How to Cope With Depression: 9 Ways Routine, Humor, and Support Can Help

ShannyPants may be known online for her big personality, playful sarcasm, and hilarious videos, but behind the humor is an honest and deeply relatable experience with depression.

The Instagram creator, whose audience has grown from roughly 100 friends and family members to hundreds of thousands of followers, has spoken candidly about living with depression. Her openness reminds people that someone can be energetic, successful, outgoing, and funny while still privately struggling to get through the day.

This article summarizes a conversation from the Giving Voice to Depression podcast hosted by Terry McGuire. During the episode, Shannon—known online as ShannyPants—discussed daily routines, antidepressant medication, asking for help, and the healing power of humor.

Her story offers practical ideas for coping with depression while also acknowledging an essential truth: not every strategy works every day.

1. Depression Can Look Different Daily

Depression does not always look like complete immobility or visible sadness. Some days, a person may still work, care for their family, laugh with friends, and complete necessary tasks while feeling unlike themselves internally.

On other days, getting off the couch may feel nearly impossible.

Shannon described her public personality as outgoing, energetic, funny, and ready to have a good time. Her experience of depression is almost the complete opposite.

As Shannon explained:

I’m unmotivated, I don’t feel like doing anything, I have no energy, and I’m not productive—at all.

That contrast can be confusing to people who only see someone’s most animated or entertaining moments. It can also make the person experiencing depression question whether their struggles are legitimate.

Depression can vary considerably from one day to the next. A person may experience:

• Mild disconnection or irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Low motivation despite continued functioning
• Physical exhaustion
• Withdrawal from other people
• An inability to complete basic daily tasks

Recognizing this variability can reduce self-judgment. A difficult day does not mean someone has failed or lost all their progress.

2. Build a Flexible Daily Routine

For Shannon, routine provides structure when her thoughts, energy, or motivation feel unpredictable.

A routine does not eliminate depression. It can, however, reduce the number of decisions someone must make when their mental energy is limited.

Shannon shared how routine helps her regain her footing:

Routine is huge. So I feel like if I can have some sort of a routine in my day on the days I wake up and it’s not going well, even if I deviate from my routine, I can quickly hop back on.

The phrase hop back on is important. A supportive routine should not become another standard someone uses to criticize themselves.

Depression-friendly routines leave room for disruption. They provide a path to return to rather than a test that someone either passes or fails.

A flexible morning routine might include:

1. Taking prescribed medication
2. Drinking a glass of water
3. Opening the curtains
4. Washing one’s face
5. Eating something simple
6. Reviewing one manageable priority

On a better day, the routine may expand. On a difficult day, completing only one or two steps may be enough.

3. Keep Daily Goals Intentionally Small

Large to-do lists can deepen feelings of paralysis when depression has already depleted someone’s energy.

Shannon uses a paper planner and intentionally includes tasks that might seem too small to write down. Drinking water, making the bed, and taking medication all earn a place on her list.

As Shannon described her approach:

I purposely make those very easy goals for the day so that I can cross them off the list and say, Look, you made your bed today, so good job.

These small accomplishments are not meaningless. They can create a sense of movement during a condition that often makes everything feel stuck.

Useful low-energy goals might include:

• Put one dish in the dishwasher
• Reply to one message
• Stand outside for two minutes
• Change into clean clothes
• Eat a prepared snack
• Take medication as prescribed
• Move laundry into one basket
• Schedule one necessary appointment

The objective is not to pretend these actions cure depression. The objective is to acknowledge effort and make the day slightly more manageable.

A short list that gets completed is often more supportive than an ambitious list that reinforces shame.

4. Change Your Environment When Needed

Depression frequently encourages people to remain in the place where isolation, sleep, and inactivity are most accessible.

Because Shannon works from home as a realtor, the couch can become particularly tempting on low-energy days. When possible, she goes to her office or another workspace so lying down is no longer the easiest option.

Shannon explained how leaving home can interrupt that pattern:

Some days it’s just going there and getting my computer out and not being at home where I can lay down on the couch and go to sleep.

This strategy is a form of environmental support. Rather than relying entirely on willpower, she changes her surroundings.

A change of environment might mean:

• Working at a library or coffee shop
• Sitting on the porch instead of remaining in bed
• Taking a short drive
• Walking through a store without buying anything
• Visiting a trusted friend
• Moving from the bedroom to a shared living space

Shannon is also honest that she cannot always make herself leave. Sometimes she knows what might help and still stays on the couch.

That does not make the strategy worthless. Coping with depression is not about executing every tool perfectly. It is about having options available and using them when possible.

5. Practice Gentler, More Supportive Self-Talk

Shannon’s ability to recognize depression and respond constructively did not happen overnight.

