DEPRESSION - A HISTORY THROUGHOUT TIME Warm up In pairs, discuss the following questions. 1, What's the difference between ‘sadness’ and ‘depression’? 2. What's the difference between ‘melancholy’ and ‘grief’? 3. What do the following words mesn in the context of emotions? How would you use them in a sentence? ‘temperament (n) withdrawn (ad).) thrive (v) ‘suffering (n) Depression - a history: ‘Look atthe following extracts from Part 1 of the script. Number them in the correct order from 1-8. The first ono is done for you. ‘and what, if anything, to do about it 2a the natural reaction to a itficutt situation. butfor centuries there has been vast disagreement over what exactly itis __ But your assumption that sadness has an external cause outside the selfs a relatively new idea, __ In ts simplest terms, sadness is often thought of _ ‘Sadness is part ofthe human experience _1 When a ftiend says, I'm sad’, you often respond by asking, ‘What happened?" ‘You feel sad when a friend moves away or when a pet dies.Now watch Part 1 of the video (00:00 -00:36) and check your answer. In pairs, discuss the following questions. 1. What was the last thing that made you sad? 2. Ifyou're feeling sad, what do you usually do to try and improve your mood? Focus on vocabulary Part A: Match the words to the definitions. 4. bilo (n) ‘a. an academic who studies the human race and how it developed 2. resonate (v) b. a thick liquid produced in the body 3. discem (w) existing in a clear and real way 4. tangible (ad) 4. 10 attempt to understand or recognise something that isn't easy to identity 5. anthropologist (n) _€. to effectively pul an idea into words 6. versus (prep) {. tomeke someone think and remind them of a similar thing 7. articulate () 9. tostand or siton a branch or small surface, often used with birds 8. perch (vy) h. usually used between two nouns to show that they are in opposition Part B: Now write the words from Part A in the correct gap in the following sentences. 41. When | came out ofthe office, my son was, (on top of the wall waiting for me 2. Biig crowds are expected tonight forthe Boston Red Sox New York Yankees game. That rivalry will never die down! 3. Emest Hemingway suffered from depression too, and | found his writing really with me. 4.and my eldest son is an, He's in the Amazon at the moment studying one of, the tribes who live there. 5, | threw up lastnight and I can still taste the, inmy mouth. i's disgusting! 6. I've lived in Makassar for a few years now, but | stil find it hard to between Makassarese words and words from Bahasa Indonesia, 7. Lenjoy taking to my counsellor, but there are times when | find, how |feel about ‘events in my life to be really difficult 8. Unfortunately, the pandemichas had a, effect on local businesses, with many of ther shutting down and leaving.In pairs, answer the following quostions. 41. Which books or films rally resonate with you? 2. When you need to talk about your feelings, do you find it hard to articulate your thoughts? WhyWhy not? 3. Are there any words in English that you find it dificult to discern the difference between? 4, What event in your life made the most tangible difference to the way your life progressed after that? Depression - a history: Part 2 Watch Part 2 of the video (00:36 - 01:42) and complet word, the gaps in the following summary with one Doctors in Ancient Greece believed the body and (1) were regulated by @) humours, which were types of fuids. The humour responsible for sadness was believed to be (3), bile, which was where we get the word melancholy from. The way to balance the humours was via changing your (4) and certain ©) practices. While we understand much more about the body now, those early ideas are inline with current thinking about the causes of clinical (6). Modern- day doctors believe that unexplained emotions are due, in par, to brain (7) The way in which we respond to different circurnstances can depend on the (8) of these different chemicals. Depression - a history: Part 3 Look at the following missing sentences from Part 3 of the script on page four. Skim through the stand number them from 1 -6. (A) He call his project ‘paradise engineering’ (6) Butis there something sad about a world without sadness? (C)if you've never felt melancholy, you've missed out on part of what it means to be human, (0) Perhaps sadness helped generate the unity we needed to survive, but many have wondered whether the suffering felt by others is anything like the suffering we experience ourselves. (E)When we talk about heartbreak, the feeling of