When I was pregnant with my son Julian in 2015, I knew I was at risk for postpartum depression because I previously had postpartum depression in 2013 when I gave birth to my first child. My psychiatrist and I discussed my history and agreed that it would basically take divine intervention for me to not experience a second round of postpartum depression. We decided I should start taking Zoloft as soon as practicable after giving birth. Nathan and I also hired a night nurse because sleep deprivation destroys me.

But I wanted to do more to fight back against depression, so I created a checklist of all the little things that I knew would help me. I hung this list in a place where I would see it several times every day. (Translation: right by the bathroom!)

It’s been a long time since I needed that list, but a friend recently asked me about it. I could not find the original list, but ha! I listed everything in the epilogue of my memoir. So without further adieu, these are the little things that helped me keep depression at bay:

• Write
• Sing
• Go outside
• Open the windows
• Shower
• Listen to music
• Drink tons of water
• Stretch
• Get silly with Pippa (she was two and a half at the time I made this list but hey, it still works with seven year old Pippa and four year old Julian)
• Doodle, draw, knit or craft

These are the things that help me feel like my best self. And these are the things I forgot when I had postpartum depression in 2013.

But it’s not like these activities are a magic wand that always banish depression to the seventh circle of hell. I did these things religiously and still, about three months postpartum, my insomnia kicked in. I also felt anxious for no particular reason. After a few days, I realized my hormones were sliding into PPD territory, so I called my psychiatrist and she switched my medications. Within twenty-four hours, I felt much better.

Many of us are currently living under extreme circumstances. I know there isn’t a magic wand that will eliminate my feelings. I’m working to embrace my feelings. But even as I welcome my feelings, I am hustling to keep my spirits high, and these activities still give my mood a lovely boost.

If you feel like you might be ticking off the boxes of a mental illness, please ask for help. Things like stretching and taking a shower might lift your spirits, but you are not to blame if they don’t! Mental illness is a tricky thing under the best of circumstances, and right now, most of us are living in circumstances that very few would describe as “best.”