Well, posting here and asking all the right questions is great and shows that you do want to be well and want ideas on how to get there. So it may not seem so strong but you do have hope.

And there is reason to. Depression can be helped tremendously and even healed completely. It depends on lots of things but the point is that there is hope.

Therapy really does help and so do some medications. If you for whatever reasons can't go that way, there are things you can do for yourself, like the suggestions here.

I would add that breaking out of the isolation even if just a little bit is going to help. There are ways to do this. One that is related to therapy is joining a support group. Often these are free and people understand what it is like.

If not, then signing up for some sort of class or workshop. You meet people and do something different, both helpful.

I find keeping a journal and finding creative outlets helpful. I also have done a lot of reading and find that helps too.