealing with it over time.

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