Having been through similar bouts of depression in my teens and early twenties I also adopted some of daekan's techniques. Personally, another thing that has h

Having been through similar bouts of depression in my teens and early twenties I also adopted some of daekan's techniques. Personally, another thing that has helped me greatly is to preempt situations that have caused me to become depressed in the past. Because at least for me, it's incredibly hard to get past the hopelessness and despair without hitting rock bottom, and there's a lot of damage done before that happens. For me it's more economical to spend extra effort avoiding the depressive moments altogether than digging myself out of them. So nowadays I just avoid things that trigger or resonate with those depressive emotions. So, I'll eschew watching movies that people describe as sad or depressing, no matter how good they might be. I don't fill my reading list with tragedies or existential dramas. I'm more picky in the type of music I listen to and purposely reduce the frequency with which I listen to melancholic songs. I noticed talking about my negative emotions empowered them and gave them more substance. So now I only allow myself a limited number of instances to talk about my problems. Going to a therapist helped with this as it isolated those moments to a specific place, time and person. Thus reducing the desire to wallow in those negative thoughts with friends and acquaintances. I've also removed people in my life who were extremely focused on their problems and misfortunes and replaced them with more active and happier people. Basically I've made an effort to befriend people that compliment my weaknesses (staying active and upbeat) instead of reinforcing them. Being involved in periodic activities with others has also helped greatly. Like meeting with my old DnD group, despite being idle entertainment, was incredibly useful in getting me out of the house during weekends when I would be most tempted to stay in and be left alone with my thoughts. The final thing was recognizing what situations, places and events are depressive triggers and avoid them like the plague. For example, I can't travel alone for extended periods: being isolated in a foreign country is an instant depressant. So now I always try to travel with friends or companions and that ends up being more enjoyable to boot. Anyways, thanks to all who shared their experiences.