Your depression doesn't define you, and there's no reason to bring it up. It's perfectly reasonable to explain a work-history gap with "training/investing in y

Your depression doesn't define you, and there's no reason to bring it up. It's perfectly reasonable to explain a work-history gap with "training/investing in yourself for a new career". It wouldn't be a bad idea to do some pro-bono work for non-profits or something open-source, to reference on an interview. It doesn't need to be big. There will be places that judge you on all of the things you mention, but programming is one industry where being able to do the job matters more for enough people to make a difference. If you can actually do the job, you'll find one.