I've found three television shows that help me cope with depression. Television can create a way to escape depression, and oddly enough, I find myself looking for characters going through circumstances similar to mine. (Binge-Watching Television While Coping with Depression may not be such a good idea, though)

When I first realized I had it, talking about depression did not seem like an option. It seemed like a dirty secret I needed to brush aside. I had been told not to cry so many times that I felt ashamed each time I did. Sometimes I still do (Depression Symptoms – Easy to Tear). Fortunately, I am learning to be open and talk about depression, which helps me get through tough times.

Some with depression and anxiety drop out of college (How Can Colleges Help Students with Mental Illness?). I graduated from high school at 17 and was ready to tear through my freshman year of college. Instead, I dropped out of college with depression and anxiety. What followed were eight years of insecurity and an intense dread for the future.

I travel with depression at least three times a year, and most of the time I find myself on solo trips. Whether I am traveling for work or vacation, it seems like my depression never takes a respite. Instead of seeing this as a weakness that prevents me from traveling internationally, I try to work around it with a few techniques I've learned over the years. I have learned to travel and vacation with depression.

Even if you consider yourself a happy person you may be susceptible to holiday depression. Do you find yourself obsessing over pictures on social media of people surrounded by smiling family members, wishing you had another life? Do the holidays make you feel isolated from the rest of the world? You are not alone (Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Symptoms – Who’s At Risk). Read on to learn about holiday depression.

I’m Ashley Horsfall and I am excited to be writing Getting Through Tough Times. I have been dealing with depression and anxiety since before I was even a teenager, and I’m now in my mid-20s. My conditions were not diagnosed until just three years ago, and today I still struggle. My journey with mental illness has not been easy, and it certainly hasn’t been consistent; however, I am passionate about helping people like me learn how to cope with depression and anxiety of their own.

Have you ever felt that having a mental illness makes you ugly -- not just imperfect or slightly flawed, but soul-deep, glaringly, hideously ugly? I have. It comes over me in waves of revulsion and self-loathing. When I scrape my hair back at night or catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror window I feel ugly. Every day I take off my makeup and find another wrinkle, another blemish, or an additional hint of age. And it terrifies me. I see the puckered white-purple scars on my arms and legs, the chapped skin on my lips. I see somebody who it is impossible to love. I wonder if having a mental illness makes me ugly?