> Listening to upbeat, energetic music and avoiding depressing music, which tends to make me feel worse
Anecdotally, this would have completely the opposite effect on me. If I was frustrated or down in high school I would listen to Whitehouse or something and get over it by virtue of the fact that there exists someone orders of magnitude more manic than I was. It made my feelings seem trivial in comparison.
Even when I'm not feeling down, listening to stereotypically upbeat music is sure to make me feel down. I would wonder how people could produce such an upbeat thing and speculate how such upbeatness could be acquired. Then I would conclude they're just in a separate plane of existence from me, unreachable by any means, and by then I'm feeling more down than I was.
This is when I'm not depressed.
> Time heals all wounds.
I can never bring myself to believe this, depressed or not. Some people are born a certain way, and there's no real cure for whatever condition they have. If it is meant that we only live a single lifetime then I'd be inclined to believe it, but in that case I don't think such a statement will help people questioning the value of staying alive.
Coincidentally I was reading Johnny Got His Gun the other night, which is probably an antithesis to this statement. Imagine you're a veteran, no arms, no legs, no mouth or eyes or ears or anything really except one's own mind. All of it blown off by shrapnel. Nothing but your own thoughts to pore over the details for the rest of your existence. Can time literally heal such wounds?
Depressed people, or people who aren't even depressed currently but have been through it enough times, will take any adage thrown at them and like a martial artist find some way to redirect the intended meaning behind the words into one which fulfills their personal outlook on life. You can mean perfectly well by saying such while it will end up having the opposite effect. And you might not even know this is the case when the other person says "thanks" or something. They know if they give the generic universally acknowledged upbeat, energetic response people expect, the other party will be satisfied and go away. Anything to make them so they won't have to listen to words that will never mean the same things again.
It's difficult to get through to people who do not think rationally. For all you know they might not even be seeking advice but merely validation that nobody really, truly cares enough to get to the bottom of their psyche, their desires, them, and instead regurgitate Inspirational Quote of the Week as if it were something resolvable over the course of a day. When they receive that validation it only solidifies their position.
I'm not saying you shouldn't try. I will not give mental health advice for these reasons.
But that's how it can go.