21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together when You're Depressed

Some years ago, I found a wonderful blog post by the DIY Couturier. When I looked for it today, I found that her blog no longer exists. After much digging, I found it on Scribd, behind a paywall. If I thought that the original author was earning a penny off this, I'd leave it as is. However, she wrote it for free publication, so I'm posting it here in its entirety.
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I hope you will share this with anyone who might benefit.

21 Tips to Keep Your Shit Together When You’re Depressed.

by Rosalind Robertson, The DIY Couturier

A while ago, I penned a fairly angry response to something circulating on the internet the 21 Habits of Happy People. It pissed me off beyond belief, that there was an inference that if you weren't Happy, you simply weren't doing the right things. I've had depression for as long as I can remember. It’s manifested in different ways. I did therapy. I did Prozac. I did more therapy. My baseline is melancholic. I’d just made peace with it when I moved, unintentionally, to a place that had markedly less sunshine in the winter. I got seasonal depression. I got that under control. Then I got really, really sick. Turns out it’s a permanent, painful genetic disorder. My last pain-free day was four years ago. So, this Cult of Happy article just set me off. Just anger. Rage. Depression is serious debilitating, often dangerous, and it’s got an enormous stigma. It leaves people to fend for themselves. It’s bad enough without people ramming Happy Tips at you through Facebook. There is no miracle behaviour change that will flip that switch for you. I know, I’ve tried.

A friend of mine, surprisingly, suggested that I write something from my point of view because, manage to give an outwards impression of having my shit together. I was shocked to hear this. And I find this comical, but I see her point. I’m functioning. I've adapted. I’m surprisingly okay. I think the medical term is resilient.

So, here it is. My 21 Tips on Keeping Your Shit Together During Depression

Cusco

"I know what you are up to, and I will have none of your bullshit, young lady!"
(Dog seen in Cusco)

Our first night in Cusco was really crappy (pardon the pun; you'll understand in a moment.)

Machu Picchu

View of the Andes from Machu Picchu.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the post you've all been waiting for: Machu Picchu!

Ollantaytambo

Ollantaytambo, pronounced oll-hyan-tay-tam-bo. Say it three times, fast! This picturesque little village was a pleasant surprise on this trip. We stayed for two nights, and I would gladly have stayed longer.

Heading for the Hills

A woman "harvests" salt at the salineras de Maras.

[Please forgive me for the photos in this post. As I intimated in my first post about Peru, I bought a new camera the night before we left Ottawa. Somehow, I set the camera to "Portrait" mode which blurs the image. Intentionally! I've used Photoshop to recover some of the details, but it was extremely frustrating to deal with at the time.]

When I was planning our trip, the travel agent suggested many things — and I accepted them without much thought, really. We ensured a leisurely pace (at least two nights in each location, occasional free mornings or afternoons), but ensured that we made the most of our trip.

Consequently, there were many pleasant surprises for us, including the salineras de Maras  (the Maras salt mines), which was our first stop after flying to Cusco from Lima.