What kind of work experience do you have at any level? Sales?, Customer Service? Waiting tables?
Give me a clue and i'll try and come up with a good suggestion..
In answer to your "How long does it take to get better"? question, i cant give an amount of time, but i can say i was in a very dificult place a few years ago, i had 2 choices, keep my chin up and keep trying anything and everything to improve my situation, or give into the gloom and let it get worse..
I had to give myself a pep talk every now and then, but i chose the former option, and eventually it paid off.. It took time and hard work- working 3 jobs over 7 days a week, but i did it and life is good. Plus i now know that i have the internal guts to cope with almost anything so lifes problems seem that much easier now!