I'm bad at giving advice but I wholeheartedly agree that you gotta work out. Mostly because you gotta be doing that sh*t anyway and the endorphin kick is just a sweet little bonus. I'unno about pussy sh*t like running, though.
Heavy weights, cardio kickboxing/MMA, even aggressive yoga, all work great for blowing off steam and literally kicking your own ass.
I feel like a lot of "depression" in all its various forms comes from people having no practical or productive outlet for their excess emotions. "I'm feeling things deeply but there's no convenient way to make use of this energy, so I think I'll just wallow and let it consume me slowly from within." And it's hard to find people to turn to for guidance and counsel, because frankly, nobody really truly cares all that much about anyone else's problems. And sometimes, depending on the situation, other people can accidentally say the wrong thing and make everything worse without even trying.
So yeah; Hit something, you'll feel better. Nobody ever felt WORSE after hitting something, except my brother-in-law that one time, because it was the side of his house.
And even in a cast up to his elbow, he insisted it was the right decision
because before that he was so angry that shattering his wrist on the bricks totally made him feel a million times better, until the adrenaline wore off and he wished he was dead. 
Lift things and hit things. There it is. AND tell your doctor some bullsh*t about how your back hurts so he can give you a script for some'a them Funny Cigarettes. That may in fact be the better advice.