“Lesson 188—Coping with Sadness and Depression: Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, Can Help Us Overcome the Emotional Challenges of Life,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual (2025)
“Coping with Sadness and Depression,” Doctrine and Covenants Seminary Teacher Manual
Lesson 188: Physical and Emotional Health
Coping with Sadness and Depression
Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, Can Help Us Overcome the Emotional Challenges of Life
The Savior promised that in Him we can have a fulness of joy (see Doctrine and Covenants 101:36). However, moments of sadness and discouragement are a normal part of our mortal experience. Sometimes we might experience more severe feelings of hopelessness and depression. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ provided resources to help us move forward in faith during times of emotional difficulty. This lesson can help students understand ways they can get help with feelings of sadness and depression.
Possible Learning Activities
Emotions are like the waves of the sea
Note: It may be helpful to know that you do not need to be an expert on this subject to teach this lesson. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Ghost, follow the materials, and trust your students. If students ask questions you do not know how to address or if they share personal struggles they face, invite them seek help from the Lord, their parents, Church leaders, and mental health professionals.
To begin, display an image or video of waves of the sea. Share or summarize the following paragraph.
Imagine standing on the beach and watching the waves of the ocean. The waves are like our feelings. Some waves lap at your feet gently as you stand or wade through the water. At other times you may be deeper in the water, and waves might hit you more strongly or even unexpectedly, causing you to lose your balance. Sometimes large waves can hit you forcefully and perhaps one right after the other. You may struggle to gain footing and may even choke on water or struggle to breathe.
Take a moment to ponder how this metaphor could apply to emotional struggles like sadness, discouragement, and depression.
To help students evaluate their understanding of this topic, you could provide some of the following statements for students to consider.
Prayerfully reflect on the following statements. Record in your journal how much each statement applies to you (using the answers “yes,” “mostly,” “kind of,” and “not at all”).
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I recognize the difference between sadness, discouragement, and depression.
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I know the signs of depression.
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I know where to get help if I feel depressed.
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I recognize how Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can help me when I am sad or depressed.
Sadness and depression
Help students understand that sadness and discouragement are difficult but essential elements in our growth. They are like smaller waves, normal reactions to life’s challenges and disappointments. Explain that depression is more than just sadness. Depression consistently and negatively affects how a person thinks, feels, and acts (like larger waves). Symptoms of depression include persistent sadness, despair, feelings of worthlessness, lack of energy, loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities, feeling like a burden to those around you, and thoughts of death and suicide. Additionally, when some are depressed they may feel hindered in their ability to recognize the Spirit. (See “Understanding Sadness and Depression,” in Strength in the Lord: Emotional Resilience [2021], 75.)
Thinking about your own life, ponder what type of waves could describe your current emotional state.
As you study today, prayerfully seek the Spirit’s promptings to help you and those you know experiencing sadness and depression.
Isaiah 61:1–3 describes many ways the Savior can help us. Read these verses, looking for phrases you think could apply to helping someone who is sad or depressed. The word “me” in these verses refers to Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
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What words or phrases were meaningful to you? What did you discover that could help someone struggling with sadness or depression?
Students may mention the Savior’s ability to help, comfort, and lift the brokenhearted, those who are or feel captive, those who mourn, and those who feel a spirit of heaviness.
After giving students an opportunity to share, display the following statement by Sister Reyna I. Aburto. Her statement can help students recognize what they can do to seek relief.
Sister Reyna I. Aburto, former Second Counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency, taught:
Thru Cloud and Sunshine, Lord, Abide with Me!
Like any part of the body, the brain is subject to illnesses, trauma, and chemical imbalances. When our minds are suffering, it is appropriate to seek help from God, from those around us, and from medical and mental health professionals. …
… It is normal to feel sad or worried once in a while. Sadness and anxiety are natural human emotions. However, if we are constantly sad and if our pain blocks our ability to feel the love of our Heavenly Father and His Son and the influence of the Holy Ghost, then we may be suffering from depression, anxiety, or another emotional condition. (Reyna I. Aburto, “Thru Cloud and Sunshine, Lord, Abide with Me!,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2019, 57)
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What truths can we learn from Sister Aburto’s message?
