Recently I saw an article about how those with depression should stop making excuses. This hit me like a punch to the gut because I have been struggling with depression for years.

I often find it hard to do things because I don't have the energy. I've heard accusations like this many times but they never stop infuriating me.

As much as we like to think so, we are not in control of every aspect of our lives. Some people have terrible home lives that are emotionally draining.

Some people are bullied. Some people lose loved ones. Some people get injured and sick. All of these things can lead to depression, and none of them are the fault of the person suffering.

Even if nothing bad happens to you, you can still get depression, just like how you can eat oranges for breakfast every day and still get a cold.

Nobody blames you if you get sick, it's just bad luck. It should be the same with mental illnesses too.

Most people I know who have depression, got it despite the fact that they didn't drink or smoke or do drugs (or did so sparingly), lived an active lifestyle and had a good social life.

Depression doesn't discriminate. It affects all kinds of people.

Taking care of yourself can definitely make depression go away faster, but it's not a magical cure.

This semester, I've been struggling with depression despite taking my vitamins, exercising as much as I can, trying to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, and staying on top of homework.

But I know I'd be in an even worse place if I didn't do those things.

Of course, not taking care of yourself can make depression worse. The problem is, depression saps energy, both mental and physical.

Telling someone with depression to push themselves harder is like telling a poor person to save more money.

There's only so much you can do with what you have.

So what should you do when you're depressed?

Acknowledge that you have a deficit of energy and spend that energy wisely.

Investing in important stuff now can make tomorrow a little easier.

For example: brushing your teeth before bed means you don't feel as lousy when you wake up, which means you have a little more energy to get through the next day. Eventually, all the little things you do will add up.

But also make sure you don't spend more energy than you can afford. If you have to half-ass something, it's better than no-assing it (most of the time).

Don't have the motivation to clean your room? Start by just throwing out any trash you see, then call it a day. That's less you have to do tomorrow, or whenever you decide to come back to it. And you're preventing the room situation from getting that much worse.

And what if there are things about your life that you really can't change?

You can't choose your family. You can't spontaneously make the world a nicer place. You can't drop everything and move to the other side of the world right this second.

But within those constraints, try to find the little things you can do.

When I was living in a dysfunctional household, I realized quickly that I couldn't stop everyone from fighting all the time. But I could make my own room as much of a haven as I could manage. And I could find peace and quiet on the long bus ride to school.

Little things like that can go a long way toward making life more bearable.