In the world of health care, mental illness isn't taken as seriously as physical illness. Mental illness is the red headed step child, because it doesn't have physical manifestations - you can't check for it with lab values, you can't see it like trauma, you can't hear it in a person's lungs. It can be incredibly hard for someone with debilitating depression to get themselves out of the hole of a depressive state. You're isolated because the people around you, unless they have suffered through the same thing, likely won't have the tools to be able to help you.
The standard advice (which I'm not discounting) is to seek counseling and go see your primary care provider for an SSRI to help ameliorate the symptoms. With both of these treatments, the first person/pill that you take isn't going to do what you want. You may not appropriately connect with the first counselor that you talk to. The first medication you take may help, but not nearly enough. You'll likely have to try different counselors and different drugs - prescribed anti-depressants - until you find the ones that suit you. And even then there isn't a guarantee because the treatment of mental illness is mostly a shot in the dark.
Many people are resistant to taking medication to help them deal with their symptoms because they think it will turn them into a different person and that they will lose themselves. They are correct to a certain extent - SSRIs in my experience can make you more detached and emotionally distant. The thing is, if you are fearing that you will be radically changed by the drugs you are taking, that fear will help you to retain the parts of you that you like. Just be careful not to prevent the parts of you from changing that need to change to keep you alive.
There were certain things that helped me more than others during my dark years. Having someone in your life that takes your problems seriously and with whom you can share your problems is vitally important. I don't necessarily think that this has to be a counselor - a family member or friend who has fought and overcome depression can be a very helpful resource. They will likely tell you a lot of the same stuff I'm telling you here . Equally important in my eyes is meticulous self care. It is incredibly important to have a regular exercise program that you are following - be it lifting weights or running . The endorphins do wonders for improving your mood and if you are anything like me, listening to music can be therapeutic in dealing with your emotions. It is my honest opinion that if I had not payed such close attention to my health and didn't exercise that I wouldn't be alive today. You also want to make sure that you keep up with your personal hygiene and grooming. It's a matter of self respect.
Low self esteem and depression go hand and hand. Dealing with low self esteem requires a radical change in the way that view yourself. You have to look at yourself as if you were your own parent - the ideal parent that you wish that you had had that wants the best for you and who forgives you in spite of your mistakes and faults and who is always willing to give a second chance. The New Testament depiction of God is akin to the kind of parent you want to imagine yourself as. If you think about yourself as an ego that is only out to benefit itself you aren't going to take the steps of self care that you need to make yourself feel better. Look at yourself as a loving parent would look after his or her child. You'll show much more compassion to yourself.
Depression has a time component. It's not something that really goes away, so much as you become more resilient and able to tolerate it. Try your best to distract yourself with goals and a vision on how you want your future to be, listen to what I said above, and you'll have a better chance of making it through to the other side.
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