Lesson 8.3: Depression and Mood Disorders

Overview

This lesson focuses on depression, what it is, specific types of depression, and its effects on overall health.

Learning Targets

  • LO8: Explain what mood disorders are and describe their characteristics using three examples.
  • LO9: Describe risk factors associated with mood disorders.
  • LO10: Compare and contrast sadness and depression.
  • LO11: Identify five signs of depression.

Preparation

For the Warm-Up Activity: Write the Journal Question on the board or identify (and copy as needed) the worksheets you plan to use:

For the Content Focus: Open the Lesson 8.3 PowerPoint slides or make copies of the Lesson 8.3 Note-Taking Guide.

For the Lesson Focus: Copy the Lesson 8.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Making Healthy Decisions.

Warm-Up Activity

Select a warm-up activity to help get your class focused and on task.

  • Journal Question: When was the last time you felt really sad? How long did your sadness last, and what impacts did it have on your daily activities and relationships?
    • Option: Write or project the question and have students respond in their journal or on their “bell ringer” sheet as they enter class.
    • Option: Have students discuss the question with a partner or in a small group.
  • Vocabulary Review: Have students work individually, in pairs, or in small groups to complete the Lesson 8.3 Vocabulary Review Worksheet.
  • Quiz: Have students complete the Lesson 8.3 Quiz to assess their prior knowledge.
    • Option: Collect the quiz and use it alongside a posttest to demonstrate student learning.
    • Option: Have students share their answers with a partner and then go over the answers together as a class.

Lesson Content

Review the content from the textbook lesson.

Lesson Focus: Making Healthy Decisions

  1. Give each student a copy of the Lesson 8.3 Skill-Building Challenge Worksheet: Making Healthy Decisions.
  2. Have students work individually to complete the worksheet.
  3. Ask students to pair up and share their responses (only if comfortable).

Challenge Activity

Have students needing an additional challenge work on the following Thinking Critically task.

How could you help a younger student understand the difference between sadness and depression? Create a story, checklist, or tool that you could use with elementary students to teach them how to recognize when they or someone else is sad versus when they are depressed.

Reflection and Summary

Review the critical content from today’s lesson. Review the learning targets and ask students to answer each question posed.

Can you...

  • Explain what mood disorders are and describe their characteristics using three examples?

    Mood disorders affect a person’s emotional state. They include disorders in which a person experiences long periods of extreme happiness, extreme sadness, or both. Common mood disorders include

    • postpartum depression (feelings of extreme sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion during pregnancy or after birth),
    • persistent depressive disorder (ongoing major depression that lasts for two years or longer ), and
    • bipolar disorder (episodes of extremely low moods that meet the criteria for depression—called “bipolar depression”—mixed with extremely high moods).

  • Describe risk factors associated with mood disorders?

    Mood disorders may result from imbalances in brain chemicals, psychosocial factors such as major life events (e.g., the death of a loved one or divorce), and genetics and family history of mood disorders.

  • Compare and contrast sadness and depression?

    Sadness is a normal human emotion that we feel as a result of a situation or event. When we are sad, we can still carry out normal daily tasks, and we are generally able to recognize that things will get better. Major or clinical depression is a common but serious mood disorder. It affects the way you feel; think; and handle daily activities, such as your schoolwork, sleeping, relationships, and eating.

  • Identify five signs of depression?

    Signs of depression include

    • feeling depressed throughout each day on most or all days;
    • lack of interest in activities you used to find pleasurable;
    • trouble sleeping or sleeping too much;
    • eating too little or too much coupled with weight fluctuation;
    • irritability, restlessness, or agitation;
    • extreme fatigue;
    • unnecessary or excessive feelings of guilt or worthlessness;
    • inability to concentrate or make decisions; and
    • suicidal thoughts or actions or thinking a lot about death.

Assessment

Complete one or more of the following assessment tasks for this lesson.

Take It Home

Spend some time seeking out comic relief. Consider video clips from social media, favorite songs and movies, or funny people who make you laugh. Write out your list down and place it in a convenient location for times when you feel down or sad and need something that will lift your mood. Share your list with others and encourage them to do the same.