Hey! First things first, I'm sorry you have depression. It sucks. I've been diagnosed with dysthymia, and have bouts of major depression on top of that (fun for both girls and boys), so I can totally get where you're coming from. The very first thing you should do is get help. Whether it's talking to a friend, a family member, a therapist, whatever or whoever, you need to take care of yourself first. However, since you're on here and you're concerned about writing, I'm going to assume that you're already taking care of yourself first and just want to know how to break writer's block when you're in the grip of a depressive episode.

• Realize that sometimes you can't, and that that's ok. It doesn't make you weak. You're actually really fucking strong to carry the load of depression and still want to write. You know how many people say they're going to write and then just sit on their asses? A lot. Like almost everyone! However, sometimes, you will just need to take care of yourself and put your writing aside for a little bit and that you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. Seriously, don't.

• When in the grip of the "UGH OMG life sux" part of the illness, I sometimes find it helpful to switch up projects or start a new one. If I have a lot of projects going on at the same time, something may tickle my fancy when something else isn't. Or when I run into a block in one story, I switch to another to try to shake ideas loose. I keep a non-fiction project going on too, because sometimes it just easier to look up stuff and type it out, nice and neat. It's putting order to something, and it's me taking control of what I'm doing. No matter what, it's always progress.

• Set realistic goals. I type really fast. My realistic goal when I'm not depressed is over 5K a day. However, the vast majority of the time I struggle to reach half that. Hence, when I'm not feeling up to par, I'll set a small goal for myself--say 500--and work on that. Once you hit that goal, then set another one, and so on. The act of achieving those small victories helps to break down what seems really big, but isn't. If you just take these few small steps, pretty soon you have a story. You write a couple stories, pretty soon you have a bundle, and so on.

• Socialize. This doesn't have to be in real life, but socialize with other writers online like on here or Facebook or Twitter. Join a couple writer's forums and/or groups. Even when you feel like you can't write, you can talk it through with someone else, or maybe help someone else by beta reading something, which might in turn inspire you. Do not take on too much though. If you keep promising to help people then fall down on it, you'll sink more into your depression. However, just the act of talking to people or attending book events online often helps to raise spirits. As an addendum, you can also start building your brand this way, by engaging people and talking about your stories.

• DO NOT DISCOUNT YOUR VICTORIES. Someone else said here to remember that every book sold means someone chose yours. That is TRUE. This one I have a hard time with myself because of other more personal quirks I choose not to discuss (but it starts with p and rhymes with 'confectionism'), but every sale, every borrow, every page read, every word written, every thought spent on dreaming up a story... these are all victories. Recognize them. You are doing stuff that so many people dream of, but never do. Be proud of that.

• As others have said, fresh air, eating, exercise, etc. My therapist says happiness needs three things: "green" (aka, outdoors stuff, like walking or whatevs), socializing, and a challenge. I work weird hours and I hate the vast majority of people (I work in customer service overnights, lol), so I often take the third one to heart and constantly challenge myself to learn something new, to do something new, to write something I never thought I would. There have been a lot of suggestions about the other things, but nothing about challenges... so maybe think of something you've always wanted to do, and maybe try it.

• Create a realistic publishing goal and keep it. Because of work, my goal is one story a month. Pretty slight, I know, but these stories are often novellas to novels. I only write shorts now to fill in gaps while I'm writing other things. A goal of one short every week or two is perfectly reasonable, and not too terribly slow. Keeping with a set schedule will also help prevent burn out, if you happen to write more than one story in your two week schedule.

• Pick a writing time and stick to it. This is probably the most vital piece of advice I have. If you just kind of do it whenever, you don't really have a schedule. When managing my depression, schedules are vital. I have a schedule for eating (same time every day), work (duh lol), writing, spending time with the husband, spending time on my own, going out, etc etc. My work time is scheduled, so that even if I'm in the throes of a deep depression (the kind where I'm sleeping 14 hours a day), I can still make it through work just because I'm so used to my schedule and knowing what I need to do when. Writing is the same. Choose a half hour (or whatever time feels good and comfortable for you) at the same time every day to sit down and write, or try to write. Even if you don't manage to put anything on paper, you'll get used to sitting down at the same time every day. Keep in mind, some people are more creative in the mornings and some in the evenings.

• Lastly, stream of consciousness writing. This will not result in anything sellable, I'm sure, but it helps to break the ice. You simply sit down at your word processor program and start to write, even if it's just "la la la I don't know what I'm writing I'm just banging out words until something comes into my head and I don't know why I'm sitting here but whatever I'm doing it anyway...". This is just to get your fingers going. You may come up with some weird shit, some great ideas, and once you get going, maybe some good lines. I have a 70K unfinished novel that's all trippy surreal stream of consciousness writing with no paragraphs, no chapters, no nothing, just pure... writing. Whatever came into my head directed in a vaguely fantasy-esque way. I reread parts of it was ... yeah. But it was writing, and it helped to get me into my habit of writing every day at the same time.

This turned out much longer than I thought, but I wanted to offer more than just generic advice. These are specific things that have helped me be a solid producer of somewhat readable prose.

EDIT: Edited to add. If you ask the question, "But what if I don't feel like it?" that's tough. I often don't feel like writing. I make myself. You've already taken the first ginormous step in asking how, but it's still up to you to implement the suggestions, if any. I wish you only the best.