depression-support

Depression Support

Daily check-ins and small wins. One step at a time.

What it does

This skill offers three core functions to support you through depression:

• Mood Tracking: Log how you're feeling today with simple 1-10 scales or descriptive words. Track patterns over time to understand what helps.
• Behavioral Activation Suggestions: When motivation is low, the skill suggests small, achievable tasks that don't require energy or willpower—just momentum.
• Self-Care Prompts: Personalized reminders for hydration, movement, sleep, and connection tailored to what you find manageable.

Usage

Log Mood

Ask: "Log my mood" or "Check in on how I'm feeling"

• Rate your mood on a scale (1-10 or descriptive: terrible, bad, okay, good, great)
• Optional: Add a note about triggers or context
• Data is stored locally so only you see it

Get Suggestions

Ask: "What should I do today?" or "I don't know what to do"

• Receives 3-5 micro-tasks based on your energy level
• Tasks take 5-15 minutes (no commitment required)
• Examples: drink a glass of water, step outside for 30 seconds, text one person, open a window

Small Wins

Ask: "Celebrate a win" or "I did something today"

• Log any accomplishment, no matter how small
• Tracks momentum over time
• Builds evidence against the voice telling you nothing matters

Self-Care Check

Ask: "Self-care reminder" or "Am I taking care of myself?"

• Brief check on basics: sleep, food, water, movement, connection
• No judgment—just awareness
• Suggests one small thing you can do right now

Track Patterns

Ask: "Show my mood history" or "What patterns do you see?"

• Weekly or monthly overview of mood trends
• Identifies what correlates with better days (more sleep? time outside? talking to someone?)
• Helps spot early warning signs

Behavioral Activation

When depression tells you nothing matters and motivation is gone, behavioral activation breaks the cycle by decoupling action from feeling.

The principle: You don't feel like doing something → so you wait until you feel like it → but you don't feel like it (depression) → so you do nothing → which makes depression worse.

The flip: Do the thing anyway, even at 5% capacity. The feeling follows the action, not the other way around.

Micro-tasks this skill suggests:

• Physical: stretch, stand, walk to the window, drink water, take a shower
• Social: text one person, read one message, react to a post
• Creative: draw one line, write three words, hum a song
• Cognitive: read one paragraph, watch a 2-minute video, solve one puzzle

Start with the smallest possible version. "Go for a walk" becomes "step outside." That's it. Momentum builds.

Tips

1. Check in daily, not obsessively. Once a day is enough. Depression loves spirals—don't track every hour.

2. You don't need to feel better to complete a task. The task is the win. Feeling better is a side effect, not a requirement.

3. Small wins are still wins. Taking a shower on a bad day is the same as climbing a mountain on a good day. Your brain doesn't know the difference—it only knows you did something.

4. When you're doing okay, set future self up. On better days, note what helped. Write it down. Your depressed self will need that info later.

5. All data stays local on your machine. Nothing syncs to the cloud. Your mood history, notes, and patterns exist only on your device—no tracking, no analytics, no sharing.

If You're in Crisis

This skill is not a substitute for professional help.

• 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline)
• Text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line)

If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, reach out now. These services are free, confidential, and available 24/7.