Quote Originally Posted by Crow View Post
Well, to your friend, I would say:

What helps me when I get into depressed moods, is thinking about the things that make me happy, or that I enjoy. Especially the things than can be done/experienced alone. Then I go do them.

You can't do it all the time, but sometimes one day is all it takes to relieve the burden of a multitude of trials over the course of a rough couple weeks. Make a habit of doing these "de-loads". A don't skip out on them due to other obligations. You have to give to yourself sometimes, and there is nothing wrong with that.
I just want to second this. I know that for me, I need the 'de-stress' (as I usually call them) activities fairly often to keep up with the stress of grad school. I'm fortunate enough to have found that soccer is the best for me, followed by other physical activity (racquetball, going to the gym, etc), and spending the evening (or at least an hour or 2) doing nothing more complicated than video games are the best for me.

Advice to your friend being: work on finding a few things that can help, even if just a little bit, and then do everything possible to make time for those. If you (generic you) do 3-4 things a week, and vary 1 of them, you'll eventually find some very good options. It's worth the effort to find those things. For everyone, really, not just if you're feeling down.