I find alternating the type of exercise to be helpful too. If I had to go to the gym 7 days a week, I'd get really bored. So instead, some days I hit the gym, other days I practice my drums (playing fast metal / punk so I'm tired and sweaty when I'm finished).
You might want to look at remote work, if that's something you're comfortable with. You can get paid well (think "Paris-salary") and live in more economical areas. Happy to talk more if you're interested.
In the UK my experience has been that graduate developer salaries aren't that great, but can double for someone woth as little as 1-2 years experience post university.
(I hardly know anyone in the city anymore and I haven't been feeling like going to meet people ever since I did, since I always thought of this as temporary and I would be leaving anytime)
Now is the time to recognize your motivations and turn them toward something better. Hunting for a job is much like hunting to attract members of the opposite sex:
1) Everybody wants someone who is already taken
2) You can't win unless you play the game
3) To get a 10, you at least need two 5's
Stop thinking of the perfect job and start thinking of ways you can build your experience to get the perfect job. With a little bit of excercise (P90 and Cracking the Coding Interview), some hero moves shown in the right places (pick the job doing something you care about) and a few peeps talking about your moves on the scene (a little open source), you'll be back in the game in no time.
There is a company that told me that they're still interested in me if I ever change my mind.
The job is basically building a news-web application for a client (hardly solving world hunger or any "real" problem) and the pay will be mostly enough to rent and eat.
Do you really think I should just "suck it up" and do it until something better comes in a few years?
I'd seriously think about taking it. Even if it is temporary and you decide to move on in 6 months or a year. It isn't ideal in some ways, but it may go a lot further towards helping your mental feeling then you realize.
I'd also agree that you get established with a physician and talk to them. Even a GP can a lot of times help walk you through this while you start your new job etc.
And just cause you take a job doesn't mean you have to stop looking for your passion. Keep up the search but take a job.
First gigs often suck, they don't know how good you are yet, so the don't let you touch the awesome stuff. Cool firms won't hire juniors? Well go hack some of that shit with these guys until you got a year or 2 under your belt, then you won't be able to keep firms away from you.
On the depression side, I'm just getting out of some shit like that. A couple things that helped:
Sun bathing, sounds silly and vain or whatever but most people are vitamin D difficient
A bit of exercise: ride a bike or walk for 20 minutes a day. This is easy, and just enough to get blood moving and what not.
If you drink, take a month off of booze.
36 hour fasts every other weak. Basically dinner on day 1 no food day 2 breakfast on day 3. It sucks while you're doing but it'll keep your head straight for the next couple days.
There's probably more shit that I've tried, but I do the above on and off. Try one out?
Not the person you asked, but I'd take it. It sounds like not having a job is taking a toll on your mental health. Even if you end up not liking it as you expect, it will likely still give you valuable experience and more information about what you want in your job. For example, you might realize that an interesting stack is less valuable to you than more pay, or vice-versa.
If you don't take it, definitely follow the advice elsewhere in the thread and invest in your health.
I'd also see a doctor about the potential depression. Hopefully, it will go away with the structure of a job, but it's good to be proactive about health. (If you're moving to a new area, you can also establish care with your new GP or primary care physician at the same appointment.)
It doesn't have to be the gym. Find some people who play ultimate in the park, or basketball, or volleyball, or soccer, or whatever you like. That way, you're not just getting exercise, you're also with some people. Having someone else read what you're trying to do and passing to you at just the right spot is sweet in a way that just lifting weights or running on a treadmill will never be.
According to you what is a good salaries grid ?