I do like your suggestions. Anything that helps snap the whirling thoughts that go through your head during an episode is good. But depression for many is not just sadness. When I'm really bad (like now) there is another component that is very hard to describe... My brain just shuts down! I can feel it in my head. It's not pain like a headache, and it's not just feeling foggy, like from medications, but something is not right... I can't seem to make people understand what it is, but I'm basically paralyzed, non-functional... Like I can't even decide what to eat, what to do... I just know that I need it to STOP!