Keeping depression at bay while dad is isolated at home

[ThisMomentIsMyLife]

My dad is 85 and has no carers because I’ve always managed to look after him. The bus passes his house and he used to bus it to a shop on the bus route, have a coffee, buy a daily paper and go home exhausted but happy. Now he doesn’t go out, he’s spirelling into negativity and depression. Any tips for helping with this? The negative phone calls are starting to affect my fragile mental health too.

I'm sorry, no advice, this is hard on everyone, we're in a similar situation, my mum is stuck in hospital with no visits allowed, it's very difficult when you phone her as she is a very social person and she cries and asks to be let out.

I live in a different country from my Dad who is self-isolating at home as he's in the high-risk category. He also suffers from anxiety and depression. My sibling and I have been sending parcels, letters and postcards by post, on the grounds that it's low-risk and it seems to really give him a boost; it also means he's getting affection and attention from us beyond just the phone calls. I've also been trying to identify inexpensive things that he feels would help him, and ordering them online for him. But it's tough, and I feel for you.

Re: the paper, is it possible to order him a newspapers subscription for delivery? I did this for my dad (79) and he really seems to like it.

It's very hard. My FIL is not at home alone, he's home with 80yr-old MIL who has Parkinsons, dementia and osteoporosis. She's not a lot of company for him and he has all the difficulties of providing care for someone who needs to be constantly told why they can't go out to the shops with him, why they aren't going to my SIL for their dinner, why their GS hasn't been to visit. He's not very tech-friendly either, but bless him he managed to make a video call from his phone yesterday, which I hoped has perked him up. It's really really difficult: all the structure / little trips and things that made his life bearable has been taken away.

I'd try a daily dose of folic acid... you get these pills from the cheap high street store, Savers.
Avoid too many sugary snacks not just because they're depressive but nobody can quite walk them off these days. Also weight gain just means more bulk to carry around, so is disheartening in itself.
I dunno - distraction techniques? A vinyl turntable for £120 or so, amp and speakers and relive some old LPs?

My dad is the same. I visit once a week with groceries and to make sure he's safe as a carer as he doesn't have any. Can't you do that or is that not an option?