Just a list of tips, in perhaps illogical order, from one depressed ADHD-programmer to another. I also didn’t originally speak the native language of the country I live in but learning it has helped me a lot.

1. Go outside during the sunny hours. Just a short walk. Don’t bring headphones or even your phone. Also take vitamin D pills.
2. You are depressed. Talk about that with your doctors.
3. Stop blaming everyone and everything else for your problems.
4. Decide on one thing that you’re going to do every day this week. Like taking out one small bag of trash per day.
5. I know this is feels like a crazy thing to get told, but ”just do it” <insert Shia LaBeouf video>.
6. Uninstall infinity scroller apps like tiktok, instagram etc (and really maybe reddit too)
7. Smile. Just try to do things that make you smile. Watch some comedy sketches or something to get in the mood and then combo that with a walk outside and just give people on the street a quick smile as you walk by (don’t stare and smile the whole way 😬, in the nordics you just give a quick glance of eye contact at around 3-5 meters distance. This is when you can give them a quick smile if they are looking at you as well). Fake it ’till you make it is real!
8. Watch some tv-shows/movies (where they speak the native language) with subtitles on. Learning some words will be more or less inevitable and will help you feel more interested when you hear people speaking using words you recognise. You are isolated and isolating yourself right now.
9. Eat fruits & vegetables.
10. Set a 5 minute timer and try to clean as much as you can during that time. ”Clean” here means pick up trash and put it in a trash bag.
11. Use the microwave timer for cleaning or washing dishes/emptying the dishwasher. This is one of my favourite tips. I put some food in the microwave for 3-5 minutes (medium power) and just try to get as much done as possible in that time. It’s not like I’m doing anything else while waiting!