7 Tips to Help You Get Out of Bed When You’re Depressed

Create To-Do Lists every single day, even for simple stuff like checking email and buying a soda. Completing to-do lists feels great.

Get a pet. Having someone/something that requires you to get out of bed and take care of and interact with is incredibly helpful.

Make yourself take a shower, maybe two a day. It forces you to get out of bed or off the couch and do something that feels good.

Invite people over to watch a movie when you feel at your worst. When they show up, you’ll feel better, even if you don’t think it will help.

Find a therapist you like. Most people drop out of treatment because they don’t like their therapist. It must be a good personality match. Keep looking until you find “the one”… for you.

Unless too much video game playing is causing your depression, start playing video games. It gives you a (false) sense of accomplishment and purpose, but sometimes that’s enough to kick your mood.

If your depression is caused by a problem or situation (it’s temporary and not part of a life-long illness), address that problem, don’t try to work through it or ignore it. If you need to grieve over a loss of a person or relationship, take the time off work. If you need to fight your way out of unemployment or a bad relationship, make the change.