Want to beat depression?

1. Swim.

I start the day in the pool. I show up before I can even think about what Im doing diving into ten feet of cold water loaded with chlorine with a bunch of other nutjobs. Tom Cruise believes that all a depressed person needs to do to get rid of the blues is to strap on a pair of running shoes. I think a few other steps are needed, however, exercise is the most powerful weapon I use every day to whack the demons. If I go more than three days without working out, my thoughts turn very dark and I cant stop crying. All aerobic workouts release endorphins, while helping to block stress hormones and produce serotonin, our favorite neurotransmitter that can relieve depression. However, swimming is particularly effective at shrinking panic and sadness because of the combination of stroke mechanics, breathing, and repetitiveness. Its basically a form of whole-body, moving meditation.

Volumes of research point to the benefits of exercise for mood, like the study led by James A. Blumenthal, PhD, a professor of medical psychology at Duke University in Durham, N.C., which discovered that, among the 202 depressed people randomly assigned to various treatments, three sessions of vigorous aerobic exercise were approximately as effective at treating depression as daily doses of Zoloft, when the treatment effects were measured after four months.

2. Record my joys.

A very wise person once told me to try to let go of the big thoughts (Why do I suffer from depression? When will I feel better? Will I ever feel good again?) and concentrate instead on the little joys that happen throughout my day, to allow those unsuspecting moments of delight carry me over the ones fraught with anxiety and sadness. So each day I record in my mood journal a list of joys: a long swim with friends, my daughters little hand in mine as we crossed a street, my sons proud expression after making a three-point basket, seven hours of sleep, a warm dinner. This exercise forces me to be open to little joys, to collect them, and to have more appreciation for what is right in front of me. Psychologists like Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, at the University of California Riverside say that keeping a gratitude journal (or a list of joys) can increase your energy, and relieve pain and fatigue.

3. List my accomplishments.

I started to do this when I was too depressed to work. As someone who had always attached her self-esteem to career achievements, I felt completely worthless when I couldnt produce a single piece of writing. I read books by positive psychologists and happiness experts like Dan Baker, PhD, director of the Life Enhancement Program at Canyon Ranch, who said to start with small accomplishments, and build strength and confidence from there. So my list would include things like: ate a full breakfast, took a shower, picked up the kids from school, called my mom, got groceries, wrote my husband a loving email, read a chapter of a book. Today I make sure to record all my efforts toward good health: I list how many laps I swam, how many minutes I meditated, if I helped someone with his depression, or if I made a difficult food choice (ate a boring spinach salad at lunch when everyone was eating tasty calzones). I will record work feats (i.e., wrote a blog), but I make sure to balance out my list with the kinds of small but important accomplishments that I often dismiss (helped my son with his school project, talked to a friend about anxiety, had tea with my husband instead of rushing to work).

4. Laugh.

Charlie Chaplin once said, To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain and play with it. I suppose thats why some of the funniest people out there — Stephen Colbert, Art Buchwald, Robin Williams, Ben Stiller — have journeyed through periods of torment. There is an unspoken message hidden within a giggle that says this: I promise, youll get through this. In fact, New York Citys Big Apple Circus has used humor to console sick children since 1986, when they started sending teams of clowns into hospital rooms with rubber chicken soup and other fun surprises.

Studies indicate that human beings can heal (at least partially) from a host of different illnesses if they learn how to laugh. For example, in 2006 researchers led by Lee Berk, DrPH, and Stanley A. Tan, MD, PhD, at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, Calif., found that two hormones — beta-endorphins (which alleviate depression) and human growth hormone (HGH, which helps with immunity) — increased by 27 percent and 87 percent, respectively, when volunteers anticipated watching a humorous video. Simply anticipating laughter boosted health-protecting hormones and chemicals.

5. Meditate.

Ive read more than 100 articles on how meditation can help relieve depression and anxiety. Research has shown that formal practices of meditation can halve the risk of future clinical depression in people who have already been depressed several times, its effects comparable to antidepressant medications. I swear its been the feature story of every health Web site at least once a week for the last five years. Thats how long Ive been trying to do it. Unsuccessfully. Until I enrolled in a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program at the local hospital. I have two more weeks to go before I graduate from meditation school and am far from wearing one of those radiant smiles that grace the faces of Tibetan monks; however, I have been able to follow through on my commitment of 20 minutes of meditation a day. Meditation, alone, doesnt take away all of my symptoms of depression as some studies suggest it can, but I think its lengthening the time span between negative intrusive thoughts, or at least making my brain a less healthy environment for them to thrive.