Help students understand the truth that when our minds are suffering, we should seek help from God, from those around us, and from medical and mental health professionals.
Seek help from God, others, and professionals
To help students better understand this principle, invite them to fold a paper into three sections to create a pamphlet. In the pamphlet, they could record what they learn about seeking help for sadness or depression. This could be helpful now or in the future for them or someone they love. Students could label the three sections “Seek help from God,” “Seek help from others,” and “Seek help from professionals.” Then provide the handout titled “Seeking Help.” Students could work individually or in small groups and write their answers to the handout questions on their pamphlets.
Seeking Help
Seek help from God
Heavenly Father has promised divine assistance so we can endure all mortal challenges. He has promised many ways His help will come. If we do not see His help in one way, it is always important to not give up. Keep seeking. He is there.
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What do you know about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that gives you confidence They can help with sadness and depression?
Read Jacob 2:8; Alma 26:27–28; Doctrine and Covenants 6:36; 136:29. Look for ways we can seek the Lord’s help when we are sad or depressed.
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What do these verses teach us to do when we are sad or depressed?
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What are some other ways we can seek help from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
If not too personal, share an experience you have had seeking help from Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
Seek help from others
President Spencer W. Kimball taught:
God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], 82)
When we feel sad or depressed, we may feel tempted to withdraw or isolate ourselves from others. Doing this may limit our ability to see the help Heavenly Father is sending us. Reaching out to others could include talking to parents, trusted family members, or Church leaders.
List two or three things someone who is struggling could do to reach out to others or let others help them.
If not too personal, share a time when a family member or friend has helped you during times of sadness or depression.
Seek help from professionals
One important source of help we can seek is the wisdom of trusted medical and mental health providers. Think about the earlier comparison of sadness and depression to ocean waves. When we are sad (dealing with smaller waves), we should follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost to know when to seek professional help. However, if we feel depressed or suicidal (facing large waves), seeking professional help is critical.
Read this statement by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, looking for what Heavenly Father has provided to help us when we struggle:
Seek the advice of reputable people with certified training, professional skills, and good values. Be honest with them about your history and your struggles. Prayerfully and responsibly consider the counsel they give and the solutions they prescribe. If you had appendicitis, God would expect you to seek a priesthood blessing and get the best medical care available. So too with emotional disorders. Our Father in Heaven expects us to use all of the marvelous gifts He has provided in this glorious dispensation. (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Like a Broken Vessel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 41)
On your pamphlet, write down a part of Elder Holland’s statement that was meaningful to you.
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Why do you think it is important for someone to seek professional help for depression?
Help students identify where they would turn to seek professional help. Ideas could be as simple as talking to a school counselor, parent, or trusted Church leader to help them find an appropriate professional. You could invite students to identify the suicide prevention helpline or website for your area (see suicide.ChurchofJesusChrist.org for helplines and resources). They could write these resources in their pamphlet. Students could bookmark the suicide prevention page from the Church website on an electronic device.
Resources for talking about suicide can be found at suicide.ChurchofJesusChrist.org and in “Supplemental Learning Activities” in this lesson.
Some struggling with depression may feel they create too much of a burden to others and even to the Lord. Help students remember the Lord’s perfect love, patience, and power in their lives and that He desires to help us carry our burdens. You might lovingly remind students that there is always hope for anyone experiencing depression or thoughts of suicide.
Review what you have learned
Invite students to discuss why seeking help from God, others, and professionals are all important when dealing with sadness and depression. A few students could share what they have learned and felt today, if it is not too personal.
Invite students to seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost as they complete the following.
Write the following in your study journal or on your pamphlet:
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What you would do to seek the Lord’s help if you are feeling sad or depressed (this could include scriptures you would read or sacred music that brings you hope)
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What you would do to reach out to others when you feel sad or depressed
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What you might do to help someone who feels sad or depressed
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What you might say to someone who is struggling and wonders if he or she should seek a mental health counselor
Consider reminding students that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ can “wipe away all tears from [our] eyes” (Revelation 21:4) and “encircle [us] in the arms of [His] love” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:20).