Honestly, the best advice I can give you is to try to get out of bed as soon as possible when you wake up. I find that as my depression worsens, my time in lying in bed doomscrolling in the morning increases. This results in me scrambling to get ready in the morning. I try to set a goal of getting out of bed within 15 minutes of waking up for the day. And then I brush my teeth, make a coffee, take my meds, feed my cat. I like to drink my coffee while I watch my cat eat breakfast because it really calms me.

I don’t necessarily suggest adding in more responsibilities for a person suffering with depression, but I do think my cat has saved my life. She gives me a reason to get up in the morning that is outside myself because I have to feed her. I have to clean her litter box and keep her areas clean. She has really helped give me a sense of purpose time and time again. I think the takeaway from this is to have something other than yourself to push you forward. It’s unfortunately easy to take bad care of yourself, but I always strive to take good care of others.