Lesson 8: Depression

Lesson 8: Depression

Listen to the audio of the following terms:

anti-depressant
depressed
down
down in the dumps
miserable
mood
no point to my life
sad

suicide

commit suicide
ups and downs

Activity 1: Complete the sentences using the words below.

unhappy mind sad sometimes feel kill yourself

1 If you feel depressed, you feel very _______________most of the time.

2 A mental illness is an illness which affects your ____________or the way you think.

3 To feel ‘down in the dumps’ means to feel __________ or miserable.

4 If you say that you have your ‘ups and downs’ it means that you _______________feel happy and sometimes sad.

5 To commit suicide means to take your own life or to__________________.

6 A person’s mood is the way they____________. We say a person is ‘in a good mood’ (happy) or ‘in a bad mood’ (annoyed).

Listen to the audio and read the text and answer the questions that follow.

Depression

Many people find it difficult to talk about depression. They may feel that having a mental illness is a weakness. Or, they may feel that other people will not want anything to do with them if they admit that they have depression.

Some people use expressions other than ‘depression’ to explain how they feel. They may say that they feel miserable or that they are ‘down in the dumps’. Sometimes people may say that they have their ‘ups and downs’. This makes it sound as if the way they are feeling is not very serious.

People with depression can feel extremely sad for a long time. They may feel that there is no point to their life. They often feel very tired and may say that they are not interested in life. People with severe depression may even try to commit suicide.

Activity 2: Answer the questions about the text.

1. Some people don’t want to talk about depression because they think _____________.

a people might think they are weak

b people may think they have a serious illness

c people don’t want to listen

2. If you say you have your ‘ups and downs’, it means ______________.

a you are depressed all the time

b you are severely depressed

c you feel sad sometimes and happy at other times.

3. Depression is __________________________________.

a feeling unhappy almost all the time

b feeling sad because something bad has happened

c happiness at all times

4. People who are very depressed for a long time may __________________.

a take a trip to hospital

b take their own life

c life their life quietly

Grammar Focus : Feel + adjective

We use an adjective after ‘feel’ to explain how we feel. For example,
I feel tired / sleepy / exhausted.
I feel sad / depressed / miserable / down.
I feel uninterested in life.

Activity 3: Listen to these dialogues and complete them.

Dialogue 1

Nurse: How are you feeling, Julie?

Patient: Not good. I feel _____________ all the time.

Nurse: I see. Has anything made you ______________?

Patient: No. I just can’t stop feeling like this.

Dialogue 2:

Nurse: How are things today?

Patient: I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel.

Nurse: It’s OK. Do you still feel _____________________?

Patient: Yes. I feel so tired. There’s no _____________________ at all.

Watch the video and complete the activities that follow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDff8YaFTvI

Activity 4: Match the nurse’s questions with the patient’s answers.

1.How are you feeling now a.	It’s been a couple of months now.
2. What is making you feel sad b.	You mean anti-depressants?
3. How long have you been feeling like this c.	I still feel sad most of the time.
4. It might be a help to take some tablets for a little while. d.	Maybe I’ll do that.
5 .It would be a good idea to speak to your GP about it. e.	I don’t know. There’s just no point to my life.

Grammar Focus: Present Perfect
When we ask How long? we use the Present Perfect or the Present Perfect Continuous

Present Perfect = have + past participle e.g. have you lived
Present Perfect Continuous = have been + present participle e.g. have you been living

The answer uses ‘for’ (for a few days / weeks/ years) or ‘since’ ( since 2010)

For example:
How long have you been feeling sad? ........ I’ve been feeling sad for a few weeks.
How long have you been feeling down?........ I’ve been feeling down for days.
How long have you been feeling depressed?........ I ‘ve been feeling depressed since 2009.

Activity 5: Unjumble the answers to the questions.

Homework: Read out the completed conversations.

1 How does Jane feel now?

of the time /she feels / sad most

2 What is making Jane sad?
what / Jane doesn’t know / is making her sad

3 How long has Jane been feeling depressed?

depressed for / a couple of months / she’s been feeling

4 What does the nurse think might help Jane?

Jane / medication / she thinks anti-depressant / might help

5. Who does the nurse think Jane should speak to?
her GP / be a good idea / she says / to talk to / it would