Any article about mental health and finding solutions to illness should be commended, but the most important thing anyone with depression and/or anxiety can do is get help. When I was at my most depressed, "goal-setting and planning" as the article recommends, were not feasible - it took a lot of effort to just make it to my CBT weekly sessions. (Group therapy also helped me to know that I wasn't the only one struggling.) Also, therapy INSTEAD of medication ("that has side effects") is not always an option. I needed both, and finding the right type and/or combination was integral. I suggested a medication (to my doctor) that I knew had helped a friend with serious depression and I honestly believe that it saved me. I give credit to my doctor who listened to me and to the psychiatrist who was willing to increase my dosage to 'kick start' my recovery. Several years later, I remain on low doses of both medications as they serve to maintain an equilibrium (albeit with 'dulled' emotions).