The "baby bites" mentioned above is a really good thing to keep in mind and the same principle can be applied to depression. When you first notice it, try to give it a time limit - say one minute or less and then switch to something more positive no matter how small the positive is and take "baby bites". As a CG to my son, I knew I could not expect him to right away come out of his depression - it takes very small, gradual steps. When I noticed his "down" mood I would ask him on a scale of 1-10 how low he felt and if he said "3" I would ask if he could just work on bringing himself up to a 4 or 5. There is also what I call the "Little Engine that Could" principle. (Children's story about a little train engine that must go up a hill and he keeps saying "I think I can, I think I can" and he finally succeeds in getting over the hill!) If you can at least fake it, and pretend you are slowly coming out of the depression ("I think I can, I think I can"), then, soon - you begin to believe it! It IS possible to climb out of the dark hole of depression and get over the hill. My son did! (me, too) Believe it!