I heard today that ¼ of CEOs in successful companies have depression. Even the most successful people still manage to feel like crap when they’re well off, in one sense that is. You can have a lot of things going for you, whether it be your financial situation, social status, Amiibo collection, or your capacity for a skill such as acting or archery, but something still manages to kick at the very foundation of your being. I can feel something ugly coming back in my life, but I need to hold fast to make sure I don’t fall apart faster than a Chinese motorcycle.

The thing I hate most about depression is that, like all mental illnesses, it cannot be cured. There are a few outlying cases, however, where someone had their brain pierced by some foreign object in just the right place that their OCD or whatever may be stemming from and not show any symptoms of the condition again. Most of us aren’t that lucky, and we end up having to deal with it, manage it, like the hall-mate that always leaves the toilet unflushed that we can’t legally fire out of a cannon. Sometimes there will be periods where things are going great, where our minds are clear of negativity, just like a bathroom being clear of any detritus such as hair or empty toilet paper rolls. Eventually, however, that feeling of elation, that clean bathroom, is going to be marred by something hideous, and the only thing you can do is damage control. You need to make sure you survive, whether it be free from latrine-laced nightmares or harm from yourself, socially, mentally, physically, and emotionally. From my experience, depression comes in waves, and you have to work hard every day to boost yourself out of the trough you’ll find yourself in. Some days are better than others, that is the law of averages, and I want to take some time to show you the little things I do to keep myself afloat.

At the worst of times I shall usually be in my room, lying in bed, feeling bad about myself. The first thing to do to get yourself out of a funk is to turn the lights on. Simple as that, just get out of bed and turn the lights on. Try to keep the environment bright so that, hopefully, some of the light sinks inside your head and illuminates your thoughts. After that, I’ll throw myself into my get ready for the day routine. Even if I wake up at 5pm, I’ll brush my teeth, fix my hair, put on some nice clothes, I’ll even put on some cologne. I do this for two reasons, the first being you make it harder for you to hate the person in the mirror if they look nice, or well put together. The second reason is that it reinforces in your mind that you are worth the time you take each day. You are an individual whose appearance is worth his or her own time. This major step will help rewrite some of your mindset and make many of the subsequent steps much easier.

When I’m feeling depressed, I usually through eating to the side. Depression is known to suppress your appetite, but your brain can’t start moving until you get some fuel for it to burn. You’ve got to throw some coal on the fire, and a solid meal will get the gears turning again. Plus, it feels much better to have a full stomach than an empty one. You have to pull past that nausea and eat. If you go out somewhere, you’re one step ahead of me. Next, get out of your room. Get out of any confined space. Go someplace open with at least another person in it. Nothing will be as oppressive as the four walls that are your little corner in the universe. It’s where we feel most comfortable, but it also is where our minds like to play horrible tricks on us. The first few steps has you focus on yourself as an individual, but it’s also important to realize that you are part of a much bigger world. Things are constantly going on outside of your realm, and seeing the world not end for others around you helps enforce the fact that yours might not be ending like you think it is.

The next important step is to distract yourself with something productive, something that moves your life forward. Pick up a textbook or a shift, anything to help emphasize that life is still going on. I’ll pick up extra shifts when I’m down, where I’ll be able to see other people’s lives going on all around me and understand that I’m still needed in another part of my life. This gets me out of concentrating on whatever small faux pas or failure I’m obsessing about in my mind. Something else to combine with this is working out. Doing a strength training routine at the gym or some cardio will make your mind tired, but you’ll see that you still have power in the world in the simplest of ways. Picking heavy things up and putting them down means you still have some strength, and you should continue to harness it. You might think that you’ve been coming up short lately, but you are still doing a good job of keeping yourself healthy. If exercise isn’t your thing, I recommend you make a good attempt to make it your thing. At my worst stages of depression, the days where I just ran for an hour or two weren’t that bad. Try to get a friend to go with you, so you have someone to chat with in between sets or have a spotter for the bigger things.

With that same friend, or with a different one, talk to them about what’s going on in your head. Be as open or as closed as you want; we all have trust issues, some small or, like myself, some more major. It’s not always easy to open up about all the weird things you keep having flashed to the front of your mind, but if they’re a good friend, they’ll be there for you. The best way to approach a friend is to just ask! Just tell them that you’re not doing so well, or that you need someone to talk to. I cannot stress how much screwed up sh*t goes through my head when I’m trying to sleep, but the relief you feel when you vent in a judgement free zone is immense. You might cry, you might freeze up, you might develop quite the intense thousand-yard stare, but you will be moving forward and not become stagnant in a pond of sorrow.

My final tip of advice is just as important as all of the rest combined, so please follow this one if you choose to only follow one bit of my advice: Stick with circadian rhythm. Sleep at night, be awake during the day. Night is usually filled with more solitude, and I’ve developed the saying, “Dark sky, dark thoughts.” As much as we try to go out on our own as humans, we’re still connected to this planet. We evolved with a specific sleep schedule in mind, so put your Ubermensch polyphasic hopes in the trash. Those kinds of cycles don’t work for real people, and you are a real, breathing person. Treat yourself right, and don’t sleep for longer than you have to. Sleeping in will through off your groove in a most un-excellent way, so stick with anywhere from seven to nine solid hours.

These steps are what I’ve been following for the past seven months, and I can feel the difference. Even now, as I sit and type, as I see myself feeling lower to the ground than most of the insects I study, I know I’ll get better. Sooner or later I’ll be riding a wave to another crest in my life, I just need to keep going and ride this negativity out. I don’t know if this will work for everyone out there, whether your case be less or more severe than mine, but it’s what works for me. Maybe me shedding some light on my techniques will allow others to find their own. That’s what I hope. Believe in yourself, or at least believe in me, because I believe in you. You will get better, it just takes time. Don’t give up. Please, don’t.