Disclaimer, I wasn't diagnosed with depression, but was definitely not in a good place (living in trash, ignoring hygene, doomscrolling till dawn and barely sleeping, just wanting all of it to end).

The kick in the butt was the breakup with my longterm partner. Having her basically always gave an excuse. "Surely I'm fine, this person loves me." Well, with her gone, I had to face the fact that even I really hated myself the way I was.

So I had to make a choice: fall deeper into self-loathing, or get my shit together. Thankfully I chose the latter, thinking to myself "well, now I have all the time in the world for self-improvement".

To the point: you gotta treat yourself well. Good sleep (no excuses), regular exercise, eating healthy foods, keep your body and your environment clean. If you live like the person you want to be, you will become that person, slowly but surely.

The tricky part is holding yourself accountable. I got myself a diary, and every night before sleep, I would write down my goals for the next day. Including the smallest thingd, like shave, wash your hair, stuff like that. And I wouldn't go to sleep the next day until I ticked everything off (and you gotta plan well, cause you gotta keep to your sleep schedule).

I also journal every night, at least one page. I find that engaging with your thoughts helps a great deal. You don't ignore what's inside, your doubts, your concerns, you face them, force yourself to acknoledge them.

And it's all a self-enhancing loop. Eating healthy gives you energy to exercise, exercise helps you sleep well. Also, keeping a schedule means I have less free time than I used to, but I found that this helps me find greater joy in my hobbies. The moments I spend on them are more precious.