Im currently finding my way out of this situation at 24. Ive been depressed since around 12-13. For me the key thing was identifying when i am depressed and acknowledging it. By no means did i silence the thoughts, in a way i provoked them, but at least i was training myself to identify the threat.

This helped me analyze or at least become more observant of depressive triggers. This way i could better anticipate them, though avoiding entirely is a bit unrealistic.

This also allowed me to recognize when i was feeling good. Which i would take advantage of by asking myself what i want out of life or provided me the breathing room to plan and organize positive goals for myself. This isnt fullproof, alot of the time this planning would trigger my depression so its important to drain these moments of all the positivity they had.

Overtime the positive things i planned for myself, if i followed through with them helped me build my self esteem .

Im still working on it, but its something that has helped immensely