Stigma is a negative stereotype often associated with mental illnesses like depression. After we receive a depression diagnosis, many of us start to worry that people are going to call us "crazy," or use other offensive language while judging us for having symptoms of depression.

Have you ever noticed how it's only BAD news that gets the ratings? And the bad news is SO depressing! Missing Malaysia flight 370, Putin in Crimea, the Pistorius murder trial - and that isn't even the worst of the crappy news.

It has been a very long, cold, depressing winter. Snow storms. Ice storms. Wind chills that can freeze your face. I spent a lot of my days hunkered down inside the house, battling my depression symptoms as best I could. But, spring has sprung and it's finally time to get outside!

Effective depression treatment through medication and therapy can take months or years to help you feel better, but don't get discouraged. There are lots of things you can do now to help you cope with your depression and feel at least a little better until your other treatments start working. Here's a quick list to get you started.

One of the most frustrating symptoms of depression is its ability to mess with your ability to concentrate. Even now, as I write this blog, my mind is flitting from thought to thought, topic to topic, and then to almost empty, blank.

Had you asked me three days ago what I had in common with L'Wren Scott, I wouldn't have had a clue what to say beyond our matching hair and eye colors. Now that New York City officials ruled Scott's sudden death Monday a suicide, I have a different perspective. L'Wren Scott's suicide was preventable; her death is a major tragedy.

Depression can drain you of a lot of things: motivation, self-esteem, focus, decisiveness. The list is long (Why Live When You Feel Like Dying?). The very worst of these is when depression drains you of your will to live. I know. I've been there.

"You're so sad all the time! I can't stand it! Why can't you just pull through it?" I stared at my 20 year old, 6 foot, 2 inches tall son, crying and yelling at me because I'm sad all the time. And here I thought I was a pro at hiding my depression.

One of the most difficult symptoms of depression is a lack of motivation. It's not that we don't want to feel better, we just lack the physical motivation to move and the emotional motivation to care if we move. Everything seems so difficult. Everything except staying under a warm blanket, hand on the remote, doing nothing, thinking nothing, feeling nothing. Depression and sleep always seem to go together, but laziness is not the cause of the lack of motivation depression brings.

While there seems to be no definitive, medical evidence that links laughter with improved serotonin levels (the lack of which is said to play an integral part in depression), laughter is definitely the unsung hero when it comes to alleviating depression symptoms.