I personally battled through depression while growing up, and I am almost convinced it is one of those things most battle as a teenager, alongside the swings between apathy and emotional outbursts. There are many possible reasons for depression, including a chemical imbalance in the brain that may only be dealt with using a certain medication. I am no psychiatrist, so I do not know what medicine is best under what circumstance, but I have an idea on how to deal with depression when it is based on one's personal experiences. This comes with a three-part solution: improving your thought process, emotional stability and physical health.
Thought Process:
One aspect of depression is the inability to reach goals, or the feeling of it at least (i.e. powerlessness). As the individual receives and perceives stimuli, there is an inner reaction of thought which takes the perception of stimuli and uses it to form goals for the self. When an individual reaches a state of goal formation, action is taken to get closer to reaching that goal. The action then creates new stimuli for the individual to receive and perceive. Stimuli can come from the said individual directly, from another person or from the environment itself.
Improving the underlying thought process requires one to understand how they perceive stimuli and how this impacts their behavior. After knowing how the behavior is impacted, one can now observe if said behavior actually gets one closer to personal goals, short-term or long-term. One should also analyze the value of the goals, the steps to achieving them and the time needed to perform those steps. Reasons for depression include not having valuable goals and not having a clear method of attaining goals. Changing how one thinks and acts can fix the latter dilemma. The former issue requires one to look at their personal value system and decide what it means to have a satisfactory life. Goals should then be built around that model.
Emotional Stability:
Depression can act as a form of emotional instability, where the feelings of the self can contradict with experiences or the environment. Bipolar disorder (manic depression) may be seen as an intense form of this, but I do not have experience in this area. If one's personal situation or environment is negative, then they can act as the source of the depression, and fixing these issues (if possible) is the best method. If a contradiction is involved, meaning one is depressed when they shouldn’t be, then this is either a physical (chemical/hormonal), mental or spiritual problem. These issues are ailments of the present which are not influenced by present (outward) circumstances, but they may still be circumstantial in that they are impacted by past situations. Physical issues dealing with the brain itself can be improved with physical health, as mentioned in the last section. Mental problems can likely be improved using the advice in the first section. Spiritual problems will be explained next.
One source of depression (which I call a spiritual problem) is a lack of love, whether it is for the self, for others or from others. Loving the self requires self-forgiveness as well as balance. One should not reach for selfishness. Loving others is a form of spiritual connection between people, and is necessary for not only learning selflessness, but the joy of service as well. However, receiving love is needed at first in order to give/show love. Without a beginning source, an individual simply cannot learn how to properly use the heart, and perhaps not even the conscience. Opening yourself up to God's love is a solution, but is difficult for those who did not receive proper love from their parents. Finding a soulmate may help correct this issue, but romance itself is not what is needed. Another spiritual issue is a lack of perceived beauty, whether that beauty involves your inner/outer self, others, or once again, the environment you must function in. The last spiritual issue involves ones comprehension of truth. This is involved with the thought process mentioned above, and is rooted in a person's beliefs, ideals and morals. Depression could be caused by not measuring up to personal standards. It could be from not knowing the way to move forward. It could even be from not knowing what to believe.
Ultimately, improving emotional stability is about controlling your response to what you experience. There are two sides to this same coin: thought response and emotion response. One must understand what comes first – thought or emotion – and then focus on if the thought or emotion should be adjusted. Improving thoughts involves learning, planning and practice. Improving emotions involves searching for what causes the imbalance and fixing that imbalance. This may involve a lot of trial and error.
Physical Health:
This requires a combination of physical exercise and nutrition. Body mass may play a factor in the depression, but the point of exercise and a good diet is not meant to solely fix this issue. A healthy mind comes with a healthy body, and a healthy body requires a minimum amount of movement and balanced food. However, I am not a nutritionist, nor am I a physical education instructor, so you will have to do a little personal research.
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