Depression rates among Americans ages 12 and older rose nearly 60% over a decade, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rates increased from 8.2% in 2013 to 2014 to 13.1% in 2021 to 2023.

Finding an effective treatment can take time. Antidepressants generally require four to eight weeks to work, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, while treatment choices vary according to each person’s symptoms and needs.

Clinical psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen, founder of Amen Clinics in California, identified six behaviors that people should avoid while experiencing depression. His guidance focuses on alcohol, inactivity, negative thoughts, isolation, highly processed foods and medication decisions made without a thorough assessment.

Alcohol can appear to provide temporary relief from depression symptoms, but Amen warned that mood may deteriorate as its effects wear off. As the brain adjusts to alcohol’s relaxing effects, people can become more anxious and restless after the initial buzz, leaving them feeling “worse than before.”

Drinking can also interfere with sleep, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. That disruption can add to fatigue the following day, potentially compounding the exhaustion that may already accompany depression.

Remaining in bed can be tempting, but Amen urged people to get up and begin their day. “When people are depressed, they tend to have pretty low activity, especially in the front part of their brain, but burying yourself under the covers just makes things worse,” he said. “Get up, get out.”

That advice is consistent with behavioral activation, a therapy that helps people gradually resume meaningful activities instead of withdrawing. A 2020 Cochrane review covering 53 studies and 5,495 adults found behavioral activation beneficial for treating depression.

Amen also warned against automatically accepting every negative thought as true. He calls automatic negative thoughts “ANTs” and said they can drive depression by entering the mind uninvited and shaping how a person interprets the day.

When powerful emotions such as sadness, anger, anxiety or a lack of control arise, Amen recommends writing down the related thoughts and asking whether they are true. He also advises reversing a troubling thought and meditating on its opposite.

“My favorite part – and there's a whole method to this – is flipping the thought and actually meditating on the opposite of the thought you have,” Amen said. “So, taking each thought captive.”

Social withdrawal is another behavior that can deepen the struggle, according to Amen. “The more isolated you get, the louder the ANT chorus gets, and it makes [depression] worse,” he cautioned.

A 2025 study in General Hospital Psychiatry followed more than 339,000 adults in the United Kingdom for roughly 12 years. Loneliness was associated with a 77% higher risk of developing depression, while social isolation was associated with a 14% higher risk.

Amen also advised limiting ultraprocessed foods, including many fast food items, because they have been linked to a higher risk of depression. The research cited in the report has not established cause and effect.

“There's actually a lot of consensus now among psychiatrists that inflammation drives certain types of depression,” Amen told Fox News Digital. A 2025 review in the American Journal of Psychiatry supported a role for inflammation in some cases, although elevated inflammatory markers appeared only in a subset of people with depression.

Amen recommends a diet emphasizing “vegetables, healthy protein and healthy fats.” A 2024 review of five randomized trials involving 1,507 adults found that Mediterranean style diets reduced depressive symptoms compared with control groups, although the results varied considerably among the studies.

Medication decisions should also be individualized because not every antidepressant is appropriate for every person, and not every patient needs medication. Amen stressed the importance of a thorough assessment before antidepressants are prescribed, while noting that the medications can be “lifesaving.”

Psychotherapy is often the first approach for milder depression, while people with moderate or severe depression are usually prescribed medication as part of initial treatment, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Amen said people who still struggle after doing “all the right things” should seek further medical evaluation, which may include blood tests for anemia or thyroid disease depending on symptoms and medical history.

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Are you feeling overwhelmed or hopeless right now? Have you been withdrawing from people or activities you usually enjoy? Are you having thoughts about hurting yourself, or feeling like things will never improve?

You do not have to handle those feelings alone. Support is available, and talking to someone can make a difference. You can reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or by chatting online at 988lifeline.org. Trained counselors are available 24 hours a day to listen and help.

If you believe someone is in immediate danger, call emergency services right away. Even a small step, like reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, or professional, can help create a path forward.