I found all the descriptions in this thread very fitting, and they all touched me in a way. Also, a lot of the images which have been used I had in my mind too. Like that of the black hole you try to climb out of, but when you grab the dirt, it crumbles away.
I often feel like Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol. Like I had long chains with weigths at the ends tied around my arms, legs and throat.
I also share Skeezyk's and Sula's perception that people don't seem to care, are angry or embarrassed if you try to talk about your symptoms.
Resilience, I don't know if there is a way to describe to someone who has never been affected by this how it feels. Maybe you could try to ask people about their own experiences of sadness, like maybe not dperession if they didn't experience that in their lives, but maybe how they felt when they lost someone or when a relationship ended. This may be comparable. You seem to be very mature and calm in the way you talk about your current crisis. You seem like a capable person to go through this, you can do this. I wish you all the strength you need now.