Ok .. I tried to post this a second ago and it said I had a wrong link .. no clue what that means .. anyway I will start over.

I am not sure where you live. Here, we go to school til we are 18 and then have the option to go to college for 2-8 yrs if we desire. Even if we drop out during those first 18 years, we can go back later and get an equivalent degree as an adult. So yes, our lives are structured but not neccessarily "pre-determined".

As to depressed people not wanting anything. It depends on what you mean and what stage of depression you are referencing. For example, suicidally depressed people do not want anything other than death (which they do work for). People in lesser stages though may want things like "people to care", "people to listen", "a life that means something", "money", "home", "a job", etc. Some of those things sound simplistic, yes. Things like "a job". Most people would say "then go look for one". The depressed person may respond "can't (my loved one) won't let me ", or "can't, I have (specific physical problems) and there are no jobs here that hire people like me ". Point is - even though the person wants it, he or she sees no way to get it. The person cannot see any positive outcome. Therefore that person cannot form a working plan to succeed in their goal. Other things such as "people to care" may actually be impossible. We cannot change others. We can get a whole new social circle but there is no guarantee those people will always care either. We need to accept our limitations - but that does not mean we do not want to go beyond them.

As to your own life. The choices on how to live your life are yours. You have the possibility of happiness no matter what you do. Depression can also rear its head no matter where you are or what you are doing.

How you treat depression is a personal thing.
There are natural ways. There are pharmaceutical ways. Both are correct. That does not make depression any less or more of a illness or disorder no matter which way you choose to treat it.

People treat cancer with drugs. People also treat cancer naturally. Is it not a disease when you can treat it natural? It is the same. Don't try to make it different.