I have suffered from mild to severe depression all my life. The Dr's told me that it was a chemical imbalance in my brain and it would never go away. Thankfully, HRT has mostly fixed that, but I should say my experience with HRT does not seem to be common.

Anyway, I have learned a few things that helped me with the depression and anxiety that I though I would share.

• Journal or Write - I cannot stress that enough. I find that when the thoughts keep reoccuring, that writing them down helps to let them go. Maybe it is just the need to be heard. I don't know. I do know that writing works for me.
• Go for long walks, or some other form of mindless exercise. It does not have to be strenuous, but it does need to take enough time to let the body take over the activity and my mind to wander. That way, when painful memories and feelings emerge, I can focus that hurt into the activity.
• Burn away anxiety with physical activity. I don't see anxiety as a bad thing. It puts the body into alert mode, and supplies energy that I normally do not have. So I try and use that energy for something positive. That uses up those hormones so they do not stay around and cause other damage. My favorite activities for anxiety are cleaning house, going for long walks, and riding the bike at the gym.
• Do not waste energy worrying about feeling bad. This one was a big one for me. I use to worry and get more stressed that I was not accomplishing anything. I discovered that if I gave up the worry, that I was able to accomplish something at least. And often, even a small finished task would leave me feeling a bit better.
• Remember that depression is a cycle and will eventually end. I learned to think of the depressive cycle as a roller coaster ride. When I am going down, just put my hands in the air and scream. I mean if I am going to feel that way, I might as well enjoy it. And Know that eventually the ride will come to an end and I will be okay.

There are more things that help with depression, but those are the ones that have helped me the most.