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Student Objectives
■ Identify symptoms of depression and its prevalence.
■ Analyze the defining nature of depression.
■ Describe the major types of depression.
■ Identify risk factors and course of depression.
■ Relate the co-morbidity of depression to other illnesses.
■ Evaluate the social and economic costs of depression.
■ Understand depression in the context of culture.
Suggestions for Presentation of Material
■ Write on the board: the words “sad,” “blue,” and “hopeless.” Talk about normal feelings. Invite the students to discuss whether they think these feelings are different than what is called “depression.” Discuss the importance of these symptoms. Then write on the board the other symptoms of depression to show what clinical depression looks like.
■ Write on the board: “19 million” (number of depressed persons in adult U.S. population); “148 billion” (cost in dollars in the United States in 1990 for all types of mental illness); “63 billion” (cost in dollars in the United States for lost productivity due to mental illness of all types); “1 in 8” (estimated number of adolescents who may be depressed). Ask students what they think the numbers refer to. To convey the significance of the figures, give figures for the gross national product and sectors of the economy and federal budget, such as education, defense and the environment. Invite the students to discuss the impact of these figures on society. Write their answers on the board.
■ Discuss the importance of getting help, for economic as well as social and psychological reasons. Describe scenarios that engage students: why a parent might be depressed and the effect on other family members; why a child or teenager might be depressed and the effect on the kid’s quality of life (friendship, school, fun), etc. Discuss conditions in a community that might make some people especially vulnerable to depression (such as poverty, violence, high number of single-parent families, lack of social support).
What else is in Chapter 1?
See below for a summary of what you will find in the rest of the Lesson Plan.
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Key Points of Discussion
- Symptoms of Depression
- Types of Depression
- Major depressive disorder
- Bipolar disorder
- Substance-induced mood disorder
- Mood disorder due to a medical condition
Other types of depression
- Postpartum depression
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
- Prevalence: Who Gets Depressed?
- Course of Depression: Onset to Outcome
- Suicide and Depression
Other Aspects of Depression
- Risk Factors for Depression
- Cognitive and Other Factors Associated with Depression
- Depression and Co-Morbidity
- Depression: The Social and Economic Costs
