I can't speak for myself because I am not there yet, but my younger sister has been through hell and back with bipolar disorder and severe anxiety. She was hospitalized a total of 30 days in less than a year and now that she has the right doctors, some good medications and the right therapists and is in a DBT group she is doing fantastic!
I'm hoping I can find that place in the next 18 months, but you are right it is hard. Especially when depression just won't let up and you can't even remember what it was like to feel "normal".
Please don't give up. One of my favorite sayings is "In the end it will be okay. If it is not okay, it is not the end."