So, let's be frank. A lot of people deal with really bad depression/anxiety/chronic pain etc. I'm more or less one of these people in terms of, I have really bad depression and chronic migraines. Of course when I'm in the midst of a depressive episode (which is happening more frequently) it's hard to get anything done, and therefore it just gets worse because I'm thinking about all the things I should be doing. Like, I should be cleaning or I should be getting school stuff done or whatever. Part of my issue is I have terrible 'coping' habits and am curious about what other people do to feel better or what other people do that puts their depression to rest for awhile. I've been finding it hard to go to work, clean, do basic stuff because I've been so not with it? Everything is overwhelming and I'm wondering just what everyone does that helps them, and maybe tips for putting on the grownup pants.

I find doing things that are comfortable help me feel better, especially if I'm feeling anxious. I don't, thankfully, often get bouts of depression, so I can't really say anything in that department, but anything familiar and comforting is always helpful for me. I tend to watch funny, light-hearted movies or Youtube videos, or play video games or just do something to distract me and get my mind off of whatever may be troubling me at the time.

I would maybe make a little list of things that you would like to get done. Just small things every day as to not overwhelm yourself, and once you've done it, check it off and then it's done and you don't have to worry about it.

Also I find prepping for the next morning always makes things a bit easier. Like, what you're going to wear, or have for breakfast, get the coffee maker all ready, etc.

And have you maybe thought about speaking to a therapist? If not, they might also be able to help give you some coping tips.

I have the same exact issue. I /want/ to do a lot of things, but sadly I just can't get myself to do any of them. I do not have enough energy because my depression takes it all out of me.

There are somethings that can help me every once in awhile and they are usually playing with animals, going outside, cooking, drawing, watching TV/movies I enjoy, and talking to friends (preferably on the phone!).

Working out or taking a quick walk can always do wonders for the soul. Try to get up at least an hour earlier in the day and get a head start. My ex use to do that and it really helped him out! I think the morning is the most important part of the day to set your head straight for the upcoming tasks that await. So plan your morning accordingly.

Write out your goals you want to accomplish each day, so maybe purchase a cute planner.

hugs I hope for the best!

So I've been having a few depressive episodes myself recently and here is my process for getting/feeling better, for what it's worth:

1. Identify why I feeling crappy. My episodes are usually triggered by something at work or things I'm not doing at home or just a generally negative outlook on the future of my life. Something like "wow my life is awful" or just feeling down is a lot worse than "I'm feeling sad because of me not doing the chores/someone at work was abrupt with me"
2. Thought challenge and thought challenge and thought challenge. Now that you have a thought you can actually fight instead of one giant negative, it's much easier to play the role of your own personal BFF. "It's just the dishes." and "The future is always changing don't worry so much" and "If you keep working at it I'm sure things will change" and "I'm sure they didn't mean it at work" and "Well even if they did mean it, what's the worst that could happen" etc etc. Working out worse case scenarios actually really help me because then I feel like I know what could happen.
3. Forgive myself for wasted time/Acknowledge what is outside of my limitations of controlling. When it's things like not getting enough done for the day, it's nice to remind myself that lots of people waste a lot of time. And when it comes to problems outside of my control, I figure out what I can personally do and what I can't, and try to let it go.
4. While many people tend to try and feel better first, honestly I find that if I can get rid of the problem, often the productivity will make me feel way better. Because while therapy techniques help for the moment, the thoughts are what stay and those pervade moments where I'm trying to feel better. So if it's chores, I generally put on my favorite tunes (not sad ballads lol) and give it a whirl. Or call a friend while I'm prepping laundry. And etc. The more you can get your mind off the difficulty of the task, the easier it tends to flow. Often times, when I'm trying to force myself to do something, I tend to beat myself up for it and thus make the whole problem a lot worse.
5. Create deadlines. I work best under pressure. Even when depressed. So planning an event where I'm forced to have things done by really does help. For example, I'll plan to have my mom come visit on a weekend. Thus I have to get the laundry done so she didn't think I live in a barn lol. Or friend events where I go out. Which means I can't let the dishes sit to grow mold while I'm out for the weekend.
6. If I can't get it done, do something else. I find that change of pace really helps and that I've got a bad habit of moping when I'm stuck in my apartment, so if I can't do the task I feel guilty about or etc, I'll go to the library or the bookstore or etc. It's a lot easier to get in my car than to do the dishes apparently. And then you forgive yourself and give yourself time to do the thing you need to get done. Progress is slow many days.
7. When worse comes to worse, I pull out easy to eat food and listen to sad music and go to bed early. Then the next day I'm only allowed to listen to upbeat music all day and this trend repeats until I eventually get whatever needs to get done, done.
8. When you get whatever has been haunting you done, CELEBRATE!! Even if it's something stupid, it's cause for celebration :). I finished really annoying but technically easy documentation at work after it haunted me for 3 months in complete utter agony and triggered it's own depressive episode, and went to go eat a giant meal and buy some stuff that had been sitting in my amazon shopping cart for forever.

Lavy's idea of planning the day is good as well. Creating a very detailed list of short tasks to do is helpful in the sense that there is a very good feeling of getting stuff crossed off. No matter how small :)

In general though, depression and etc is just a constant battle (but it most certainly gets easier). For example, I used to have awful awful self confidence. Through my own research (reading and watching happiness lectures) I ended up doing an exercise where you take a golf clicker and count every negative thought you have during the day. This not only gets you to take notice of your thought process but also makes it easier for you to identify later. I started at probably close to 100. Within a day it dropped to 70 just from being aware. The next step is then to thought challenge every. single. negative. This dropped my count to 30 the next day and then down to 10 the day after that--probably a mixture of being able to start thinking in a more realistic and positive manner but also because it was a pain to have the negative thought to begin with if I would have to spend the next 3 minutes telling myself how it wasn't the end of the world. Now I can thought challenge almost instantaneously and while I still have to practice, it's a lot easier. It's about challenging yourself each and every day and lol tbh it's exhausting. But even when you have to take breaks and mope (what I'm doing this weekend haha) it's 100% worth it. At my worst, I was sleeping 21 hours a day and literally not functioning anymore. Now I've held a steady entry level job in the field of my choice for 8 months and have my own apartment.

Best of luck!!