Tell me, if you are feeling sad, what small things do you do to prevent depression

I'm naturally prone to depressive thoughts.
I run. I watch my favourite comedy shows. I try not to worry what people think of me (not easy I know).
I remind myself I'm an insignificant speck present for a tiny fraction of time in the universe to put problems into perspective.

I won't post it here but it's available on YouTube

Adm. McRaven's speech at the graduation ceremony at UT - the whole thing is great but one thing has stuck in my head years since I first watched it.

When you get up, make your bed. It sets you up for the day positively with little effort. And if you have a rubbish day you've got an inviting place to retreat back to.

My go to list, in no particular order:

Music
Swimming
Drastically reduce coffee intake as this really spikes my focus/anxiety on whatever I am dealing with
Lots of herbal teas
Reading
I keep catch ups with friends minimal and sort of shutdown for a few days
Try and stay off social media/tv in the evenings and do some sketching or make something for my child
Go for a drive alone with music
Expand on night time self care/skincare
Flick through photos of my late grandmother and remember her incredible strength (probably very sad this but it helps me!)
When I am ready chat to DP so I feel I have "offloaded"

I feed the ducks. Or squirrels, pigeons, seagulls or crows even.

Reading this thread itself is making me me feel brighter, some really good suggestions & kindness in spades.

Oh and meditation - takes a while to master but bloody transformative!

No booze or powders
lots of fruit & veg
seeing positive people
getting out in nature
regular exercise
having something to look forward to
reading
cats!

In no particular order, ride my bike, go for a run, remember that i was once happy, take my friends dog for a walk, cook a nice meal and have some decent wine, read a book.
I find walking makes me sadder.

As i ve got older, sadness/depression, call it what you may, has very much lessened to now be v rare, not even once a year.

Avoiding The Daily Mail online helps me feel better.

Long brisk walks.

I do live in beautiful countryside but treat these as a kind of project or hobby. I head off and will walk for 2.5 hours, say hello to all the animals I meet, listen to the birds and appreciate the views, the flowers etc. (Ie I don't listen to music or podcasts or books)

It only started working for me earlier this year but I always land home in High spirits. If I am very low, I walk faster. And swing my arms. Yes I look and sound bonkers but it works quite amazingly well.

That sounds lovely! 🙂

I counteract the catastrophising by saying “even if” not “what if”.
Try to be in the moment rather than doing endless scenarios.
Breathe- long slow out breaths.

Oh wow, this intrigues me and sounds exactly what I need at the moment too. I am spiralling at the moment so badly & nothing CBT has worked (so far) - I feel 'stuck' in a cycle of negative replays of bad things/situations from the past/feelings about myself.
Thank you so much.

Writing a list of three good things about your day - can be tiny like "I saw a beautiful white butterfly" or something more significant eg something went well at work.
When you're struggling at first it's hard to think of three things and it feels forced. But if you do it daily after a while you find it easier and then more than three things come.
And with it very slowly comes a mindset shift in noting the positive and placing it above the negative in your consciousness.
Don't get me wrong, I'm still quite an anxious person, but every time my emotions are causing distress returning to this practice can really really help - especially in terms of putting worries into a wider context

A long hot shower.
Eat something nourishing.
Get out of pyjamas, brush your hair, brush your teeth, put on moisturiser.
Watch a comforting movie. No true crime.
Sit in the garden, leave your phone inside.

If its related to boredom I get busy with a goal and rely on busyness to rewire me a bit.

If it's general sadness I do what my mum used to swear by which is treating your mentall unwell Ness like you've come down with a physical flu bug. We have all had the flu so bad we would reschedule collecting our lottery winnings to spend more time in bed recovering. This is what you need to do, recover like you're a sick child. That means no work, eating nutritious meals, staying hydrated and upping your vitamin intake, sometimes a hot bath to soak but certainly staying f clean in clean clothes where comfort is a priority and doing nothing else. Just listen to your body. Then treat your body like a spring clean. So if you were spring cleaning your house you'd air it out wouldn't you? Do it with yourself. 20 minutes in the daylight with a cup of tea. Next put your favourite music on like you're listening to background noise to clean but you're the project not your home. Check everything is working right- do some stretches and follow an actual stretch session on YouTube. Basically treat this all like your loved one has lent you their body and mind to fix for the day- they've asked you to make decisions to sort it out in their best interests and they are trusting you to get results, then show yourself that love!

Walk a lot every day and get lots of fresh air, garden, paint (pictures not walls), cuddle the cats. I suffer from clinical depression and have off and on for years. Have given up with medication and treatment (therapies/counselling/analysis). None had a long-term effect. I just do the above things and keep on going. It eases after a while (weeks or months) and seems to have fewer huge drops into utter despair and anxiety.

Caitlyn moran also said something in one of her books about negative self talk that is so true. She said, listen to your self talking voice and just think, would you speak like that to a puppy? If not, don't speak to yourself that way. Sounds really weird but it's true, be kind to yourself and if that's hard to start with try the puppy talking thing...

Arrange to meet up with a friend.

I also read a book about stopping repetitive thoughts which had a good image, it said your brain chooses the easiest/strongest pathways, so, like paths through a jungle, the most well treaded are the easiest. So, the most commonly thought thoughts you have are the easiest. Therefore how I react to things might not be the only truth in them, I have to retrain my brain to not think as negatively.
If I catch myself thinking the same thoughts eg x happened today therefore I am a failure because of y and z that happened years ago, I stop and think of the jungle, and force myself to think "no, just because y and z happened years ago doesn't mean x is related."
I recommend the book, called why has nobody told me this before by Julie Smith. It's very gentle and easy to read/listen to.

The OP just needs some help and support I’m not sure this is helpful.

I try to sit with the feelings, I allow myself time to wonder about it to explore it. So where am I feeling it, is it connected to something that’s happened - if it is be a bit forgiving of myself - for example saying ‘well you’re only human so we all make mistakes’ or ‘that person was unkind and that’s not my fault’.

I go on YouTube and watch shorts of my favourite stand up comedians. A bit of laughing can make all the difference.

Make a list of things I WILL do just to get me moving, so write them down, however basic - have shower, brush hair, clean teeth, walk round the block, listen to my favourite album, sweep kitchen and read 10 pages of my book.

Good luck!

I listen to gospel music, I just find it so uplifting. I love the song "it ain't over till God says its over" especially.
Early bedtimes with a lit candle, feels lovely and cosy and like a treat.
Be kind to yourself, I hope you have a better day tomorrow.

Feeling sad is not depression. Depression is a chemical imbalance in the brain.