Depression
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe some common features of depression and explain how to support someone and when to get help.
Key learning points
- Depression is a common mental health condition that affects thoughts, feelings and behaviours.
- Support strategies for someone with depression include listening, showing empathy and encouraging professional help.
- Recognising when to seek help for depression is important, including knowing the signs and available resource options.
Keywords
Depression - a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest that affects how you think and feel; it can make daily activities hard and may include physical symptoms
Support - the actions taken to help someone who is in a difficult or dangerous situation, such as providing care and seeking medical attention
Stigma - being judged or treated unfairly just because of a particular characteristic, situation or condition, like having a mental health condition
Empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
Resource - something we can use to help us
Common misconception
Depression is just feeling sad.
Depression is a serious mental health condition that affects thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, not just a temporary emotion.
Teacher tip
Most schools have a senior mental health lead; You should speak with them before delivering this lesson for additional guidance or support.
Content guidance
Depiction or discussion of mental health issues
Supervision
Adult supervision required
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the words to the definitions.
your body and mind's response to challenging situations
a state of unease, worry or nervousness about uncertain outcome
practices to maintain health and prevent disease
chemicals in the body that act like messengers
Q2. are things that put us under pressure and can cause anxiety or stress.
Q3.Physical symptoms of stress do not include:
Q4.Emotional symptoms of stress do not include:
Q5.Self-care strategies can help to protect our mental wellbeing by ...
Q6.What is OCD?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Depression is ...
Q2.Match the words to the correct definitions.
the actions taken to help someone
the ability to understand and share the feelings of another
something we can use to help us
Q3.Ways to support someone who is experiencing symptoms of depression include:
Q4.Sometimes people don’t open up about their feelings because of the worry about associated with depression.
Q5.Symptoms of depression do not include:
Q6.Reliable resources for help with depression include:
To help you plan your 10 RSHE (PSHE) lesson on: Depression, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 RSHE (PSHE) lesson on: Depression, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 RSHE (PSHE) lessons from the What are common types of mental health conditions? unit, dive into the full secondary RSHE (PSHE) curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.