For years, she approached herself with criticism. She considered herself a strong person and believed she should simply get up, cope, and handle whatever was happening.

Shannon recalled the harsh messages she once directed at herself:

I’m fine. I can handle this. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Get up.

That internal pressure made an already difficult condition heavier.

Through therapy and personal work, she began speaking to herself differently. Instead of denying the depression or demanding that she soldier on, she learned to acknowledge what she was feeling while gently encouraging herself to take a helpful next step.

Supportive self-talk may sound like:

• This is a difficult morning, so I’ll start small.
• I don’t need to complete everything today.
• I know leaving the house sometimes helps.
• Resting does not make me lazy.
• I can ask someone to help me with this.
• I have felt this way before, and the intensity changed.

Self-compassion does not mean giving up. It means removing unnecessary cruelty from the process of trying again.

6. Seek Help Before Reaching Crisis

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Shannon was working while helping her adopted children navigate virtual school and their own mental health needs.

The pressure became overwhelming. Her memory worsened, ordinary responsibilities became unmanageable, and she struggled to get out of bed.

A friend who was a nurse encouraged her to speak with her doctor about medication. Shannon admitted that she resisted the idea until she had reached what she called a breakdown point.

Looking back, Shannon recognized how long denial influenced her decisions:

It’s been the denial. It’s been the I don’t know what’s wrong with me and assuming that everyone feels the same.

Many people delay treatment because they believe their symptoms are not severe enough. Others fear being judged, minimize their pain, or assume they should be able to manage it alone.

Possible signs that additional support is needed include:

• Symptoms interfering with work or relationships
• Increasing isolation
• Trouble completing daily activities
• Significant changes in sleep or appetite
• Persistent hopelessness
• Memory or concentration problems
• Thoughts of self-harm or suicide

Support may come from a primary care doctor, therapist, psychiatrist, trusted loved one, support group, or crisis service. A person does not need to wait until life becomes completely unmanageable before reaching out.

7. Consider Medication Without Shame

Shannon was not raised in an environment where mental illness was openly discussed. Medication initially felt unfamiliar and uncomfortable to her.

Seeing medication help one of her children began to challenge her assumptions, but it was still years before she considered it for herself.

After reaching out to her therapist and doctor, she began taking an antidepressant. The first week was uncomfortable, but she soon noticed a substantial change.

Shannon recalled the difference she experienced:

I had this renewed sense of energy. I wasn’t waking up with that huge fog hanging over my head.

Medication is not the right choice for every person, and responses can vary. Decisions about antidepressants should be made with a qualified healthcare professional who can discuss possible benefits, side effects, timelines, and alternatives.

For Shannon, medication did not erase every difficult day. It gave her more capacity to manage work, parenting, therapy, and the other demands in her life.

Needing medication is not a character flaw. It is one possible form of healthcare.

8. Let Humor Offer Temporary Relief

Humor became particularly important to Shannon during the pandemic. She began posting lighthearted videos about the experiences many families were sharing.

Creating funny content helped her process stress. Watching humor can also offer a temporary interruption from repetitive, painful thoughts.

As Shannon simply put it:

Humor is therapy for me.

A comedy, amusing video, playful podcast, or ridiculous animal clip will not resolve the underlying causes of depression. But relief does not need to be permanent to be meaningful.

A few minutes of laughter can:

• Interrupt rumination
• Reduce emotional intensity
• Create mental distance from painful thoughts
• Restore a sense of connection
• Make the next hour feel more manageable

Humor and depression are not mutually exclusive. Someone’s ability to laugh does not prove they are fine, just as their depression does not erase their capacity for joy.

For Shannon, humor became even more powerful when she stopped using it as the only part of herself she showed.

9. Share Enough Truth to Connect

Shannon’s social media account changed when she began discussing her history and mental health more openly.

One vulnerable post struck a chord and spread widely. Messages arrived from people who felt relieved to discover they were not the only ones struggling.

Shannon explained why she views her platform as a responsibility:

I feel it was given to me for the purpose of helping other people not feel alone. Because we don’t want to be alone. And depression is a disease of isolation.

Not everyone needs to discuss depression publicly. Sharing online may not feel safe, appropriate, or helpful for every person.

But struggling completely alone can allow depression to grow more powerful.

Sharing the truth might mean telling:

• A partner
• A trusted friend
• A family member
• A therapist
• A physician
• A support group
• A crisis counselor

Sometimes connection also comes through listening. Hearing someone else describe a familiar feeling can provide language, validation, and evidence that improvement is possible.

Shannon’s story does not promise that depression will never return. It offers something more realistic: proof that there can be movement, treatment, laughter, support, and healthier seasons.

There can be an out, even when depression makes that difficult to believe.