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5 Coping Skills For Depression You (Probably) Aren’t Using

Managing depression is not as linear as most of the mental health world makes it seem.

You can follow every step in the mental health playbook and still feel stuck. You can show up to therapy, take your meds, journal, practice mindfulness and still wake up with that same heaviness in your chest. That quiet dread that whispers nothing’s changing.


That’s the part of depression most professionals can’t speak to because they haven’t lived it; - the phase where you’re doing the work, but the needle barely moves.


Sometimes it’s not that the tools are wrong; it’s that deeper layers of depression need a different approach.


For those living with moderate to severe depression who feel stuck despite doing “all the right things,” these deeper-cut strategies can help rebuild hope and momentum.


Learning to Sit With Good Feelings (Even When They Scare You)


Most people think exposure therapy is only for phobias or PTSD. But for depression, it can be a quiet game-changer.


When you’ve been numb long enough, joy stops feeling safe. The moment something good happens, the mind floods with doubt: How long will this last? What will ruin it?


So you pull back to avoid the crash. Exposure, in this context, means letting yourself feel something good and staying with it. Don’t question it. Don’t rush to brace for the fall. Just let it exist. Over time, your brain learns that joy doesn’t have to come with strings attached.


Assertiveness Is About Reclaiming Value


Depression convinces you your needs don’t matter. You stay quiet, avoid conflict, shrink yourself. Assertiveness isn’t about being loud, it’s about saying, “I count too.”


Even if it feels fake at first. Even if your voice shakes. You weren’t born believing your needs were secondary; that belief was taught. Acting like you matter even before you fully believe it is how you start to take your worth back.


Recognizing Effort When the World Doesn’t


When every day feels uphill and no one sees how hard you’re trying, it’s easy to stop trying. Depression blunts the emotional reward that usually follows effort.


That’s why positive reinforcement has to start with you. Not as empty self-care, but as acknowledgment: “That was hard, and I still did it.” No one else may see your invisible battles but you can. And recognizing those wins slowly rewires what “effort” means in your brain.


Get the Blood Work. Seriously.



Therapists can’t run labs, and doctors sometimes overlook the overlap. But if you’ve been stuck for years and haven’t had a full medical workup, do it. You’re not ruling out mental illness, you’re ruling out unnecessary suffering. Sometimes one test can change everything.


Sobriety Isn’t About Morality, It’s About Clarity


When nothing else brings relief, reaching for something that works, alcohol, weed, pills feels like survival. But those shortcuts often crowd out every other path to real relief.

Once the shortcut exists, the search ends. You stop building other ways to feel okay.


Sobriety isn’t about judgment, it’s about giving other sources of comfort room to grow. It’s hard, but it creates space for healing that lasts.


Moving Beyond “Good Enough” Coping


You don’t have to keep cycling through tools that stopped helping. There are deeper ways to approach depression, ones that build strength, not just survival.


You’ve already survived the hardest part: living through it. Now it’s about making life livable again, one honest, small, sustainable step at a time.


If this speaks to where you’re at, I’ve gone deeper into these five skills in this video. I walk through how I use them in my own life and with the people I work with.


-Scott

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FAQ

Q: Can anxiety routines be a sign of depression?Yes. Many people with high-functioning depression use anxiety routines as coping strategies. These routines often mask deeper struggles but also keep people stuck.


Q: What’s the difference between healthy preparation and an anxiety routine?Preparation helps you engage with life. Anxiety routines prevent you from living it. The difference is whether the habit expands or shrinks your world.


Q: What if I’ve tried therapy and it hasn’t helped?You’re not broken. Traditional therapy often overlooks people who need practical, science-based strategies. That’s why I share tools that most mental health providers aren’t teaching.





 
 
 

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