brokenness becomes part of our experience, whereas in a culture that talks about a bruised heart, there actually seems to be a different subjective experience, (F) The Romantic poets of the early 19th century believed melancholy allows us to more deeply understand other profound emotions, like beauty and joy.DEPRESSION: A HISTORY - PART 3 + There's also a long tradition of attempting to discem the value of sadness, anc in that discussion, you'll find @ ‘strong atgument that sadness isnot only an inevitable part of lie but an essential one. (1) Many thinkers ‘contend that melancholy is necessary in gaining wisdom. Robert Burton, born in 1577, spent his fe studying the causes and experience of sadness. In his masterpiece The Anatomy of Melancholy, Burton wrote, ‘He that increaseth wisdom increaseth sorrow.’ (2)_To understand the sadness ofthe tees losing thelr leaves in the fall isto more fully understand the cycle of fe that brings lowes in the spring, But wisdom and emotional intelligence seem prety high on the hierarchy of needs. + Does sadness have value on a more basi, tangible, maybe even evoluionay level? Scientist think that crying and feeling withdrawn is what originally helped our ancestors secure social bonds and helped them get the support they needed. Sadness, as opposed to anger or violence, was an expression of suffering that could immediatoly bring people closer tothe suffering person, and this helped both the person and the larger community to trive, @—_. 2% The poet Emily Dickinson wrote, | measure every gref | meet with narrow, probing eyes - | wonder iit weighs lke mine » Or has an easier size.’ And inthe 20th century, medical anthropologists, lke Arthur Kleinman, gathered ‘evidence from the way people talk about psin to suggest that emotions aren't universal at al, and that culture, partculaly the way we use language, can influence how we feel. (4) + Some contemporary thinkers arent interested in sadness's subjectviy versus universaliy, and would rather use technology to ellminate sutfaring in all its forms. David Pearce has suggested that genetic engineering and other contemporary processes cannot only alte the way humans experience emational ané physical pain, out that wold ‘ecosystems ought be redesigned so that animsls don’ suffer inthe wid. (5) + 6. Our cavemen ancestors and favourite poets might not want any part of such a paradise, Infact, the only things about sadness that seem universally agreed upon are that ithas been felt by most people ‘throughout time, and that for thousands of years, one ofthe best ways we have to deal with this dificult emotion isto ariculate it, to try to express what fools inexpressible, In the words of "Hope" isthe thing with feathers - that perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at ll ily Dickinson, Watch Part 3 of the video (01:42 - 05:12) and check your answers.Reading comprehension Decide if the following statements are True, False or Not Gi ‘Some people argue that feeling deep sadness is an essential part of the human experience. 1 Robert Burton's theory was that depression was essentially connected to those with low intelligence. 2. Poets in the 19th Century wrote about the cycle of fe and how death and life were connected. 3 It is thought that displaying feelings of sadness helped our ancestors to bond and strengthen relationships. 4, 20th-century research concluded that while languages are different, emotions are shared by everyone in a very similar way. 5. David Pierce was a vegetarian and argued for animal rights. 6 Itis unlikely that the people we are all descended from would have agreed with the ideas of David Pierce. 7. ‘One of the best methods we've had to date for dealing with depression is to do our best to talk about itTalking point In pairs, discuss the following questions. 1. Inyour cuture, do people talk about depression or not? Why? 2. Whatdo you believe to be the causes of depression generally? 3. Do you think society has a responsibiliy to reduce the causes of depression, ori it down to the individuat? 4, What do you thinkis the best advice for someone suffering from depression? 5, What action do you think people should take to avoid sutfering from depression? Extended activity/homework Write a letter to a close friend who has told you they are suffering from depression, Include the following: = What you learnt from the video in today’s lesson, ‘= What action you will ake to help them through this time + What advice you will give to them You should: + Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation