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GENERAL ENGLISH · ENGLISH IN VIDEO · ADVANCED (C1-C2)

DEPRESSION - A
HISTORY
THROUGHOUT
TIME
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1 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 mean in the context of emotions? How would you use them in a
sentence?

temperament (n) withdrawn (adj.) thrive (v) suffering (n)

2 Depression - a history: Part 1

Look at the following extracts from Part 1 of the script. Number them in the correct order from 1 - 8.
The first one is done for you.

and what, if anything, to do about it.

as the natural reaction to a difficult situation.

but for centuries there has been vast disagreement over what exactly it is

But your assumption that sadness has an external cause outside the self is a relatively new idea.

In its simplest terms, sadness is often thought of

Sadness is part of the human experience 1

When a friend says, ’I’m sad’, you often respond by asking, ’What happened?’

You feel sad when a friend moves away or when a pet dies.

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DEPRESSION - A HISTORY THROUGHOUT TIME

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. If you’re feeling sad, what do you usually do to try and improve your mood?

3 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the words to the definitions.

1. bile (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. discern (v) c. existing in a clear and real way

4. tangible (adj.) d. to attempt to understand or recognise something that isn’t easy to

identify
5. anthropologist (n) e. to effectively put an idea into words

6. versus (prep.) f. to make someone think and remind them of a similar thing

7. articulate (v) g. to stand or sit on a branch or small surface, often used with birds

8. perch (v) 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.

1. When I came out of the office, my son was on top of the wall waiting for me.
2. Big crowds are expected tonight for the Boston Red Sox New York Yankees game.
That rivalry will never die down!
3. Ernest Hemingway suffered from depression too, and I 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. I threw up last night and I can still taste the in my mouth. It’s disgusting!
6. I’ve lived in Makassar for a few years now, but I still find it hard to between
Makassarese words and words from Bahasa Indonesia.
7. I enjoy talking to my counsellor, but there are times when I find how I feel about
events in my life to be really difficult.
8. Unfortunately, the pandemic has had a effect on local businesses, with many of
them shutting down and leaving.

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DEPRESSION - A HISTORY THROUGHOUT TIME

In pairs, answer the following questions.

1. Which books or films really resonate with you?

2. When you need to talk about your feelings, do you find it hard to articulate your thoughts?
Why/Why not?
3. Are there any words in English that you find it difficult to discern the difference between?
4. What event in your life made the most tangible difference to the way your life progressed after
that?

4 Depression - a history: Part 2

Watch Part 2 of the video (00:36 - 01:42) and complete the gaps in the following summary with one
word.

Doctors in Ancient Greece believed the body and (1) were regulated by
(2) humours, which were types of fluids. 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
(5) practices. While we understand much more about the body now, those
early ideas are in line with current thinking about the causes of clinical (6) . Modern-
day doctors believe that unexplained emotions are due, in part, to brain (7) . The way
in which we respond to different circumstances can depend on the (8)
of these different chemicals.

5 Depression - a history: Part 3

Look at the following missing sentences from Part 3 of the script on page four. Skim through the
script and number them from 1 - 6.

(A) He calls his project ’paradise engineering’.

(B) But is 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.

(D) 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.

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DEPRESSION - A HISTORY THROUGHOUT TIME

Depression: A history
- Part 3

1.
There’s also a long tradition of attempting to discern the value of sadness, and in that discussion, you’ll find a
strong argument that sadness is not only an inevitable part of life but an essential one. (1) . Many thinkers
contend that melancholy is necessary in gaining wisdom. Robert Burton, born in 1577, spent his life 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 of the trees losing their leaves in
the fall is to more fully understand the cycle of life that brings flowers in the spring. But wisdom and emotional
intelligence seem pretty high on the hierarchy of needs.
2.
Does sadness have value on a more basic, tangible, maybe even evolutionary level? Scientists 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 immediately
bring people closer to the suffering person, and this helped both the person and the larger community to thrive.
(3) .
3.
The poet Emily Dickinson wrote, ’I measure every grief I meet with narrow, probing eyes - I wonder if it weighs
like mine - Or has an easier size.’ And in the 20th century, medical anthropologists, like Arthur Kleinman, gathered
evidence from the way people talk about pain to suggest that emotions aren’t universal at all, and that culture,
particularly the way we use language, can influence how we feel. (4) .
4.
Some contemporary thinkers aren’t interested in sadness’s subjectivity versus universality, and would rather use
technology to eliminate suffering in all its forms. David Pearce has suggested that genetic engineering and other
contemporary processes cannot only alter the way humans experience emotional and physical pain, but that world
ecosystems ought to be redesigned so that animals don’t suffer in the wild. (5) .
5.
(6) Our cavemen ancestors and favourite poets might not want any part of such a paradise.
In fact, the only things about sadness that seem universally agreed upon are that it has been felt by most people
throughout time, and that for thousands of years, one of the best ways we have to deal with this difficult emotion
is to articulate it, to try to express what feels inexpressible. In the words of Emily Dickinson, ’"Hope" is the thing
with feathers - that perches in the soul - And sings the tune without the words - And never stops - at all -’

Watch Part 3 of the video (01:42 - 05:12) and check your answers.

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DEPRESSION - A HISTORY THROUGHOUT TIME

6 Reading comprehension

Decide if the following statements are True, False or Not Given.

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 life 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.

It is 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.

8.

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DEPRESSION - A HISTORY THROUGHOUT TIME

7 Talking point

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. In your culture, do people talk about depression or not? Why?

2. What do you believe to be the causes of depression generally?
3. Do you think society has a responsibility to reduce the causes of depression, or is it down to the
individual?
4. What do you think is the best advice for someone suffering from depression?
5. What action do you think people should take to avoid suffering from depression?

8 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 take to help them through this time
• What advice you will give to them

You should:

• Write at least 250 words

• Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation.

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