Started this post earlier but am now just getting to finish it. I am a 4th year clinical psychology doctoral student finishing up my classwork and about to go out on a full-time internship as the final step to my training. I am certainly not an expert but do have graduate training and 2 years of counseling experience.

My advice is to get in touch with a licensed psychologist for weekly (or as close to it as your time and budget will allow) therapy. The most important thing in working with a therapist is someone you trust and feel connected to. You should know if it is going to work with that therapist within 3-5 sessions. You want someone who you can trust and who you feel you are working with on setting and progressing towards goals. The relationship between you and your therapist is key. Style of therapy is also important. I generally conceptualize under the cognitive-behavioral model which essentially states that mental illness stems from maladaptive thought patterns about ourselves, others, and the world. By challenging these maladaptivee thoughts, we can improve our mood/behavior.

See a psychiatrist for medication if your depression is severe. As someone mentioned, a lot of depressed people will need medication to even get to therapy. If you find yourself struggling to get out of bed each day or to complete even the easiest tasks, then definitely look into meds. If you are contemplating suicide definitely look into meds. If your depression is mild to moderate, you can continue to get things done throughout the day and your depression isn't completely disabling, you might be fine with just therapy. However, if you feel like medication would be worth trying, go for it. Do what you think will work. Just remember that depression medication often takes 4-8 weeks for the full effects to kick in. Make sure you keep taking them to know if they are working (unless you experience severe side effects. Or your doc tells you to stop. Listen to the doctor, not the anonymous CB poster).

The other key components are as other people mentioned: exercising, eating healthy, developing new coping skills, turning to friends and family, spiritual support if that is something you already have in place, etc. Depression rarely comes from one single cause. It is a combination of environmental, social, cultural, and biological factors. Therefore, the cure is going to be a combination of things.

I am also a big believer in mindfulness meditation. There are tons of free resources online, including guided meditations. It goes great with the CBT model too.

Good luck with this! Depression is often a life long battle with many ups and downs along the way. Hang in there and turn to loved ones for support. You can do this.

Feel free to message me with any questions.