[Elof]

I'd recommend starting with therapy and going from there if it's available to you. I've been going to cognitive behavioral therapy for years and feel like I've received a ton of value from it for a couple reasons.

1. the therapist is a trained professional that can help me unpack and normalize my experience.

2. the therapist can recommend strategies to try and potentially refer me to a psychiatrist if they think medication might be worth considering

3. having a regular cadence of structured communication with a professional gives me the time to reflect and think, when I'm depressed this feels almost impossible on my own

There are so many factors that go into depression and in my experience its very difficult to go about finding something that helps alleviate it alone. If you aren't able to go to therapy for any reason than I would definitely recommend trying out some of the strategies mentioned in this thread, but I'd also suggest trying to find a family member or friend that you trust to talk to about your experience as well. Depression is so isolating and it will likely feel difficult to get the strength and courage to talk about it, but it's been extremely helpful for me and I'd recommend it.