I think mine is a greatly slowed version of bipolar 2. Instead of only taking minutes it takes days weeks or months. Usually the low points after a longer time are the worst whereas the ones that set on randomly usually just make me feel unmotivated
I used to suffer from depression in high school. Anymore I'll just watch an ep or two of MLP. Escapism helps me release stress and forget about whatever was bringing me down. I think the first time I'd actually smiled, not just a fake smile, was when I started watching the show. Everyone has their own methods of coping. I used to have several but watching MLP I find to be the most legal and harmless. I don't know if it'd work but you could try that.
I have severe depression and have had it for most of my life. Many people don't understand the physical struggles that take place when you have depression so advice can come off as insulting. I know from experience that most of my family and friends just didn't get it. My grandma would say 'Just get to bed at a good time, wake up and say "today is going to be a good day", then eat a nice healthy breakfast and go for a walk'. Sounds good in theory, but not helpful for someone that is sleeping through 2 alarm clocks and a parent violently shaking them to wake up because they've slept 23hrs or alternating to the other end of the spectrum where I'd stay up for 2 days straight. People often don't understand the almost flu like aches and pains that can take place; or the incessant lethargy that makes even walking to the bathroom or getting something to eat, a challenge. I found a medication helped even out my mood and made it so I had the energy enough so I could get help in other ways. Medication isn't a magic cure, but it does help me sleep better, have a lesser severity of depression symptoms and keeps me from crashing. When you find a medication that works, it's important to stick with it. Even though with depression, your symptoms will come and go in severity, they will never go away and require constant work. Having a talk therapist also helped me quiet a bit. Having a 3rd party person to listen to me and not pass judgement was really helpful. This article believe it or not is pretty realistic for what people with mental illness have to go through: http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-facts-everyone-gets-wrong-about-depression/
I've never had depression but I played this game called Depression Quest that taught me a little bit about it.
