Sunlight, martial arts, walking with a friend, ocean, junk food, driving.

Get the largest bag of chips and go ham. I get the lightly salted bag so osmosis doesn't work its love burning my lips.

I'd love to hear some healthy suggestions myself! I turn to binge watching something on Netflix to try to escape my feelings. Not productive at all but can sometimes shift my mood....

EXERCISE. I know it's the last thing anyone wants to hear or do when they feel like shit, but honestly, it works. Even going for a short walk makes you feel a bit better.
Also, watching something funny. When I get bummed I like to put on The Office or Roseanne (just 2 of my personal faves:) and have a good laugh.

Meditation works well for me. I also like to listen to music, and watch funny YouTube videos.

Definitely exercise. It's difficult to make yourself do it when you're feeling low but once you get going, it really helps. It stabilizes the mood, lifts the energy level and gives you some sense of accomplishment. It doesn't have to be much, a walk or some stretching will do.

Generally taking care of your physical health makes it easier to deal with the mental health issues, in my experience. So I'd suggest also making sure you eat healthy and drink a lot of water. It'll make you feel at least a bit better.

I tend to watch sad movies, listen to sad songs, etc. But I think it's actually better to avoid anything negative. So if you feel like watching a movie or something, make sure it's something that could cheer you up rather than making you feel worse.

And remember to be kind to yourself. Don't beat yourself up over the way you feel and the things you can't do when you're depressed. Set small goals and celebrate small victories instead of bringing yourself down. If you need to take a rest, do it. If you need to cry, let yourself cry. Just take care of yourself.

Of course it's easier said than done, but try.

I agree that exercise is the best! But have you ever gone out of your way and actually made it to the gym and had a workout and then come home still depressed ?? This has happened to me lately. I am in bed, get to the gym and have a good workout of cardio or strength training, then want to beeline back to bed when I get home. Those are on the very bad days.

I have found vocalizing what I am feeling helps a great deal, going for walks, eating bright foods and avoiding foods that contain caffeine or msg.

@Padme: This is why I underline martial arts, as opposed to exercise. Exercise often leaves you alone with your thoughts. Martial arts force you to stop thinking, which stops negative momentum of the mind, and allows you to "reboot" into neutral, at least.

@Padme On the really bad days I usually can't make myself exercise at all. And of course it's not a magical fix for everything, but it usually makes me feel at least a bit better.

@Perry314 For me caffeine actually helps. Makes me functional on the days when I feel like I can't get anything done.

@Perry314, for me, exercises like swimming or walking helps to clear the first wave of depression when it hits me. Then I fill myself up with food. I don't usually over indulge but listeningto my body helps. For eg, the other day I was feeling really down and I craved for a nice soup of Tom Yam Soup. I had it for 3 days straight and after that I felt better! :)

@shihonage: That's a great distinction between marital arts and working out. When I practiced Tai Chi -and definitely when I practiced hatha yoga - I was exercising but my mind was focused so I think I know what you are saying. :)

@phoenixx: I totally relate. On really bad days exercise is out of the question and almost dangerous for me - like, I shouldn't be driving to the gym, I'm so depressed or anxious! Best to stay home and self care and light stretching is an accomplishment. :)

@Padme and @shihonage Yeah, that's a great point, not every kind of exercise has the same effect. I always go with yoga because it focuses on both body and mind and it's all about accepting what you can and can't do rather than being competitive.

Thank you again for your responses everyone! These are great and very helpful tools

I'm glad you started this thread, it's great. We should talk about stuff like this more often around here.