This post originally appeared on my first blog, “What I Meant To Say.”

Here’s a little cheat sheet for you just in case you find yourself face-to-face with a person suffering from depression.  It’s always hard to know exactly what to say…

Are you okay?  This should be said as soon as you lay eyes on the person, with incredible emotion, as though you just witnessed the person barely escape alive from a car accident, and her hair is on fire.  Don’t worry; she won’t feel self-conscious at all about her appearance.

Exercise always makes me feel better.  These are motivational words for anyone who is overwhelmed by the thought of getting out of bed to take a shower.

Whenever I’m sad, I always try to think about the good things in my life.  Depressed people love to be reminded that we are too self-absorbed to realize that we should be grateful there isn’t a telethon named after us.

Maybe, you should stop drinking/eating so much Diet Coke/fill-in-the-blank. You are absolutely right.  Depriving ourselves of the less destructive vices in life will definitely make us more cheerful.

Are you mad at me?  Of course I’m mad at you.  The fact that you feel the need to ask me this question proves that you are feeling guilty about some transgression against me.  But, don’t worry,  I’m more mad at myself.  Partly for being mad at other people.

Do you really think medication is the best option?   That’s a great question.  I’m not sure.  I mean, I haven’t tried anything else.  As soon as I cried during my first ASPCA/Sarah McLachlan commercial, I said to myself, “I need to get a handle on this.  I better start popping some pills.”

I looked everywhere on the internet, and on my new medication information, and nowhere does it say: Possible Side Effects – Increased Sarcasm.  The FDA really needs to look into this…